Is it safe to delete downloads once they are installed?

[Oatmeal]

I have a rather small 60GB SSD as the main drive for my OS (win 7 64-bit) and Apps. It should be of adequate size but just in case I need to free up some room, does anyone here know if it is safe to delete the files and/or folders under C:\ProgramData\Corel\Downloads?

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi

I dont use Windows 7 but assume these files are your downloaded program
You may need these files should you need to re-install the programs

Burn them to a disc as a backup.
also I assume you have another larger drive, copy them there, also as backup.

Then you should be able to remove the download folders content

[Oatmeal]

The downloads folder contains the program updates and "do more" installation files for PSP X3 and VS X3.

PSPPX3_Patch3.exe
PSPPX3_Patch4.exe
DMF7SEforVSX3.exe
VSProX3_Patch3.exe

I sent an email to corel support and will report back in case anyone else is interested in saving some space.

[Ken Berry]

Trevor's comment about backing up applies in particular to the DMF7SEforVSX3.exe file. That is your Movie Factory 7 SE installation file, and you should hopefully have already installed it to replace the awful program that came originally with VS X3. If you haven't, then do so. But copy it to a CD or DVD first. That folder will also contain the various new templates and fonts etc which are available in the Get More Section, but those self-install. However, once installed it could be difficult to get them back in case you later need them e.g. in a reinstall where the Get More button no longer contains them. So again, it would be useful to back them up to CD/DVD.

[Oatmeal]

thanks for the reply Ken. I am going to move the files to a backup drive and might not have thought about backing up Movie Factory 7 SE. I have all the other installs backed up but totally forgot about that one.

[Oatmeal]

Just got a reply from Corel support about this. Like you guys said it is safe to delete the downloaded files if you have stored a copy of them or purchased the Download Software Insurance.

I was worried that deleting these files would somehow make copy protection software think this wasn't a legit copy or would cause the update tool ask me to download a patch that is already installed.

Thanks again for your help.

[davefoc]

This problem is a bit complicated if you've had many different versions of paintshop pro over the years. The programData\Corel\Downloads folder is loaded with stuff. I just looked at the file dates and moved everything that wasn't 2019 or 2020 to a different drive. This deal where various programs fill up your hard disk with stuff while you think you redirected everything away from your C drive is a problem that I suspect a lot of people have.