shakey said:
I thought I was doing good routine maintenance on my system but poking
around today I find hundreds of old folders and newer files in
C:\Documents
and Settings\Me\Local Settings\Temp\ and in C:\Documents and
Settings\Me\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files.
My question is: Can I delete these entire folders without harm and will
XP
simply rebuild them. Put differently: Are there any negatives to doing
this?
Thank you
Shakey Guy
Items the [user name}\Local Settings\Temp folder are usually safe to
delete *unless* you specifically saved something there. However to be
certain it is best to reboot the computer and then delete the Temp
folder contents immediately after the reboot. This is because some
applications and updates that require a restart in order to complete
the installation will sometimes leave files in the Temp folder pending
the restart, when these items will be moved to their intended final
locations. This is how, for example, updated versions of files that
are (or may be) in use by Windows are put into place. So reboot
first to finish up anything of this sort that may be pending and then
clean house. There may be a temporary file or two that Windows is
actually using in the Temp folder, but Windows will not let you delete
these.
Temporary Internet Files are best cleaned up by opening Control Panel
- Internet Options and clicking on the Delete Files button in the
Temporary Internet Files section. In the Delete Files window click on
the checkbox for "Delete all offline content" to select it then click
on OK. This may take a few minutes, depending on how much content is
in the TIF folder. Deleteing the TIF content may have the effect of
slowing down your next access to web sites that you regularly visit,
as the entire page content will have to be reloaded. But that is
about the only downside, and that is only likely to be noticeable if
you have a dial-up Internet service.
There is a Disk Cleanup utility in the Accessories - System Tools menu
that you can use to for the above purposes (and a few other things as
well). You many find this more convenient but it will leave a few
things behind, such as the last week or so worth of files in the Temp
folder.
Good luck
Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
