Temp Files

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general,microsoft.public.windowsxp.perform_maintain (More info?)

Hi,

In a bid to reclaim space on my hard drive I deleted the contents of my
/WINDOWS/TEMP directory. I set a system restore point before I did this
just in case there were any problems. I gained about 2GB of space by doing
this, and I was surprised because when I checked the size of the folder via
the "properties" menu item (proir to deleting it), it said that the folder
only contained 164MB of data.

So far so good though, I have had no problems. I have also noticed that in
the C:/Document and Settings/USER/Local Settings/Temp directories, there
also seems to be a lot of clutter which I would like to get rid of. Does
anyone know if what I have already done (deleting the contents of the "TEMP"
folder in C:/WINDOWS), and what I propose to do is likely cause my computer
any problems? Are these files needed for some purpose? I have been led to
believe that these files are the remnants of installations etc that have
been left on my drive and are not needed.

Any help much appreciated, thanks.

-------
Regards,
Anthony
-------
Visit my homepage:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/anthony.ewers/index.htm

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general,microsoft.public.windowsxp.perform_maintain (More info?)

Anthony Ewers wrote:
> Hi,
>
> In a bid to reclaim space on my hard drive I deleted the contents of my
> /WINDOWS/TEMP directory. I set a system restore point before I did this
> just in case there were any problems. I gained about 2GB of space by doing
> this, and I was surprised because when I checked the size of the folder via
> the "properties" menu item (proir to deleting it), it said that the folder
> only contained 164MB of data.
>
> So far so good though, I have had no problems. I have also noticed that in
> the C:/Document and Settings/USER/Local Settings/Temp directories, there
> also seems to be a lot of clutter which I would like to get rid of. Does
> anyone know if what I have already done (deleting the contents of the "TEMP"
> folder in C:/WINDOWS), and what I propose to do is likely cause my computer
> any problems? Are these files needed for some purpose? I have been led to
> believe that these files are the remnants of installations etc that have
> been left on my drive and are not needed.

Your understanding is correct. The safest way to delete the contents of
your temp directories is to reboot the PC and then delete the contents
before doing anything else.
--
Tom Porterfield
MS-MVP Windows
http://support.telop.org

Please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup only.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general,microsoft.public.windowsxp.perform_maintain (More info?)

In news:LFwDe.6293$je1.3905@newsfe7-win.ntli.net,
Anthony Ewers <anthony.ewers@ntlworld.com> typed:

> In a bid to reclaim space on my hard drive I deleted the
> contents of
> my /WINDOWS/TEMP directory. I set a system restore point
> before I
> did this just in case there were any problems. I gained about
> 2GB of
> space by doing this, and I was surprised because when I checked
> the
> size of the folder via the "properties" menu item (proir to
> deleting
> it), it said that the folder only contained 164MB of data.
>
> So far so good though, I have had no problems. I have also
> noticed
> that in the C:/Document and Settings/USER/Local Settings/Temp
> directories, there also seems to be a lot of clutter which I
> would
> like to get rid of. Does anyone know if what I have already
> done
> (deleting the contents of the "TEMP" folder in C:/WINDOWS), and
> what
> I propose to do is likely cause my computer any problems? Are
> these
> files needed for some purpose? I have been led to believe that
> these
> files are the remnants of installations etc that have been left
> on my
> drive and are not needed.


Yes, tyemo files 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
next time.


--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general,microsoft.public.windowsxp.perform_maintain (More info?)

In article <Oy3crnVjFHA.3436@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl>, Tom Porterfield
<tpporter@mvps.org> wrote:
>Anthony Ewers wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> In a bid to reclaim space on my hard drive I deleted the contents of my
>> /WINDOWS/TEMP directory. I set a system restore point before I did this
>> just in case there were any problems. I gained about 2GB of space by doing
>> this, and I was surprised because when I checked the size of the folder via
>> the "properties" menu item (proir to deleting it), it said that the folder
>> only contained 164MB of data.
>>
>> So far so good though, I have had no problems. I have also noticed that in
>> the C:/Document and Settings/USER/Local Settings/Temp directories, there
>> also seems to be a lot of clutter which I would like to get rid of. Does
>> anyone know if what I have already done (deleting the contents of the "TEMP"
>> folder in C:/WINDOWS), and what I propose to do is likely cause my computer
>> any problems? Are these files needed for some purpose? I have been led to
>> believe that these files are the remnants of installations etc that have
>> been left on my drive and are not needed.
>
>Your understanding is correct. The safest way to delete the contents of
>your temp directories is to reboot the PC and then delete the contents
>before doing anything else.

