Unwanted MSI.tmp folders

[riprap1951]

Hello, All
(I've searched past posts but haven't seen a situation quite like
this...) I'm running WinXP Pro SP1, w/ OfficeXP, and here's the deal:
Every time I use the machine, for some unknown reason, there are
unwanted, unsolicited folders being created that are EMPTY, and follow
the naming format "MSI#####.tmp", where each "#" represents a letter or
a numeral, and these empty folders are always listed with a ".tmp"
extension. (YES--they're folders, but they've got an extension.) BUT I
am NOT receiving any sort of error msg with relation to Windows
Installer, which seems to be working fine...also, I use Word, Excel,
and Access on a regular basis and I am not getting any sort of attempt
from OfficeXP to install anything when I open up those apps. They're
working just fine. All that's happening is that I keep getting these
stupid empty folders piling up, and I've tried creating logoff batch
files to delete them, but evidently WinXP is confused (as am I) by the
fact that I'm trying to delete folders that are listed with filetype
extensions, because I'm having no luck there, either.
Anybody familiar with this hassle? Any ideas?
Thanks much for your time & attention to detail [)

terry.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Description of how Word creates temporary files
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;211632


--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[terry b.]

Hello, Wesley!
Thanks for taking the time to reply....I read & tried to follow the
article whose link you offered, but somehow the symptoms they listed
didn't quite mesh.
I did, however, take the steps listed in another MSoft KB article on
MSI problems. These were:
1. Empty "%systemdrive%\temp" folder.
2. Empty "%systemdrive%\%windir%\temp" folder.
3. Empty "%systemdrive%\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local
Settings\Temp".
I'm going to keep a close eye on it, and also check the event viewer
and look for clues there. THANKS AGAIN for your time & effort [)

terry.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

terry,

You can use the Disk Cleanup Tool to clean out temp folders.

Description of the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310312

How to Automate the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315246

But I use Disk Cleaner.

I have Disk Cleaner set to run quiet at startup. Runs for 5 seconds or so
and exits. I also like the fact that, after you set it up, it cleans all
the following with one click (and/or automatically at boot). Makes XP's
Disk Cleanup look like a piker. XP's Disk Cleanup will *not* clean
Content.IE5.

Disk Cleaner will Clean:
Temporary Internet Files {Including the contents of the Content.IE5 folder}
Internet Cookies
Internet History
System Temporary Folder {%windir%\temp & %homepath%\temp)
Recent Documents
Run... Dialog List
Find Document List
Find Computer List
URLs in IE Address Bar
URLs in Shell Address Bar
Media Player Recent URLs
WinZip Recent Files
WinZip Extract To Folders
Paint Recent Files
WordPad Recent Files
Cleans Recycle Bin (what else?)
Opera Cache
Opera Cookies
Opera History
Opera Visited links
Opera Download History and Download folder
Firefox Cache
Firefox Cookies
Firefox History
+ more

Disk Cleaner
http://www.robertenfemke.nl/~diskclean/

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[terry b.]

Hello, Wesley!
A very nifty app, your "Disk Cleaner." I downloaded it, installed,
and gave it a whirl. Works just as advertised (reminds me of the
"BeClean" program), except that it doesn't touch the .tmp folders that
happen to be hanging around on my data partition. After running Disk
Cleaner I went & looked at my D:\ drive (I've got my operating sys on a
different partition), and there are 2 folders there, untouched by
Cleaner. One of them is named "MSIc5f81.tmp", and the other one's got a
similar name. These are exactly the sort of empty folders that keep
showing up, and they seem impervious to batch files that I've created
with commands such as "rmdir /q /s D:\*tmp".
Guess I'll just keep on deleting them manually...
But thanks again for the link to the application [:=))

terry b.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

terry,

See this...
How to create Disk Cleaner .dct plug-ins
http://www.xs4all.nl/~mp2004/plughowto.txt

You can also modify the existing .dct plug-ins. I modified one yesterday.
I added the last line to zonealarm.dct here...

-----------
[Info]
Title=Zone Alarm Log File
Description=Erase Zone Alarm's Log File

[files]
%windir%\Internet Logs\ZALog*.txt
%windir%\Internet Logs\*.txt
-----------

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[terry b.]

