Is There a Way to Total

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ChuckR

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Nov 24, 2016
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I was looking into cleaning up ntuser.dat and desktop.ini files. These are spread across my Windows 7 Pro 64bit C: partition.
I am wondering if there is a tool that would scan for a filetype and add up the total space it uses. I could then make a decision
about whether I would gain much space.
After this I would need a tool that would cleanup the filetype that is no longer needed.
I have ntuser.dat back to 2011 and desktop.ini files back to 2000 for Microsoft Word.
 
I wouldn't remove ntuser.dat, it contains the configuration data for all the users. I wouldn't worry about desktop.ini either, it'll end up getting recreated again.
 
Wise disk cleaner free or wise care 365 free can do that.
WiseCare365: You can add the file.ext in system cleaner, advanced cleaner, advanced settings, add.
WiseDiskCleaner: advanced cleaner, advanced settings, add.

ghghf.jpg
 
I installed the Wise Disk Cleaner and used it a bit. I found how to specify only ntuser.dat and it found a bunch. It did NOT total the space, but it laid them out so they could be cleaned up fairly easy.
Thanks for the pointer.
 
The Register only references 3 versions of ntuser.dat. How are the other versions useful?
 
Usually NTUSER files take very little space, deleting the wrong one can cause large issues with user profiles including the hidden admin account.
 
I completely understand tweaking and housecleaning on a PC. I'm borderline OCD about it. But as the advice given above states, some things need to be left alone.

I would re-hide them so you don't have to "look" at them anymore.

Win7:
  1. Select the Start button, then select Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization.
  2. Select Folder Options, then select the View tab.
  3. Under Advanced settings, select Show hidden files, folders, and drives, and then select OK.
SOURCE
 
There are only 2 Users(me and the Administrator). There are 3 ntuser.dat references in the Registry.
3 are in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\hivelist
\REGISTRY\USER\S-1-5-19
\Device\HarddiskVolume2\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\ntuser.dat
\REGISTRY\USER\S-1-5-20
\Device\HarddiskVolume2\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\ntuser.dat
\Registry\User\S-1-5-21-4060470119-733395135-3709892937-1001
\Device\HarddiskVolume2\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\ntuser.dat

What are the other 147 for?
 
I don't mean the following in any way disrespectful or condescending.

The real question should be, which ones are safe to delete? It would be impossible to tell.

Make sure you have a valid backup image of your drive and whatever else it takes to recover your drive if something goes wrong. Test the backup and recovery media.

After doing this, delete to your heart's content. If something goes wrong, you'll at least have an option for recovery.

Everything I see with a few minutes of researching says it's completely normal to have multiple ntuser.dat files and it should not be deleted. The files do not take up much space, they do not hinder performance.

Why you have 140+ is as much a mystery to me as it is the internet as I'm not finding much on a PC with that many.

You can use Treesize to see the space they use. Under the scan tab, search tree, type in ntuser.dat. It will display all the files with the sizes beside each.
 
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Standard Windows accounts are Hidden Admin account, Guest account, and at least 1 user account.

What is the path to the ones you are seeing all the same or?
 
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I quit counting at 7 different locations under c:. One file was Regbackup. Another was FRST.
 
Yesterday I removed the FRST folder that had been created last year when Sysnative helped with a problem. This morning I checked to see
the results of that. ALL ntuser.dat files are gone. I expect Windows will create some, but not 150.
Thanks for the discussion.
For some crazy reason, I just found 36 in C:\REGBACKUP. They did not show when I looked in C: for ntuser.dat.
I decided to check C: again and 143 are back. They are all under C:\Users
 
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Which folders in C:\ are they under? Most could be symbolic links and not actual files.
 
I should have also mentioned C:\Regbackup C:\Users\Administrator C:\Users\Chuck C:\Users\Default C:\Users\DefaultAppPool
 
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You can delete Regbackup without issues.
The other three folders, no.

If you want to experiment with those three folders and files, a full backup is mandatory.
 

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