When browsing in Windows Explorer, I noticed two folders called CABS , frist one is C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS, has 17 files and is 3.28M.B. in size, also date created is 8/23/2002, the next CABS folder is C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\INSTALL\CABS is 155M.B. in size and has no date created in properties ? I ran a H.D. search on a couple of the files in the frist CABS folder, which by the way does not contain even one .cab file, and the files I searched for all came up in both folders. I believe once again the frist CABS folder was a unintended dublicate, if all the .DLL files in this frist CABS folder have a dublicate is it safe to delete, or should I drag and drop all contents of the frist one into the second much larger CABS folder, just to play it safe ,or since there doesnt seem to be any ill effects from this dublicate, just leave it alone ? I dont know if its my son or I ,that makes these unintended dublicates in Explorer ? Any advice appreciated ,thanks in advance ! Nick

Hi Nick, hello everyone If they are indeed duplicate files, then yes you can safely delete them. Check the version of the duplicate files before doing such. You would not be able to move the files from the first Cab folder to the second because the files are duplicates, containing the same file names. If you tried to do such Windows would ask if you would like to overwrite the files, thus leaving only the original ones or replacing them. Best Regards, Mesich

Thanks Mesich, You would think as many times as I've recieved the "file already exsist ,would you like to replace it" warnning I would remember about how I recieve it ! Iam puzzled as to how this extra CABS folder came to be and why the piticular files in it are there ? I know its not a major concern ,and I could always put it in the recycle bin for a couple of weeks before prematly deleting ! Thanks for your input. Sincerely Nick

Hi Nick, hello everyone Most people whom install WinME copy the files from the WinME directory on the CD to the hard drive. Normally this is C:\Windows\Options\Cabs. I can only guess as to how only 17 of the files are in that location on your computer and the entire WinME directory exist in C:\Windows\Options\Install\Cabs. My best guess would be that when they were copying the WinME directory from the CD to the hard drive they somehow managed not to copy the entire directory, only the 17 files. They then created a new directory C:\Windows\Options\Install\Cabs and successfully copied the files there. Once again I can only guess as to how or why the extra directory and files came about. Best Regards, Mesich

Got the same on my computer. I figure they can all be left there. "If it ain't broke - don't try and fix it" seems to come to mind when dealing with instal/uninstal folders and files. It works for me D4

Hi Nick, Dog, hello everyone Dog, Are the files in the C:\Windows\Options\Install\Cabs folder duplicate files of those in the C:\Windows\Options\Cabs? I'm curious as to why the need for duplicate files within the two sub-directories of C:\Windows\Options. Could either of you post the file names? Best Regards, Mesich

In the C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS as i stated B/4 there are 17 files ,most of them .DLL's,CRYPT32.DLL,CRYPTDLG.DLL,DUNZIP32.DLL,HCUPDATE.EXE,HELPCTR.EXE,HHCRTL.OCX,HHCRTLUI.DLL, that is several of the files in that folder ! The C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\INSTALL\CABS folder is 155M.B. in size and is a mixer of these .DLL's ,EXE's and then the .CABINET files that contain the installation files WIN_10.CAB 8,000 K.B. is one example of the CABS . I wish I knew how to link to a JPEG screen shot of explorer. I know how to take the screen shot and save it ,just dont know how to make a workable link to the JPEG ? I hope this info helped with your ? I will keep an eye for a response in this topic ! Take Care Nick