Hello, Wesley!
I'm guessing that Disk Cleaner 'automatically' runs every .dct file
in the "plug-ins" folder every time you run the app? 'Cause I've looked
and looked, and find nothing about how to run individual plug-ins....At
any rate, I read the instructions and created a file/plug-in called
"msitmp_delete.dct", placed it in the plug-ins folder, and ran the
program. No effect.
Here's the body of the plug-in:
*******************************
[info]
Title=Delete MSI .tmp folders
Description=A plugin designed to delete unwanted .tmp folders that keep
showing up

[files]
D:\MSI*.tmp /si
*******************************
I'm still thinking that the basic problem is that Disk Cleaner (and
the batch file I made) is looking for a FILE to delete (because of the
..tmp extension), whereas these objects on my data drive are FOLDERS
which for some strange reason persist in carrying ".tmp"
extensions.....

Thanks for trying, though!

terry.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Hi Terry,

If there is a .dct file in the plug-ins folder, you'll see a listing in the
Select items to clean pane of Disk Cleaner. All of the plug-ins run when
you start Disk Cleaner, you can see that by the (xxx kB: xx items) in the
listing. Unless Hide entries when empty is selected in Global Options. By
run, I mean that they've looked to see if there is anything that needs to be
cleaned.

For a plug-in to actually run and clean something, it has to be selected
(the box has to be checked) in the Select items to clean pane. To run just
one plug-in, you would have to have just that one plug-in selected. Which
seems silly to me. Setup Disk Cleaner with all the options you want
selected, Save As somename and everytime you run it, it will clean whatever
needs to be cleaned.

In order for Delete MSI .tmp folders to clean anything it has to be
selected.

From Disk Cleaner readme.txt...
[[To create a preset, check all boxes of the items you want to have
cleaned. Then press the Save as... button. You will be prompted for a name.
Enter a new name for the preset. The preset is saved. To remove a preset
select it first and press Remove. You will NOT be asked if you're sure, it
is immediately removed. ]]

I have whatever presets selected and have saved this as clean1.
"C:\Program Files\Disk Cleaner\dclean.exe" /q:clean1 is what I have in the
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup folder.

This is what runs at boot and the clean1 version is what opens anytime I
start Disk Cleaner.

These MSI#####.tmp look like folders, but are they actually folders?

Do they open as folders do? Or are they a file with an incorrect icon?

What is the /si switch after D:\MSI*.tmp /si for?

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Hello, Wesley!
I'm guessing that Disk Cleaner 'automatically' runs every .dct file
in the "plug-ins" folder every time you run the app? 'Cause I've looked
and looked, and find nothing about how to run individual plug-ins....At
any rate, I read the instructions and created a file/plug-in called
"msitmp_delete.dct", placed it in the plug-ins folder, and ran the
program. No effect.
Here's the body of the plug-in:
*******************************
[info]
Title=Delete MSI .tmp folders
Description=A plugin designed to delete unwanted .tmp folders that keep
showing up

[files]
D:\MSI*.tmp /si
*******************************
I'm still thinking that the basic problem is that Disk Cleaner (and
the batch file I made) is looking for a FILE to delete (because of the
.tmp extension), whereas these objects on my data drive are FOLDERS
which for some strange reason persist in carrying ".tmp"
extensions.....

Thanks for trying, though!

terry.

 

[terry b.]

Hello, Wesley!
(Thanks for your patience [)
1) Appreciate your pointing out the "Global Options" settings!
Evidently the "Hide options when empty" box is checked by default,
'cause it was checked when I found it. I promptly unchecked it, and
voila! all the individual .dct plug-ins showed up, including the
"msitmp_delete.dct" unit, which was NOT selected. Guess what? I
selected its box, went back & ran another test, and the unwanted files
disappeared. All that remains now is to arrange for that configuration
of Disk Cleaner to run either @ logon or -off.... Much better!
2) The "/si" switch can be found in the web page you provided the
link to, above:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~mp2004/plughowto.txt
3) As to your question about whether the unwanted folders in
question are actually folders: Well, when you pause a cursor on them,
the tool tip "Folder is Empty" comes up, plus in the "Type" column
corresponding to the unwanted entry is found the listing "File Folder".
I don't know; they sure look like folders!

Again, Wesley, thanks much for your help. Another notch in your digital
belt.
Have an excellent day!

terry.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Hi Terry,

Glad to help. Keep having fun.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[vick]

i am also having the same folder many MSI*****.tmp folders in C:/ drive,
i read the above and installed disk cleaner, but i could not find the "global option"