I agree, Tom. I routinely empty the temp directories (and delete
temporary Internet files) before running virus and spyware scans.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general,microsoft.public.windowsxp.perform_maintain (More info?)

"Anthony Ewers" <anthony.ewers@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:LFwDe.6293$je1.3905@newsfe7-win.ntli.net...
> Hi,
>
> In a bid to reclaim space on my hard drive I deleted the contents of my
> /WINDOWS/TEMP directory. I set a system restore point before I did this
> just in case there were any problems. I gained about 2GB of space by
> doing this, and I was surprised because when I checked the size of the
> folder via the "properties" menu item (proir to deleting it), it said that
> the folder only contained 164MB of data.
>
> So far so good though, I have had no problems. I have also noticed that
> in the C:/Document and Settings/USER/Local Settings/Temp directories,
> there also seems to be a lot of clutter which I would like to get rid of.
> Does anyone know if what I have already done (deleting the contents of the
> "TEMP" folder in C:/WINDOWS), and what I propose to do is likely cause my
> computer any problems? Are these files needed for some purpose? I have
> been led to believe that these files are the remnants of installations etc
> that have been left on my drive and are not needed.
>
> Any help much appreciated, thanks.
>
> -------
> Regards,
> Anthony
> -------


As usual there are utilities that can help with these kinds of things, have
a look through the freeware and shareware sites. download.com showed
4Diskclean high on its list after a search and it is freeware

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general,microsoft.public.windowsxp.perform_maintain (More info?)

Hi all,

Tom, Steve, Ken, & Alan thanks so much for your advice. I gained about
250MB from cleaning out those directories. Looking around the Windows
folder and through the documents and settings folders, there seems to be an
awful lot of stuff there too. Anyone recommend any reliable utilities,
books or strategies for purging unneeded items, or is all this stuff there
for a reason?

Regards,
Anthony.

"Ken Blake" <kblake@this.is.an.invalid.domain> wrote in message
news:%23i5CpPWjFHA.3316@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> In news:LFwDe.6293$je1.3905@newsfe7-win.ntli.net,
> Anthony Ewers <anthony.ewers@ntlworld.com> typed:
>
>> In a bid to reclaim space on my hard drive I deleted the contents of
>> my /WINDOWS/TEMP directory. I set a system restore point before I
>> did this just in case there were any problems. I gained about 2GB of
>> space by doing this, and I was surprised because when I checked the
>> size of the folder via the "properties" menu item (proir to deleting
>> it), it said that the folder only contained 164MB of data.
>>
>> So far so good though, I have had no problems. I have also noticed
>> that in the C:/Document and Settings/USER/Local Settings/Temp
>> directories, there also seems to be a lot of clutter which I would
>> like to get rid of. Does anyone know if what I have already done
>> (deleting the contents of the "TEMP" folder in C:/WINDOWS), and what
>> I propose to do is likely cause my computer any problems? Are these
>> files needed for some purpose? I have been led to believe that these
>> files are the remnants of installations etc that have been left on my
>> drive and are not needed.
>
>
> Yes, tyemo files 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
> next time.
>
>
> --
> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
> Please reply to the newsgroup
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general,microsoft.public.windowsxp.perform_maintain (More info?)

In news:avIDe.6763$je1.4887@newsfe7-win.ntli.net,
Anthony Ewers <anthony.ewers@ntlworld.com> typed:

> Tom, Steve, Ken, & Alan thanks so much for your advice.


