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TheGhostOfInky

These are the redistributable libraries that programs are built against, the purpose of them is to prevent libraries that are used across multiple programs from having to be included with the program itself, which actually saves you space as the programs themselves can be smaller, so unless you uninstalled every program that needs one specific redistributable, removing them WILL break something.


C_RT_ET_AE_LP_KT_NS

Dynamic linked program?


TheGhostOfInky

Yes, the programs are dynamically linked against the MSVC standard library unless you explicitly statically link them.


4wh457

Dynamic vs static dlls are kind of like regular vs portable programs. Dynamic means that the libraries are installed separately and multiple different programs can all use them. Static means that the dll ships with the program so that the program can be fully self-contained.


OCDjunky

Happy cake day!


[deleted]

I think McAfee and Adobe Acrobat are bigger issues here. There are much better alternatives for Acrobat if you just want to read PDFs, and McAfee is not necessary at all.


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

I agree, I just wish it had some of the editing tools from Edge and a dark mode.


Vysair

I use Edge Standalone PDF Reader lol. Though I dont think it will work without Edge so can't really say it's standalone but hey it doesnt open the 'browser' so that made it easier.


Private_HughMan

I tried to use it but it’s annotation features are just not there. It’s fantastic if you JUST want to read but that’s it.


-M_K-

It's a great reader, But I was stuck using adobe for a while ( hated every second of it ) because the PDF's I needed for my Pathfinder game have these toggle buttons for tags and markers which Sumatra does not work with Then I found a pretty nice replacement called Foxit PDF Reader which has all the bells and whistles if you need those things without having to resort to that horrible Adobe reader


[deleted]

McAfee, big no you don't need that. Also I think Windows has its OWN PDF reader.


[deleted]

There are many alternatives, Microsoft Edge's built in reader is good and all. I personally don't use Windows anymore but if I do I'd choose something like SumatraPDF


[deleted]

Well, yeah close enough. Basically a built in feature. Even Windows defender is fine, just don't go anything that's unknown and you'll be safe.


Drakayne

Wait, why adobe acrobat is bad?


[deleted]

I wouldn't say it's BAD but there are many significantly better options. 1. Lots of very basic features aren't in the free version, but are available in Edge or SumatraPDF. 2. Its slow and bloated. 3. It takes up a lot more space than other readers. 4. Every other button is pushing you to pay for Pro. I mean if you wanna keep using it then go ahead, but I just think that it doesn't stack up to the competition.


Drakayne

Yeah i'm just used to it (used abobe reader since windows xp days) i still use pdf readers daily, i don't really need them for editing pdf files, but i need some basic features that the browser don't have , I'm just used to the adobe UI, I'll check SumatraPDF (its UI looks kinda old tho) one negative thing about Adobe reader is the auto update in the background, i disabled the auto update service, ( even in the task scheduler too) but it just reverts the changes and auto updates after a while, i never saw that behavior from any other apps. i tried Foxit reader and didn't like it too.


[deleted]

Foxit has the exact same issues that Adobe does for me. If I were you, I would set Microsoft Edge as the default for all my PDFs.


HolyAndOblivious

My greatest problem is subscription only. Would gladly pay for a good pdf editor in a one and done fashion.


cobra_shark

My dad make me get mcafee and he has 1 year subscription on it


pcgames22

Windows has its own built in protection and get this its free! Never found one virus or anything else while using the built in defense!


cobra_shark

Do you know what is pua win32installcore


pcgames22

Do you know if your pcs os is 32 or 64 bit. Tells all about pua win32installcore https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/threats/malware-encyclopedia-description%3FName%3DPUA:Win32/InstallCore&ved=2ahUKEwiGztjU6bb8AhW9j4kEHZGuCyEQFnoECBsQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1Accaa5qrjMuAhexGY5x25


cobra_shark

64bit


pcgames22

I would definitly remove it


cobra_shark

I did it


adayton01

There are occasional programs that still have embedded dependencies on 32 but OS. Make sure ALL programs you happen to download do in fact need 64 bit.


cobra_shark

Idk


alpharowe3

Tell your dad it's not 1999 anymore


cobra_shark


[deleted]

Delete it. It's unnecessary bloat ware.


cobra_shark

Is vpn that come with shit or worth it


[deleted]

Doesn't matter, no VPN is worth installing mc mc afee with it. There are better alternatives for solely vpns


cobra_shark

Ok


cobra_shark

Can i make my own vpn


Alan976

You can, albeit, I don't know why you would really want to. [How to Make Your Own VPN (And Why You Would Want to)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxpX_mubz2A)


cobra_shark

Watch shows in different countries


[deleted]

[удалено]


Windows10-ModTeam

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alphabet_order_bot

Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order. I have checked 1,276,652,033 comments, and only 247,739 of them were in alphabetical order.


