# When I install new updates from Firefox, Skype, etc, can I delete the previous ones? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 22, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-install-new-updates-from-firefox-skype-etc-can-i-delete-the-previous-ones/638546 "2012-10-22T17:21:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-install-new-updates-from-firefox-skype-etc-can-i-delete-the-previous-ones/638546/1 "2012-10-22T17:21:39Z")
Just thinking about freeing up some space. ---
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-install-new-updates-from-firefox-skype-etc-can-i-delete-the-previous-ones/638546/2 "2012-10-22T17:29:40Z")
Firefox updates itself over the top of the previous version. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-install-new-updates-from-firefox-skype-etc-can-i-delete-the-previous-ones/638546/3 "2012-10-22T20:01:26Z")
So do nearly all programs that update themselves, unless you take specific steps to prevent it. When you update, you are not usually downloading a whole new version of the program anyway, just some patches. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-install-new-updates-from-firefox-skype-etc-can-i-delete-the-previous-ones/638546/4 "2012-10-22T20:11:12Z")
Oracle/Sun recommends you [delete any old versions of Java](http://www.java.com/en/download/faq/remove_olderversions.xml) before installing a new version. ---
**Author:** ![Blakeyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blakeyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blakeyrat)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-install-new-updates-from-firefox-skype-etc-can-i-delete-the-previous-ones/638546/5 "2012-10-22T20:16:05Z")
One program that doesn’t remove old updates is World of Warcraft. Other than that, I can’t think of any that don’t… You can go to the Windows “free disk space” wizard and have it empty the Temp folder. The Temp folder is where downloaded files usually end up when the update process is done, but I assume you’ve already emptied it. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-install-new-updates-from-firefox-skype-etc-can-i-delete-the-previous-ones/638546/6 "2012-10-23T08:20:10Z")
> [@ticker](#): > > Firefox updates itself over the top of the previous version. Yeah, but, for some reason, you get multiple uninstall entries, at least, in the last few versions. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-install-new-updates-from-firefox-skype-etc-can-i-delete-the-previous-ones/638546/7 "2012-10-23T08:51:23Z")
Even if you removed Firefox completely, it isn’t really big enough that a recent hard drive would have any meaningful amount of space cleared up. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-install-new-updates-from-firefox-skype-etc-can-i-delete-the-previous-ones/638546/8 "2012-10-23T11:33:25Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > So do nearly all programs that update themselves, unless you take specific steps to prevent it. When you update, you are not usually downloading a whole new version of the program anyway, just some patches. Except for iTunes, though that does uninstall older versions. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-i-install-new-updates-from-firefox-skype-etc-can-i-delete-the-previous-ones/638546/9 "2012-10-23T12:33:49Z")
I assume the OP is talking about all the saved exes that performed the updates. They of course can be deleted as soon as you have run them.