TIF, Temp and Prefetch

[Smirnoff]

I think I understand the purpose of TIF (Temporary Internet Files), they are
a cache to allow faster loading of visited web pages.
These can be deleted using IE tools or Disk Cleanup.

Temp files are a bit of a mystery to me. I thought that the temp folder was
used to hold files during an installation process and would then be deleted
on reboot.

However, I note that there are 2 Temp folders, one in Local Disk (C:\) and
one in the Windows folder. Local Disk has a couple of log files and Windows
has a variety of files and folders.

(1) Why are they still there after many reboots and is it safe to delete
contents of both folders?

The Prefetch folder has about 70 files, all of which appear to be .exe.

(2) What are they, why are they there and is it safe (after a reboot) to
delete them?

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

See below.

I think I understand the purpose of TIF (Temporary Internet Files), they are
a cache to allow faster loading of visited web pages.
These can be deleted using IE tools or Disk Cleanup.

Temp files are a bit of a mystery to me. I thought that the temp folder was
used to hold files during an installation process and would then be deleted
on reboot.

However, I note that there are 2 Temp folders, one in Local Disk (C:\) and
one in the Windows folder. Local Disk has a couple of log files and Windows
has a variety of files and folders.

(1) Why are they still there after many reboots and is it safe to delete
contents of both folders?

Files in the Temp folders are temporary working files. Some
applications delete them after use, many don't. You can delete
them safely.

The Prefetch folder has about 70 files, all of which appear to be .exe.

(2) What are they, why are they there and is it safe (after a reboot) to
delete them?

The prefetch folder holds files of which Windows knows from past
experience that they are frequently used. It therefore prefetches
them when things are quiet. You can delete them but if you do
then you slow down your PCs operation. Remember that disk
space is cheap!

 

[Smirnoff]

See below.



Files in the Temp folders are temporary working files. Some
applications delete them after use, many don't. You can delete
them safely.


The prefetch folder holds files of which Windows knows from past
experience that they are frequently used. It therefore prefetches
them when things are quiet. You can delete them but if you do
then you slow down your PCs operation. Remember that disk
space is cheap!

Clearly explained. Thanks.

 

[Rock]

I think I understand the purpose of TIF (Temporary Internet Files), they
are a cache to allow faster loading of visited web pages.
These can be deleted using IE tools or Disk Cleanup.

Temp files are a bit of a mystery to me. I thought that the temp folder
was used to hold files during an installation process and would then be
deleted on reboot.

However, I note that there are 2 Temp folders, one in Local Disk (C:\) and
one in the Windows folder. Local Disk has a couple of log files and
Windows has a variety of files and folders.

(1) Why are they still there after many reboots and is it safe to delete
contents of both folders?

The Prefetch folder has about 70 files, all of which appear to be .exe.

(2) What are they, why are they there and is it safe (after a reboot) to
delete them?

Here is some info on prefetch:

Windows XP: Kernel Improvements Create a More Robust, Powerful, and Scalable
OS
http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/01/12/XPKernel/

Windows XP Performance
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/evaluate/xpperf.mspx

Contrary to a popular myth, clearing the prefetch folder does not speed up
Windows. It has the opposite affect.