~bittest files ?

[Sunny]

Hi, I have three strange files on the root drive "C" :
~bittestC00001 (781,292KB)
~bittestC00002 (781,292KB)
~bittestC00003 (763,696KB)
All were created on the same day (the day that the PC was assembled)
I rang the shop, but could not talk to a Tech and the "sales droid" stated:
1. Don't delete the files, they are required by Windows,
2. Windows would need/use them for new hard ware etc.
3. They contain details of your PC etc.
I will ring again tomorrow, but in the interim, has anyone else got files
like this in their PC ?
(not game to "open" a file that has no file type indicated)

 

[R. McCarty]

Any file preceded by a Tilde ~ is a temporary working
file created by a program. Just like any .tmp file these can
be safely removed from the computer. From the naming
convention, it looks like some kind of memory testing files
were left on the drive.

 

[cimex]

I doubt that those files are native to Windows XP Home, or at least, they
are not automatically installed from the CD, since I do not seem to have
them. I doubt they are malicious, and a search of Google seems to imply some
relationship to hardware. Good for you to be cautious.
(By the way, they DID give you a full XP OEM CD, I hope? Sooner or later,
you will need it.)

 

[Sunny]

Any file preceded by a Tilde ~ is a temporary working
file created by a program. Just like any .tmp file these can
be safely removed from the computer. From the naming
convention, it looks like some kind of memory testing files
were left on the drive.

I doubt that those files are native to Windows XP Home, or at least, they
are not automatically installed from the CD, since I do not seem to have
them. I doubt they are malicious, and a search of Google seems to imply some
relationship to hardware. Good for you to be cautious.
(By the way, they DID give you a full XP OEM CD, I hope? Sooner or later,
you will need it.)

Thanks guys, the total size of the files has me tossed (2,272Mb)
(the System page file is 766Mb, by comparison)
The sales bloke even said that WinXP consumes 1Gb of HD space?
I actually have WinXP home CDs everywhere
2 new PCs that both came with WinXP installed, and an OEM CD each, plus I
had previously purchased 2 copies of WinXP Home Upgrade.
The irony is that I left WinXP on the wife's PC, and reformatted mine with
WinME.
(I have Partition Magic 8 installed, and will get around to a dual boot
system shortly)

 

[cimex]

XP actually occupies 1.5 GB or more on your hard drive!

 

[Mellonhead]

they can be deleted

For anyone still wondering about this problem, like I did, here is the solution:

I found the following line when I opened one of the files with notepad.

BurnInTest (www.passmark.com) temp file, this file can be deleted..

It seems this passmark software stress tests your system, before it is being sold to you, ensuring you have a safe system with a long lifespan.

It can safely be deleted.
If you are still unsure, just move them to another location (external harddisk or the likes) for a while, and you can test if it changes the behaviour of the system.