Can I delete the unzipped driver files after I've installed the new drivers?

[Elliah]

i've been updating the drivers on my dell inspiron 1420 and the driver files i download from dell.com are unzipped to a folder on my C: drive in a dell/driver folder...i was wondering if it was safe to delete them?

 

[Route44]

If you installed them you can delete but it wouldn't hurt to have them tucked away if you ever need to reformat.

 

[Daproblemis]

totally correct.

 

[captaincranky]

I'm sort of a pack rat, and I save the .exe installer files on my second hard drive always, as well as in "My Documents".

 

[mailpup]

I save mine but on CDs or DVDs. Not better or worse, just my preference.

 

[gbhall]

my first instinct was say delete 'em if you want to, you can always download again if every needed (and maybe an improved one too), but then.....

There might be a limited time span (a few years) after which they just disappear....

Then again, there are many sites such as DriverGuide.com which specialise in archiving old, old drivers.

So what do I do? I have an entire partition called 'setups' in which I keep the original downloaded .zip or .exe. I rename it to be sure exactly what it is though, most driver zips are totally cryptic.