windowsxp duplicate files

[summary]

i have duplicate files in windowsxp. many files in directory c/windows/ are the same as files in c/windows/system32/


how did this come about and can i delete some of them?


thank you,
nicholas

[cipher-six]

Well, unless you're in a great need of disk space or something else very important related to deleting these files, you probably shouldn't delete anything from your Windows directory

Just my opinion but I'm sure there are others more qualified to answer your question.

[summary]

thank you cipher-6

i just curious why i have the same files in different paths

[DallasDon]

Do they have different extensions? Windows creates backup registry and config files, so the repair cd can fix corrupted files if you have a problem.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

You can use "disk cleanup" to gain more hard drive space if that's what you are after. Boxes automatically checked are not essential to the operation of your comp.

[summary]

thank you dallas don.

the filenames, extension, size and date are exactly the same
they reside in folders

c:\windows\system (size = 6mb)
c:\windows\system32 (Size = 700mb)
c:\windows\i386 (size = 408 mb)

nicholas