Member Avatar for dcc

I just finished downloading Adobe 7.0, which also included their photo ablbum 2.0 much to my surprise. What I'm about to ask may be a dumb question, but this download took two and a half hours and I just want to make sure I don't do something that I'm going to regret. After I finished the installation I was left with four icons, two for each part, one part of each of these is for installing, is there any reason not to delete these?

  • 2 Contributors
  • 2 Replies
  • 113 Views
  • 12 Hours Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by dcc

Dani AI

Generated

Short answer: those leftover icons are usually just shortcuts or the extracted installer files. Removing desktop shortcuts is safe. Deleting an installer you might need later is only risky if re-downloading is inconvenient, so keep a copy if you think you will want to reinstall or repair.

Steps to check and act safely:

  • Right-click the icon and choose Properties. Read the Target (or look at the file path). If it points into "C:\Program Files..." it is the program shortcut. If it points to a folder in Downloads, Temp, or an extracted installer folder, it is an installer/installer shortcut.
  • If the target is an installer file and you want to keep it, copy it to removable media (USB stick or external drive) or to another machine on the network before deleting from the current PC.
  • If unsure, move the file to the Recycle Bin and run the program for a little while. If everything behaves normally, empty the bin later. That gives a safe rollback without losing the file immediately.
  • Use Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs for uninstall/repair. Most installers leave enough information for Windows to uninstall even if the original download is gone, but some older installers may ask for the original source during repair.

As suggested, keeping a backup is sensible. Since has limited burning options on this machine, a USB flash drive or copying the installer to another PC is the quickest alternative.

Recommended Answers

All 2 Replies

Member Avatar for Catweazle

dcc, if you spent 2 1/2 hours dowloading something, surely the sensible thing to do is to copy it to CD before deleting ANYTHING?

Member Avatar for dcc

Hey Catweazle...this computer was given to me and is five years old, and it came without a modem or a CD burner. I was going to wait until I rebuilt it and in the process add a CD/DVD burner. :o

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.