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Deleting Files From the ..\Local Settings\Temp\ Folder

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J-Mac:
I have just read at least a dozen articles on respected websites saying that it is perfectly OK to delete all files from the ..\Local Settings\Temp\ folder in my user folder.  However I also read three or four which warned against it.

In the past, when that folder just gets too darned big, I make a copy of the file to a different drive and then delete away!  However something always gets broken that way and I end up moving the copied folder back and then carefully scrutinizing each file before deleting.  But that always takes me hours and hours - and I still only end up removing only a fraction of them.

Does anyone here clean all of these out regularly?  If I delete all what is the worst that can happen as a direct result?  (Be nice!)  I could test the programs and those that break just reinstall them.  Though it is a pain that developers would ever place files there permanently that are needed to run the program -- it's not the place for that!

Thanks.

Jim

mrainey:
I delete the temp files often, and have done so for years with no problems.   If you try to delete a file that's being used, you'll be warned and the file won't be deleted.

Veign:
What I usually do is close all open applications and then dump the folder.  I have never had an issue in doing so.

cranioscopical:
On XP Pro Sp2 I close down most applications and clean out %temp% regularly, say once a week, without ill effects (AFAIK).

If you're as forgetful as I, it's a good idea to check first, with something like Why Reboot before cleaning up, in case you tread on something that's pending.

If this is folly I'm sure I'll be instructed by whatever follows here  :)

f0dder:
As long as you haven't installed / updated anything and skipped the "please reboot" prompt, and shut down active apps, deleting %temp% should be perfectly safe. If not, some application is abusing %temp%, and that should be filed as a bug to the developers.

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