Where do LiveUpdate-type programs store downloaded files before installation?

September 13, 2005 9:07 PM

When downloading program updates through LiveUpdate-type programs, where are the downloaded files stored before installation?

Like, running Windows Update on a new installation of XP takes a ridiculous amount of time on my crappy connection. There is no reason I should have to re-download the updates every time I install the damn OS; I should be able to just download them once and put them on removable media, then download whatever I don't already have.

But Windows Update isn't in question here; I just used it as an example, though a solution for that problem would be appreciated.

My main problem is this: I am using BVRP Mobile PhoneTools and it took me all evening to download the damn updates for it. At this moment it is waiting for me to proceed with installation of said updates, but obviously they are now stored somewhere on my computer and I would like to try to back them up before they get auto-deleted after installation. This way in the future I don't have to waste another entire evening waiting for downloads to make this program usable.

So where on my computer can I find the updates I downloaded? I checked C:\Temp and C:\Windows\Temp but didn't find anything. I don't know the names of any of the downloaded files so I can't search for them.

Thanks

posted by Ziggy Zaga to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

there are free utilities that can probably list all open files. I haven't used Windows for years, but I think there's one called filemon. By SysInternals, maybe?
posted by NucleophilicAttack at 9:18 PM on September 13, 2005

Best answer: Chances are that since you're on XP the files are in c:\Documents and Settings\YourLoginName\Local Settings\Temp. They may have some cryptic names that make it hard to identify, though.
posted by Dipsomaniac at 10:09 PM on September 13, 2005

Try using the inbuilt XP file search to search for files modified today. Just leave the filename box blank. Anything that turns up in a folder with "temp" somewhere in the path name is a likely candidate.
posted by flabdablet at 10:36 PM on September 13, 2005

Best answer: A tool like SysInternals Process Explorer will let you see what files the update program has open. The filemon utility would work too, but its output can be overwhelming.
posted by yarmond at 9:48 AM on September 14, 2005

Response by poster: Well, I tried Dipsomaniac's advice but couldn't find the files in the folder he suggested.

flabdablet's suggestion generated more results than I cared to sort through.

So I downloaded Process Explorer as per yarmond's suggestion and discovered that the files were stored in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\...

So Dipsomaniac was close ;)

Thanks for your help.
posted by Ziggy Zaga at 11:48 AM on September 14, 2005