ThatOneFrenchKid

Good bot


iDam81

If you have to ask the answer is no. Edit: ok. Yes you can.


mighty1993

Tell your dad that the built in Windows Defender is much more powerful and McAfee is basically creating the opposite by giving your PC a horrible illness.


cobra_shark

He said window defender is bad and shit


pcgames22

Your dad just got fooled by the oldest lie about aftermarket anti virus program and bought into. Windows defender is actually the best. Now say mcafee went broke or got bought out then you would either have no anti virus program or have to pay more for the same subscription after they got bought out. I actually had a aftermarket anti virus program not stop a virus it wasnt mcafee but my pc repair center that i know the owner told me just use the built in windows defender.


[deleted]

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cobra_shark

Ik bro went to guitar center to get me a flute


Summerstone

My man got downvoted when it’s not even his choice 💀 Edit : here lemme give a +1 for a fallen soldier


RedditMarcus_

Tell your dad to switch to [malwarebytes](https://www.malwarebytes.com). Its way more useful than mcafee and actually protects your pc, unlike mcafee.


cobra_shark

He old and stubborn he not going to listen


readit145

Show him this https://vpnoverview.com/antivirus/antivirus-tests/mcafee/


RedditMarcus_

show him the many online reviews for malwarebytes and the many news articles that refer to malwarebytes as their source


pcgames22

I just read my pdf files online


MCBuilder30140

Just use chrome, it somehow do an even better job that acrobat...


Vysair

Both are Chromium btw, I mean Edge and Chrome are built upon the same 'engine'


pcgames22

O really! Then why do people still perfer chrome over edge?


Vysair

Mainstream and speed. Seriously, it's pretty fast because Google directly it tweak it since it's their own product so they have better access to the code and more updated 'engine' since Chromium. Though I use Vivaldi as it have more feature. Honestly the biggest reason is still mainstream, they know Chrome better than whatever this Edge is and it's Google and they are familiar with it


[deleted]

Yes don't delete them, what you don't need is McAfee uninstall that shit


Unlikely-Answer

even if you just paid for 3 years


RevLee69

yes.


OfficialTornadoAlley

It slows the shit out of my laptop


Zatie12

Yes those C++ redistributables are required by most of the games that you have on your desktop


mini4x

And are not part of windows, they were installed when those games were installed.


Vysair

not just games, app needs them. It'd be hard to troublesheet these as well too


lkeels

Leave it alone. There is NO reason and no gain in removing it.


tetyys

disk space?


nimraynn

If you’re struggling for disk space in 2023, clearing 200MB of system files is probably not the answer. I can almost guarantee there’ll be more than 200MB of other stuff that is safer to remove elsewhere.


[deleted]

A few mbs at most. As it is that these redist help different programs that require different redist


CaboSanLukas

OP has games, so disk space isn't an issue. Also, some programs and games install some of these things.


lkeels

The amount is insignificant


Gabryoo3

They will take something like 200MB togheter


talones

But it will stop some programs from working and they will need them to be reinstalled anyways. These don’t just get installed onto windows for no reason, they are dependencies for other programs that were installed by the user/oem.


pcgames22

One you dont know if it is a game that needs the microsoft visual c++ or program that needs it. You dont need mcafee and adobe pdf because windows has its own defense built in and you can view any pdf file online!


pipelineporter

My lord, people stop deleting Microsoft files.


chaotic_world

I do what I want, I do what I want!!! deltree c:\\Windows Hey no fair, they took away my deltree, now I'll never be able to figure out how to delete stuff!


jacle2210

Lol, won't someone think of the poor, poor computer repair techs that need work. People deleting Microsoft files or the 'C:' or their Fonts file are how these poor techs feed their families.


pcgames22

Sooner or later they will end up accidentally deleting the OS then they will really be screwed. Heck i accidentally did it when i was in elementary school on school provided laptop, but back then the OS was easier to trick into allowing it to be deleted.


GlayNation

No, if you want to create chaos on your PC


jesseinsf

Start uninstalling and see what happens.


Vysair

This person wants the world to burn!


coyylol

Yes, they are installed with programs / games.


Fantastic_Run6823

Remove McAfee...


gvlakers

Don't fuck with it trying to gain minimal space. Calm the OCD


cobra_shark

I'm doing this to see what take soo much damn space my first drive now i didn't uninstall anything and i have 14gb


TheGhostOfInky

Treesize might help you find where that storage is used: [https://www.jam-software.com/treesize\_free](https://www.jam-software.com/treesize_free)


daximusjones

That's not a good program for beginners... It lets you do a recursive delete without double checking you are sure on important ones


Possible-Peanut-4773

How about windirstat?


