Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (
More info?)
In news:u3nErmfkFHA.2152@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl,
ColTom2 <noemailaddress@none.com> typed:
> Is it safe to delete all the Windows\Temp files and if so,
> what are
> the advantages/disadvantages of doing so?
Yes, they can, and should be, deleted periodically. The temp
folder provides workspace for programs. Programs can create
temporary files there for their own temporary use. Each program
should delete all its temporary files when it closes, but for
various reasons it doesn't always happen (for example, if the
program crashes, it never gets to do this). That's why it's a
good idea to periodically clean out anything left there.
Also note that there are some program installations which work in
two steps. The first step concludes by writing temporary files
and rebooting. The second step starts automatically after
rebooting and needs to find those files there (and then deletes
them when it's done).
Other than doing it automatically when rebooting (that would
interfere with installations like the kind I described), it's
always safe to delete the contents of the temp folder. Because
it's safe to delete any temp files that aren't open and in use by
an application, and since Windows won't let you delete open
files, it's safe to (try to) delete them at any time. If any fail
to delete because they're open, they'll either be deleted
automatically when the app using them closes, or you'll get them
the next time you delete manually.
--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
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