I run XP Pro, Service Pack 2, all critical patches up-to-date. My
\Documents and Settings\<User Name>\Local Settings\Temp
has over
2600 FILES in 302 DIRECTORIES, totaling 1.4 GIGABYTES.

Those are whopping numbers for a supposed temporary directory, aren't
they?

What if I just completely zapped the whole Temp directory content,
subdirs and all?

There was one discussion last year on how to clean/purge
\Documents and Settings\<User Name>\Local Settings\Temp
but unfortunatly, on further search it turns out that some people
completely messed up their system with this purge, to the point of not
being able to restart.

Someone in the original thread recommended
http://www.ccleaner.com/
but I have a problem handing a critical purging function to a third
party executable blackbox.

Would anyone out there have any further advice, info or recommendations
with regard to the SAFETY OF PURGING
C:\Documents and Settings\<User Name>\Local Settings\Temp"

Thanks,
Wolfgang,
S.B.

> 2600 FILES in 302 DIRECTORIES, totaling 1.4 GIGABYTES.

Uff da!!!

Yes, you can delete files in TEMP folders. If you are unsure, reboot and
check the folder(s) again. XP will not let you delete a file that is in
use. Also if you just installed software you should reboot. Then check the
folder(s) again. Some programs require these files after a reboot. It is
good practice to always reboot after installing any software.

This will open...
C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name Here\Local Settings\Temp
Start | Run | Type: %tmp% | Click OK |
Click in the right hand pane | Ctrl + A to select All |
This will send the files to the Recycle Bin...
Right click and select Delete or hit your Delete key

This will open...
C:\WINDOWS\Temp
Start | Run | Type: temp | Click OK |

This will bypass the Recycle Bin...
Shift + Delete keys

If a file ends with .TMP they are OK to delete.

TMP means temporary.

You can't hurt anything deleting tmp files, unless you just installed some
new program.

Most well mannered programs will delete tmp files when you reboot.

Yes, you can delete files in TEMP folders.

If you are unsure, reboot and check the folder(s) again.

XP will not let you delete a file that is in use. And will let you know
about it with a popup message.

If you try to select and delete all the tmp files in a folder and if any of
them are in use, you'll get an error message. Try to delete a few at a time
to avoid the error message. But, try to delete them all first.

If you're using ZoneAlarm, ZA has at least one tmp file that is almost
always in use.

Also if you just installed software you should reboot. Then check the
folder(s) again. Some programs require these files after a reboot. It is
good practice to always reboot after installing any software.

%windir%\Temp
or
C:\WINDOWS\Temp

%userprofile%\Local Settings\Temp
or
C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name Here\Local Settings\Temp

%userprofile%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files
or
C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name Here\Local Settings\Temporary Internet
Files

To delete *all* of your Temporary Internet Files...

1) Start | Run | Type: inetcpl.cpl | Click OK
Or right click the Internet Explorer icon on your Desktop
Or Start | Settings | Control Panel | Internet Options
Best to do this with all instances of Internet Explorer closed. Especially
if there are a large number of files. Also close OE.
2) On the General Tab, in the middle of the screen, click on Delete Files
3) Check the box: Delete all offline content {This cleans >>
%userprofile%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files
AND
%userprofile%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5
and \Content.MSO (Created by an MS Office program)}
4) Click on OK and wait for the hourglass icon to stop after it deletes the
temporary internet files
5) You can now click on Delete Cookies and click OK to delete cookies that
websites have placed on your hard drive.
6) You can also click on the Clear History button to empty your History
folder.

If you want, try this: Open IE | Tools | Internet Options | Advanced tab |
scroll down to the bottom | check: Empty Temporary Internet Files folder
when browser is closed | Click Apply | Click OK. Entirely up to you, but if
you
want to be rid of this, it is done automatically. Deletes the content of
%userprofile%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet
Files but not the Content.IE5 or Content.MSO folders.

Also: Start IE | Tools | Internet Options | General tab | Days to keep
pages in history: 0 | Click Apply | Click OK

Outlook Express, Internet Explorer, Help and Support and other applications
place files in Temporary Internet Files.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In news:(E-Mail Removed),
(E-Mail Removed) <(E-Mail Removed)> hunted and pecked:
> I run XP Pro, Service Pack 2, all critical patches up-to-date. My
> \Documents and Settings\<User Name>\Local Settings\Temp
> has over
> 2600 FILES in 302 DIRECTORIES, totaling 1.4 GIGABYTES.
>
> Those are whopping numbers for a supposed temporary directory, aren't
> they?
>
> What if I just completely zapped the whole Temp directory content,
> subdirs and all?
>
> There was one discussion last year on how to clean/purge
> \Documents and Settings\<User Name>\Local Settings\Temp
> but unfortunatly, on further search it turns out that some people
> completely messed up their system with this purge, to the point of not
> being able to restart.
>
> Someone in the original thread recommended
> http://www.ccleaner.com/
> but I have a problem handing a critical purging function to a third
> party executable blackbox.
>
> Would anyone out there have any further advice, info or recommendations
> with regard to the SAFETY OF PURGING
> C:\Documents and Settings\<User Name>\Local Settings\Temp"
>
> Thanks,
> Wolfgang,
> S.B.

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> I run XP Pro, Service Pack 2, all critical patches up-to-date. My
> \Documents and Settings\<User Name>\Local Settings\Temp
> has over
> 2600 FILES in 302 DIRECTORIES, totaling 1.4 GIGABYTES.
>
> Those are whopping numbers for a supposed temporary directory, aren't
> they?

Indeed.

> What if I just completely zapped the whole Temp directory content,
> subdirs and all?

Knock yourself out, you'll be glad to have that 1.4GB (!!!) back. I clear out temp files and stuff from dozens of places.

> There was one discussion last year on how to clean/purge
> \Documents and Settings\<User Name>\Local Settings\Temp
> but unfortunatly, on further search it turns out that some people
> completely messed up their system with this purge, to the point of not
> being able to restart.

That's certainly possible. The only time it's not safe to delete temp files is when you are in the middle installing software,
Windows updates, or any such process that puts them there. When something prompts you to reboot to complete, you should; in fact
sometimes you might want to reboot once more after that to make sure the process is complete and temp files are no longer being
used.

Properly written software SHOULD clean up after itself when it's done with them, including deleting temp files. Unfortunately a lot
of software is written by sloppy programmers who do not clean up after themselves, so junk like that can pile up. As long as you're
not in the middle of some process where temp files are needed, then go ahead and kill it, you'll feel great as you do.

> Someone in the original thread recommended
> http://www.ccleaner.com/
> but I have a problem handing a critical purging function to a third
> party executable blackbox.

I use a batch file system I wrote myself. I add new files/folders to it as I find them.

> Would anyone out there have any further advice, info or recommendations
> with regard to the SAFETY OF PURGING
> C:\Documents and Settings\<User Name>\Local Settings\Temp"

It's called "TEMP" for a reason.


HTH

--
Alec S.
news/alec->synetech/cjb/net