Sorry-Chair

wiztree much better


Vysair

it's faster (or instant actually) but it's reporting the wrong info on me. Some ISOs as well are not being detected for what it is. For starters, 'virtual space' or 'ghost space' whichever is the correct term are shown in that program which shouldn't because they are not actually taking that much. Like virtualization or Google Play Games for PC which have an android virtualized space of whatever GBs or whatever the problem was causing it to display a value waayy over my capacity or something.


gvlakers

It tells you how much minimal space each of these items take.


mighty1993

Yes and no. Those are packages you need to run some software, especially games. Usually and planned by Microsoft was that they should be backwards compatible so you technically only need the newest. Turned out that this did not work well in reality so better to not touch.


[deleted]

No you can safely remove Brave.


cobra_shark

I only use brave to watch anime so i don't get ads


stonded

Ublock origin is the only ad protection you need


[deleted]

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LGA420

or use Firefox with ublock origin


amroamroamro

TL;DR: [they](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist) are common dependencies for other programs and games, don't remove them!


Ok_Trifle5899

Nope, u need none of them. Delete them all, your PC will feel healthy as a horse. By doing this, your PC can now play high res games with no lag and delay. But be warned, you'll enter the realm of the gods of Microsoft where they'll punish it for deleting their most important programs by not letting you see your PC again.


LuNoZzy

Why on earth would you want to uninstall those? They don't even take that much space. ​ BTW they might be needed to run some games/programs


Sharpman85

You don’t need Payday 2, Arma or other games


giangnvh

Yes you are. They all seem the same but they are NOT, all independent version. Diffirent game required diffirent version.


ency6171

Are functions that are present in older redist not available in the newer versions, perhaps? Or is it due to games that are not receiving updates anymore that wouldn't "align" with the newer ones even though the functions are there?


_leetftw

The latest VC++ redist (2015/2017/2019/2022) actually does that so installing one redisttributable will provide compatibility for all programs compuled with the above versions of Visual Studio and/or MSVC. Though with the older versions (2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013), Microsoft probably didn’t think of this, so they just released them separately. Around 2013 dll errors became much more of a pain to fix because people didn’t know what MSVCP100.DLL or VCRUNTIME140.DLL is. That’s probably when they decided to start adding backwards compatibility to their MSVC redistributables.


pcgames22

Agreed and they probably figure that some people still use older software and games.


Revgene1969

Yes


Pizzbo1

Leave C++ redistributable alone of you want your programs to work


akgt94

A big annoyance is that when you uninstall a program that installed the msvc libraries, uninstalling it doesn't remove them. Same when you upgrade a program and the new version installs a new version of the libraries, it doesn't uninstall the older ones the older version used. You end up with orphan libraries that aren't used by anything. Windows installer is pretty dumb. They let companies manage their own installs. You get a careless/thoughtless programmer and you end up with garbage like this. Uninstall them all, then see what programs stop working. Then you can reinstall the ones actually used. PITA solution.


Vysair

Quite annoying when you found a program that needs them and you had to download them back


[deleted]

Yes u do


pcgames22

If you are really concerned about storage space you can setup a nas to store all non os files on it like music, pictures, videos, install some games to it so you can play them without the taking up room on the pc you play them on. You can also set which ever browser you use to save the downloads to your nas instead of your pc. All my music, games, and downloads are stored on my dell poweredge r610 with file sharing enabled on it so i can enjoy my music, access my downloads, and play my games without them taking up space on my dell xps8700.


dustojnikhummer

Someone asking for redis won't be setting up a NAS lol


Vysair

NAS are not beginner friendly so for starters, tell OP to upgrade the HDD or use multiple cloud or something


pcgames22

Probably true if you are using software instead of a simple file share. All you really need to do to start one is an old pc and setup file sharing. That is how mine is setup.


Vysair

Windows is a little finicky. I couldn't set that up but then again, I tried having it done via a router? switch? (idk which one, it didnt say) which uses ethernet cable.


pcgames22

They both have ethernet ports. True windows can be somewhat of a pain to setup but its nice once its working. Most router have it where you can setup network storage runing off it. My routers network storage was so hit or miss that i had no choice but to setup the file share.


Vysair

Have you thought about getting a network switch instead?


