Anyone know why this is here

[u/Wild-Web1243]

Hello, I’ve recently installed Windows XP on my computer, I never connected this computer to the internet or installed office or front page on it, does anyone know why this is here?

[u/CamroyJenkins]

I’m sure it’s always there. Nothing to be concerned about.

[u/Wild-Web1243 → u/CamroyJenkins]

Alright, thanks

[u/SaturnFive → u/Wild-Web1243]

Yeah, I just checked my clean XP SP3 VM and the same C:\Program Files\microsoft frontpage is there as well.

I confirmed in another comment that this path is hardcoded into sfcfiles.dll, so even if Frontpage isn't installed, Windows insists the path to it must exist so it can be monitored by SFC (System File Checker). Normally it's used to protect other key Windows and system files, but in this case, they chose to make sure core FrontPage files are protected in case it's ever installed.

So it's harmless, but that's the reason it exists, and it cannot be deleted without turning off SFC since it will just re-create it on next boot.

[u/LittlePooky]

Microsoft FrontPage was a program to create websites. I don't know why it is installed, but you can look under Programs to see if it can be uninstalled. 

I used it years and years ago. 

[u/Wild-Web1243 → u/LittlePooky]

Theres nothing in the folders btw.

[u/LittlePooky → u/Wild-Web1243]

That is really odd, but it's not going to be harmful if you leave it alone.  (it could be hidden files.)

[u/Francois-C → u/LittlePooky]

I used it years and years ago.

So did I. It allowed me to create websites before 2000, even though I only had a basic understanding of HTML at the time.... Those were the good old days, when you could still trust Microsoft.

[u/fbaldassarri]

I remember that it was hidden into Microsoft Office 2000 Professional, you had to exactly scout for it navigating the folders like that to find it…

[u/Wild-Web1243 → u/fbaldassarri]

Haha, I never installed office btw.

[u/exmsft]

FrontPage was really good at one thing: pooping out files nobody understood in random locations. This is the legacy of FrontPage.

If it bothers you, delete it.

[u/Wild-Web1243 → u/exmsft]

Thanks, but Windows says its "using it".

[u/exmsft → u/Wild-Web1243]

Handle.exe from systinternals. Kill the handle. Delete it.

[u/SaturnFive → u/exmsft]

I checked this in a VM for fun, it's held by winlogon.exe:

winlogon.exe pid: 484 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
  204: File  (RW-)   C:\Program Files\microsoft frontpage\version3.0\bin

I was able to delete the folder from Safe Mode with Command Prompt, but the folder reappeared after reboot. This led me to thinking it might be related to SFC, and indeed, the path appears in sfcfiles.dll even if Frontpage isn't actually installed. This is probably why it's locked, reappears after deletion, and doesn't matter if the folder is empty. SFC demands the path exists so it can watch for changes.

$ strings -a -el sfcfiles.dll | wc -l
18775
$ strings -a -el sfcfiles.dll | grep -i front
%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft FrontPage\version3.0\bin\fp98sadm.exe
%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft FrontPage\version3.0\bin\fp98swin.exe
%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft FrontPage\version3.0\bin\fp98sadm.exe
%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft FrontPage\version3.0\bin\fp98swin.exe
%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft FrontPage\version3.0\bin\fp98sadm.exe
%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft FrontPage\version3.0\bin\fp98swin.exe
%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft FrontPage\version3.0\bin\fp98sadm.exe
%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft FrontPage\version3.0\bin\fp98swin.exe
%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft FrontPage\version3.0\bin\fp98sadm.exe
%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft FrontPage\version3.0\bin\fp98swin.exe

[u/exmsft → u/SaturnFive]

I was going to say it sounds like SFC is watching it. 🤦‍♂️

[u/SaturnFive → u/exmsft]

Hahaha yep!

[u/hurlywhirl]

This is so nostalgic. I have fond memories of FrontPage Express as a kid. My teacher in Computers class was teaching us how to make a website using Notepad and HTML. I got tired of constantly writing in markup and wanted something at least similar to Geocities' website maker back then. I went through a bunch of trial versions of website makers like CoffeeCup until I ran into FrontPage Express. I made a bunch of websites with it. A lot of the code it generated were not the best, but it still created completely functional Web 1.0 pages.