KB950683: VCRedist from VC++ 2008 installs temporary files in system root directory

Question

 

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Link to Original Article from Microsoft Support
VCRedist from VC++ 2008 installs temporary files in system root directory

Action

Installing the Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package (VCRedist_x86.exe, VCRedist_x64.exe, VCRedist_ia64.exe) for Visual Studio 2008 RTM.

Result

Following files are generated on the system root directory:

install.exe
install.res.1028.dll
install.res.1031.dll
install.res.1033.dll
install.res.1036.dll
install.res.1040.dll
install.res.1041.dll
install.res.1042.dll
install.res.2052.dll
install.res.3082.dll
vcredist.bmp
globdata.ini
install.ini
eula.1028.txt
eula.1031.txt
eula.1033.txt
eula.1036.txt
eula.1040.txt
eula.1041.txt
eula.1042.txt
eula.2052.txt
eula.3082.txt
vc_redist.msi
vc_redist.cab

 

Answer 1

Cause

These temporary files are erroneously generated by the installer into the system root directory instead of the temp directory.

Resolution

These files are unnecessary and can be safely deleted from the system. The functioning of the runtime library will not be affected by this.
It’s a known bug and is planned to be fixed in VS2008 SP1.

More Information

Redistributing Visual C++ Files (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms235299.aspx)
Please visit the Visual Studio home page on MSDN (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/default.aspx) for the latest updates

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