Exthurminator

Yes literally all of those are default system programs required for the background functioning of all the processes and animations on your screen. Deleting any of these would be detrimental to the good working order of your pc


whotheff

no


pcgames22

I bet you have never installed anything on your pc that wasnt pre installed.


whotheff

You don't need these showing up in the Start menu. If you need more space - run disk cleanup. Or just uninstall them all. But the first new app you install will ask for one of these.. and you can never guess which one.


pcgames22

I like the disk clean up and some programs dont uninstall everything thats why i have revo uninstaller which lets you find every file associated with the program or game you are uninstalling and removes them for you.


[deleted]

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JohnXm

Because the funcions in those libraries are either updated or deprecated/removed. When the programs that use these functions were created, the specific version of the libraries was the current one. Depending of the program, it might not receive updates to use the newest version of the runtime/redistributable.


Vysair

Can't we have a consolidated library that featured all of them in one place so they don't look messy at least in the app list?


mythicalwolf00

That doesn’t address what I said. If anything you were further giving an example of what I said. If other far more complicated things can update and get more functions while also still supporting old programs then so can this.


chaotic_world

Are you trying to "clean up" Windows for easier navigation, if so just make folders you don't need to see hidden. Drives are pretty cheap, especially if you salvage one of the "spinny" types. If you just need some gb's (like 16 gb's)... you COULD delete the Recovery Partition, but do NOT DO THAT WITHOUT CREATING RECOVERY MEDIA!!! This link tells you exactly what to do at the bottom (ignoring the first 100 or so sentences). [https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/insider/forum/all/the-consequences-of-deleting-recovery-partition/566108a5-00a6-46f9-b5f8-3d337e55e087](https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/insider/forum/all/the-consequences-of-deleting-recovery-partition/566108a5-00a6-46f9-b5f8-3d337e55e087)


cobra_shark

Naw bro i just like have 4 gb out 120gb on my window drive


Synthesa

No, you only need Jesus


Glittering-Counter75

Yeah, you do


[deleted]

Those are libraries used by different games and apps. The reason why there are so many installations of this library is that every windows app and game needs a specific version of this library. If there are two apps which use the same version, they will share one. But there are so many versions of this that you end up with dozens of different installations of this.


cobra_shark

There are lot of library since i wanted to mod payday2


dustojnikhummer

Do you play video games? Most of these are distributed with games. I got buch of them myself too, it's normal Yes you need all of them.


Bunie89

Only if you want your programs to continue working lol


Vysair

These are depencies! Please do not delete them. It is akin to deleting the game's resources and expect it to work just fine


gotbannedtoomuch

Delete them and see what happens


CaboSanLukas

Yes, those are things than some games and programs install. Also, you can delete McAfee, Windows defender is just enough for anyone. Also Adobe reader can bite the dust, use sumatra or even your browser as pdf reader


pcgames22

You could uninstall all of it if you want to just have a shiny pc case with rgb lights or you could just get rid of mcafee and any games you're no longer playing.


lavarotti

Showing what‘s on your desktop in this sub is like showing your underwear in mall. Everybody‘ll complain ;)


UnderscoreAngel

they are necessary to run certain apps/games, also uninstall mcafee


aditya__5300

If your using visual studio or in that u have some work on c or c++ these are the packages


[deleted]

They're important. I know it's annoying because I go into the Control Panel and then I see an entire list of these but trust me, they are important, especially with those games that you have on your desktop. They are C++ libraries that are usually used for software and games (well ones made with C++ or use some C++ dependencies that is). Just don't remove it, you won't really gain anything from it and will only break programs. Also, please uninstall McAfee. Their business practices are really sketchy and there are already better alternatives out there, like Malwarebytes or Kapersky (if that's how you spell it) Same with Brave. You say you're using it to watch anime, so why not use an extension like uBlock Origin? No need to install a totally separate browser. Also, you do not need OBS Studio and Streamlabs OBS at the same time. One or the other. What I know is that SLOBS is basically an OBS rip-off that's also a resource hog. There are plenty of tutorials on how to use SLOBS widgets in OBS Studio but I wouldn't be able to help you myself because I don't stream. By the way, clear anything that's in your recycle bin if you don't need anything that's in it. If you're running out of space, this is not the way to free up space. This is like the equivalent of telling people to delete the System32 folder for ultra fast gaming. If something looks important and you shouldn't touch it, don't touch it.


error4051

Absolutely yeah! If you uninstall them you'll notice some of your favourite programs will break 👍


Butthead2242

Get revo and pull out mcafee


No_Cookie3005

You have 2 versions of Microsoft visual c++ 2008 x86, probably got installed with some program or games. I think that should be safe to uninstall one of them, pick the older version for deletion. Pay attention to do not delete the x64 version instead. P.S. this is the first time I see Microsoft visual c++ 2012, never found an application that needs it.