You're welcome. Glad to help.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup


> I gained
> about 250MB from cleaning out those directories. Looking
> around the
> Windows folder and through the documents and settings folders,
> there
> seems to be an awful lot of stuff there too. Anyone recommend
> any
> reliable utilities, books or strategies for purging unneeded
> items,
> or is all this stuff there for a reason?
>
> Regards,
> Anthony.
>
> "Ken Blake" <kblake@this.is.an.invalid.domain> wrote in message
> news:%23i5CpPWjFHA.3316@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
>> In news:LFwDe.6293$je1.3905@newsfe7-win.ntli.net,
>> Anthony Ewers <anthony.ewers@ntlworld.com> typed:
>>
>>> In a bid to reclaim space on my hard drive I deleted the
>>> contents of
>>> my /WINDOWS/TEMP directory. I set a system restore point
>>> before I
>>> did this just in case there were any problems. I gained
>>> about 2GB
>>> of space by doing this, and I was surprised because when I
>>> checked
>>> the size of the folder via the "properties" menu item (proir
>>> to
>>> deleting it), it said that the folder only contained 164MB of
>>> data.
>>>
>>> So far so good though, I have had no problems. I have also
>>> noticed
>>> that in the C:/Document and Settings/USER/Local Settings/Temp
>>> directories, there also seems to be a lot of clutter which I
>>> would
>>> like to get rid of. Does anyone know if what I have already
>>> done
>>> (deleting the contents of the "TEMP" folder in C:/WINDOWS),
>>> and what
>>> I propose to do is likely cause my computer any problems?
>>> Are these
>>> files needed for some purpose? I have been led to believe
>>> that
>>> these files are the remnants of installations etc that have
>>> been
>>> left on my drive and are not needed.
>>
>>
>> Yes, tyemo files 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 next time.
>>
>>
>> --
>> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
>> Please reply to the newsgroup

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general,microsoft.public.windowsxp.perform_maintain (More info?)

I use "dclean.exe". Works fine for me. Don't remember where I got it, but
it's certainly easy to find thru Google.

--


______________________________
Daniel Royer, University of Geneva
daniel at royer dot ch


"Anthony Ewers" <anthony.ewers@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:avIDe.6763$je1.4887@newsfe7-win.ntli.net...
> Hi all,
>
> Tom, Steve, Ken, & Alan thanks so much for your advice. I gained about
> 250MB from cleaning out those directories. Looking around the Windows
> folder and through the documents and settings folders, there seems to be
> an awful lot of stuff there too. Anyone recommend any reliable utilities,
> books or strategies for purging unneeded items, or is all this stuff there
> for a reason?
>
> Regards,
> Anthony.
>
> "Ken Blake" <kblake@this.is.an.invalid.domain> wrote in message
> news:%23i5CpPWjFHA.3316@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
>> In news:LFwDe.6293$je1.3905@newsfe7-win.ntli.net,
>> Anthony Ewers <anthony.ewers@ntlworld.com> typed:
>>
>>> In a bid to reclaim space on my hard drive I deleted the contents of
>>> my /WINDOWS/TEMP directory. I set a system restore point before I
>>> did this just in case there were any problems. I gained about 2GB of
>>> space by doing this, and I was surprised because when I checked the
>>> size of the folder via the "properties" menu item (proir to deleting
>>> it), it said that the folder only contained 164MB of data.
>>>
>>> So far so good though, I have had no problems. I have also noticed
>>> that in the C:/Document and Settings/USER/Local Settings/Temp
>>> directories, there also seems to be a lot of clutter which I would
>>> like to get rid of. Does anyone know if what I have already done
>>> (deleting the contents of the "TEMP" folder in C:/WINDOWS), and what
>>> I propose to do is likely cause my computer any problems? Are these
>>> files needed for some purpose? I have been led to believe that these
>>> files are the remnants of installations etc that have been left on my
>>> drive and are not needed.
>>
>>
>> Yes, tyemo files 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
>> next time.
>>
>>
>> --
>> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
>> Please reply to the newsgroup
>>
>>
>
>
>