Can I delete these files?

There are many files on my data disc with names that start and end with $. Most have "Uninstall" in the name also. Are these files I can delete safely or must keep?

 

If your PC is behaving properly you can remove the Windows hotfix hidden backup files that begin $NTUninstallKB from the WINDOWS folder. There are two ways to do it:

1. Manually by copying them to a CD/DVD then manually delete them from the \WINDOWS folder but leave the now orphaned Add or Remove Programs entries intact. Only delete the $NTUninstallKB folders that relate to fixes not those for applications like Word, WMP, etc. Do not delete the $hf_mig$ folder.

2. Running a script which also removes the corresponding entries in Add or Remove Programs. Download, extract and run this little script http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm Create a system restore point first just in case anything goes wrong during the registry updating.