deleting empty folders in these dirs; safe?


klepp0906

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So I had some games i recently uninstalled and they had left remnants strewn about. it was mostly save folders and the like. Understandable and easy for me to locate and remove.

In my perusal of my appdata and programdata directories i happened across some other folders which were empty. several of them I was hesitant to delete. I installed windows 11 not long ago and the last thing I want to do is break it in any way shape or form. im already invested for the long haul lol.

anyhow in my search for what had created said folders and the safety of their removal i came across a software Remove Empty Directories (aka RED) which looks like its been around quite some time and seems like it could potentially make a manual job not only much more automated, but do a better job too.

before I run it I just wanted a bit of confirm or deny from people with more knowledge in the area than I. Is it safe for me to run that against %programdata% %appdata% and %localappdata% or do empty folders exist in those directories that have to be there?

my first instinct is that any necessary folder would be recreated, full stop. unfortunately assumptions like this have bitten me in the ass far too many times over the years so its easier for me to defer to the reddit pros on this one :p
 

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What I'd do is create a new Folder in a USB Thumb drive and Copy all those empty Folders into it then delete the ones in question. If any issues show up just copy them back to the original location.
 

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Well, most of empty folders would be safe to delete, but you're never sure about all of them. Not necessarily all are leftovers...

Instead of apps like RED I suggest you to use a program like REVO uninstaller. It will check for any leftover of uninstalled software. Very good at that. Even free version is powerful.

 

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    Windows 10 Pro, Windows 11 Dev
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    Homebuilt
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    Intel I3 10100
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    ASUS B460M
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    16 GB DDR4 Crucial
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What I'd do is create a new Folder in a USB Thumb drive and Copy all those empty Folders into it then delete the ones in question. If any issues show up just copy them back to the original location.

yea thats kind of the basic premise i was going with. the software itself allows you to delete to the recycling bin so it wont be a perma delete unless i say so. that being said, sometimes issues dont crop up for weeks, months etc until you run a particular software or use a particular feature etc so its not my first choice in modus operandi :p
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i7 9900K
    Motherboard
    Asus Maximus X Formula
    Memory
    64GB G.Skill DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 2080ti
    Monitor(s) Displays
    U2718Q
    Screen Resolution
    4K
    Hard Drives
    2TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus
    1TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus
    ~200TB worth of spinners in a DAS via LSI HBA
    PSU
    EVGA 1500 supernova
    Case
    Corsair 900D
    Cooling
    Custom Water
    Keyboard
    Razer Blackwidow Chroma v2
    Mouse
    Razer Naga Trinity
    Internet Speed
    Gigabit Fiber
    Browser
    Brave
Well, most of empty folders would be safe to delete, but you're never sure about all of them. Not necessarily all are leftovers...

Instead of apps like RED I suggest you to use a program like REVO uninstaller. It will check for any leftover of uninstalled software. Very good at that. Even free version is powerful.


yea thats what has me concerned. i mean, good programming.. id argue even basic programming would and should have that check in place but it wouldnt be the first time.... or the second.. lol.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i7 9900K
    Motherboard
    Asus Maximus X Formula
    Memory
    64GB G.Skill DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 2080ti
    Monitor(s) Displays
    U2718Q
    Screen Resolution
    4K
    Hard Drives
    2TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus
    1TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus
    ~200TB worth of spinners in a DAS via LSI HBA
    PSU
    EVGA 1500 supernova
    Case
    Corsair 900D
    Cooling
    Custom Water
    Keyboard
    Razer Blackwidow Chroma v2
    Mouse
    Razer Naga Trinity
    Internet Speed
    Gigabit Fiber
    Browser
    Brave

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