I've seen you talk a lot about the I386 directory, particularly for folks that don't have an installation CD for their system. But I'm still confused ... not every machine has this I386 directory, or if they do, it doesn't seem to have what you say it does. What is it, really? Should I have it? What if I don't? Do I want it? Whoa ... seems my answers around the I386 direectory have been generating lots of additional questions as well. Let's see if we can clarify they "I386 mystery". Let me start by answering a question you didn't ask, because it's related, incredibly important, and the reason that I386 appears in so many of my answers: In my opinion, you should never purchase a pre-installed operating system without also getting the CD-ROM of the operating system that came pre-installed. Never. Clear enough? Now, let me tell you why I feel so strongly, and how it relates to I386. If your machine has a "C:\I386" directory that contains several thousand files, and that directory takes up over 600 megabytes of disk space then that is the directory I'm talking about. It is most likely a copy of the Windows XP Installation CD-ROM, or the I386 directory that is on that CD-ROM. If you find an I386 directory elsewhere ... say as a subdirectory buried somewhere else on your system, then that is not what I'm discussing here. Note that I said it's just a copy of the installation CD-ROM. It's not created or installed automatically, it's a copy of the original installation CD-ROM made by whomever set up your machine, usually for two reasons:
Those two are related. As an example, when you add hardware to Windows - say you add a new printer - Windows needs to get the appropriate files to support that new device. Since it wasn't connected to your computer when you set up Windows, those files were not installed then; they need to be added now. Where do they come from? The Windows Installation CD-ROM. But what if you didn't get a CD-ROM when you purchased your computer? By having a copy of an installation CD-ROM in the C:\I386 directory, when Windows asks for the original CD, you can tell it to look there instead. So even though the manufacturer didn't give you a physical CD-ROM, everything you need is already on your hard disk, right there in C:\I386. When Windows needs something from the original install CD, it can locate it there instead. Can you see the flaw in this setup? What happens if your hard disk crashes? What happens if you need to reformat your hard disk? Everything is erased - including C:\I386. If you don't have an actual, physical, CD-ROM to reinstall from, you're screwed - to put it mildly. The second reason for C:\I386 existing is simple convenience. Even if you have the CD-ROM, as you should, it's often more convenient to keep a copy on your hard drive. That way, instead of reaching for the CD-ROM each time Windows needs something, you can just tell Windows to pick it up from C:\I386, already on your hard disk. In fact, it's such a convenience, and disk space is so plentiful these days that copying the Windows XP CD-ROM to my hard disk is often one of the first steps I take when I'm about to set up a new machine. So what does all this mean? Well, remember that C:\I386 is just a copy of a Windows Installation CD-ROM. Hence:
C:\I386 is not required for Windows to function. You can certainly copy it elsewhere, perhaps to a different drive, or back it up to CD-ROM or DVD. (Even though it's a copy of a CD-ROM, some manufacturer's appear to add to it, so that the actual C:\I386 will no longer actually fit on a single CD-ROM). But it is convenient. Related:
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Hey Leo, i386 takes up nearly 1gb on my hard drive! Could I copy it to a CD then delete it from my computer? Thanks! Posted by: Richard at May 8, 2007 08:28 AMIf you don't have a physical installation media, and you lose your Windows install then take heart ... you're in luck! You can download Ubuntu or any other user-friendly O/S and say goodbye to Windows once and for all. Unless you use Windows for gaming you'll find the Linux alternative to be more performant, stable and best of all, free of charge. PS, thanks for letting me know what i386 is all about Leo! Posted by: Jeremy Mawson at June 10, 2007 09:11 PMhi can i clean the i386 folder and what will happen if its full .will it slow my pc down or will it still function normal if i delete the files in it Posted by: chillios at June 18, 2007 07:14 AMJust a comment - I have just been reinstalling from my MDG XP discs and the thing glitched when seeking i386 files (iExplore actually) saying it wasn't there. In fact it was but, after a lot of confusion, time and tentative fiddling, is on Disc 1 (no change prompts were received after the previous 'change to disc 2' instruction). Now the cynical among us might think MDG had done this deliberately to confuse the not very experienced and somewhat faint hearted system re-installers among us, thus prompting a service call! Surely not ? Ken Posted by: Ken at July 8, 2007 08:52 AMHi leo, thanks for providing such a great information about i386, actually i got a live CD of UBUNTO Linux but when i tried to boot from it , a message appeared saying that c:\i386 folder doesn't exist, hope ur suggestion will work. i m running a windows xp home edition. And i have c:\i386 in hard drive and i have only one partition in my hardisk that is C: i have a i386 folder in a folder named "2aee58f7c2420a9ea05d75" on a hard drive enclosure, if its a back up of the windows cd why would it come on my enclosure? and it doesn't give me rights to the folder so i cant even look in it to varify thats whats in it. any ideas on why it is or why its there? any insite you could provide would be greatly appriciated. Posted by: andrew hamelin at October 3, 2007 12:52 PMI am using Fedora 4 and found a file Torrent for downloading Fedora 8 and it is confusing me. Simply, I just do not know wich one to choose from. I have a If I understand correctly - I don't have a hard copy of windows, but do have i386 folder, so I can copy that folder to disc and it will be like having an original copy. I would then be able to re-install Windows in the event I replaced the HD? Posted by: Terry at April 7, 2008 08:50 AMI dunno...I think it might have been that i386 folder that saved my Inspiron 9300's life. My laptop was a mess--weird pop ups were shooting up on the screen all the time due to a corruption in Roxio, not to mention the laptop had gone through a lot in its 3 year life. I decided to reset my laptop to its factory default by pressing Ctrl + F11 in the boot screen with the dell.com text. This enabled a complete renewal of my computer by accessing a partition on my laptop that contains a copy of what was on the computer when I started it up for the very first time. Now, even though I had to go through the whole process of deleting bloatware, downloading some free programs I had, and getting updates for most everything, it was TOTALLY worth it. My computer is cleaner, runs smoother, and no more Roxio pop-ups. After I learn how to make an image of my computer, I'm probably going to start reseting my laptop in this process once a year. I hear it's a good thing to do. So if this is what the i386 folder does, DON'T get rid of it! I'm sure getting rid of it screws up your warranty anyway. Posted by: Sarah at June 11, 2008 07:25 AMPost a comment on "So just what *is* the I386 directory anyway?":
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