My C: drive is filling up, and I'd like to free up some space. I noticed that the directory C:\I386 and all it's subdirectories take up well over 800 megabytes. Can I move that to my D:\ drive where I have much more room? Or better yet, can I delete it?
The question others are asking is probably "OK, so what's a C:\I386 directory?"
In a nutshell, it's a copy of Windows, and yes, you can move it, but I don't recommend deleting it completely. It's just too darned useful.
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First I'll bore you with a little trivia: the "I386" name originated as a way to identify what CPU the operating system was for. "I" stands for Intel, and "386" stands for the "80386", the minimum processor required. (The 80386 is an older version of what we now know as the Pentium processors.)
So the I386 directory tree contains a copy of Windows targeted for Intel's 80386 and later processors.
The I386 directory is not the directory that Windows actually runs from, but rather it contains a copy of Windows that you can setup from. Originally it was simply a copy of the I386 directory from your installation CD. You'll probably find "setup.exe" there, which is the Windows XP initial setup program.
Since Windows doesn't run from that directory, it's actually not required to be around at all. You can delete it, and Windows will still continue to run. But Wait! You still, really, don't want to delete it. At least not without saving a copy of it somewhere, somehow. You see, when you install new hardware, Windows will try to install the drivers for it, from your original Windows installation CD-ROM. If you have a copy of the I386 directory from that CD-ROM, Windows can look there instead - much quicker and much more convenient than inserting the CD each time.
And of course if your computer didn't come with a Windows CD-ROM (as I believe it always should, though not all manufacturers do), the I386 directory may be the only place these files are available.
So don't delete it. Move it somewhere else instead. If you have a second hard disk that has room, great. If you have another machine on your local network that has room, it's ok to copy it there too - just keep straight which machine it belongs to.
As an example, let's copy all of C:\I386 to a new directory on the D: drive. We'll do it using the Command Prompt. Press Start, Run, enter CMD and press Enter. In the resulting box, we'll enter the following commands:
Here's what that might look like:
The exact files being copied may differ slightly, and there will be several hundred files copied before it's all done. Once it is done, you can delete the original on c:\I386.
Related:
Ask Leo! - I don't have an installation CD for Windows XP - what if I need one?
Ask Leo! - How can I install hardware if I no longer have my Windows XP CD?
Article C2453 - November 4, 2005
I have AVG free for anti virus software? When I scanned today it has taken over an hour to scan through the mediactr cabinet file inside by I386 file? Is this normal? The only thing I have recently changed is to add ITunes and about 20 G of music. (My own CDs, not downloaded items)
Posted by: Joshua Huber at January 23, 2008 7:45 PMI was in my c drive when i mistakenly moved the I386 into another folder which I didn't create. I decided to copy it back and the prompt was it can not be copied. I entered into this folder where the new I386 was, and couldn't open the I386. Now the new I386 is with a less size, meaning some of the files in there are gone, I don't know how and the I386 in c:/ is empty. Sounds bad, what should I do?
Posted by: Anthony at February 12, 2008 8:24 AMWhat if the i386 folder in my C drive is, I believe, to be created from my old XP cd installation that was still there after upgrading to Vista (I know this because it has a "Tour Windows XP" shortcut in there that doesn't even work anymore, P.S. though, I am confused at why the modified date is 20/02/2008), then can I deleted?
Posted by: John at March 25, 2008 1:45 PMCan you give me the path where the i386 folder is located ? Mine is located in the following path :-
Posted by: Joe at May 24, 2008 11:15 PMrootdrive:\WINDOWS\ServicePackFiles\i386
The last comment, by Joe, May 24, 2008, raises an interesting question: why do we need two I386 folders, one in windows and one in "ServicePackFiles" under windows?
And in addition, there are other redundant files, such as dllcache, $Uninstall..., etc. Is there a guide to "Windows" directories that are safe to delete?
Many thanks for any answer.
Michael Bates
Posted by: Michael Bates at October 5, 2008 2:31 PMit says that the folders in my pc --C:\WINDOWS\Service Pack Files\i…, C:\WINDOWS\System32,& C:\i386---were all have virus. is it safe to delete these folders?????pls help!!thanks in advance
27-Oct-2008
When I try to copy I386, as you describe, I get the message: Cannot copy or create I386. Access denied. How do I get around this?
Posted by: Sharen Malone at December 23, 2008 11:28 PMCan I copy the i386 folder by just copy pasting it? instead of the cmd method Leo used in this answer?
Posted by: Jin at January 25, 2009 7:56 AMi dont have the I386 folder in the root of c:\(c:\i386) and i want to reinstall my computer
Posted by: vaishnav at February 23, 2009 6:21 AMmy laptop is 3 years old and i somtimes feel like to throw my computer out of my window!!
reply to MY E-MAIL please
regards
-vaishnav
unfortunately i deleted i386 folder, please tell me how can i get it back?
Posted by: sunking at June 23, 2009 5:52 AM