Okay, a question about SP2
I've eventually installed it on my laptop, only to find that my OS partition
is almost full now. I have found at least 3 places where XP has "stored"
the SP2 files. At over 500mb a piece it wastes a load of space. I also found
what looks like backups of the old SP1a files, 2 of those at about 380mb each

The problem is that I find no option to delete the "back out" files like you
used to get in the good old days and 3 copies????

I have ghosted W2K back onto the laptop again.... smaller footprint.
if you don’t know the location of all these files I can reinstall on the
weekend and let you know. Just look for the largest files on the system
A few I can recall, one is in the usual $ntuninstallxxxxx type files on C root
this will be the "back out" old systems files.... these I don't mind.
another is here:
C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download
and here:
C:\WINDOWS\Service Packs\

I can get the rest of the places I found later, but HELP !!!!
What were these guys thinking???
I know HDD's are cheap these days but on a old laptop they're not
and they’re not that big to begin with.

I can go ahead and delete all the copies but that is a bit rash.
I would prefer a "legal" way of doing it so that the system is aware of what
has happened.

Look in your Windows directory under "ServicePackFiles\i386" (ie., c:\Windows\ServicePackFiles\i386\)

is there no official / sanctioned way of deleting these things?

I have used this on my machine to free up space and it works fine ,just remember you are in your registry ,so take the appropriate precautions.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;271484
You should not need the SerPack 1 files ,so back them up to some media and delete them.Your machine will not refer to them after you load ser pack 2 anyway.

Thank you Liquidlen.
Well I guess the solution is not to install SP2 from the "auto update"
web site, then the servicepack folder will not be created. that will
save almost 800mb
thanks again

Mudshark;
Windows full serpaks have always placed those files on your drive , no matter how you load the serpak. They are there to be used if your system files become corrupted etc. and need to be replaced .System Restore will automatically look for them.
If you don't have any room for them on your OS drive you can put them on any other drive .If you are comfortable place them on some media, you may never need them.

But this is what it says right there in the link that you gave me:

"If the Service Pack is installed by means of a CD-ROM or a distribution share, the ServicePackFiles directory is not created. The ServicePackSourcePath value in the registry is set to the installation sourcepath. "

So if I order the CD or download the whole SP2 and burn it onto one and
install it from there, the problem should be solved.
Plus this way I save on the fact that it will not keep a "copy" of the
downloaded service pack either.

I never saw that before .I downloaded and installed from the CD I burned a couple of years
ago and still got the SerPak files.Perhaps I missed something,wouldn't be the first time.
The point is that there is a way to deal with the files, which is what you originally wanted.

Right.... thanks.

Here is a link to the M$ support site that explains how to get rid of, or move
The Service pack install files from your sytem provided by a friend over at
Mods4me, another cool BB.

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=290402

This is more for W2K but the same rules apply to XP.