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

[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.

[lanux128]

just curious, what's the benefit of clearing out the temp folder? other than the obvious hard-disk space..

[mrainey]

The way I do it is sort the temp directory by Date Modified.  Everything that's not from today goes - folders and files.

[mouser]

The way I do it is sort the temp directory by Date Modified.  Everything that's not from today goes - folders and files.

me too.

[J-Mac]

just curious, what's the benefit of clearing out the temp folder? other than the obvious hard-disk space..

Exactly that - I've been ignoring it for a year and a half, saying the same thing.  But now it's up to almost 5 GB.  And that's a lot of hard disk!

Jim

[J-Mac]

BTW, let me make sure we're all clear:

I know that the Windows\Temp file can usually be cleared without a problem.  I'm talking about the one in Local Settings under my username.  It's a lot bigger and picks up a lot more traffic.

Jim

[icekin]

I just use CCleaner. Doesn't that clear out the temp automatically?

[J-Mac]

I just use CCleaner. Doesn't that clear out the temp automatically?

No - not unless you adjust some settings.  Plus, the one you see in the main interface - if I'm not mistaken - is for the Windows\Temp folder

[Lashiec]

No, it does get both, actually in Windows XP for what I saw, the "Windows\Temp" folder is not even used (at least on my computer)

[Veign]

5Gig Temp folder is Huge.

Do what a couple others pointed out and that's sort by date and remove all files/folders previous to today's date.

If you're still worried about the volume of files and that something may be useful then create a backup folder and move the files into it.  Reboot the computer and run apps for a few days to make sure there are no issues.

[J-Mac]

Veign,

That's exactly what I have done, kind of.  I synced the entire folder to another drive just in case.

Jim

[cranioscopical]

I know that the Windows\Temp file can usually be cleared without a problem.  I'm talking about the one in Local Settings under my username.  It's a lot bigger and picks up a lot more traffic.

So much for my powers of comprehension 

For me, C:\Documents and Settings\me\Local Settings\Temp\ contains nothing at all.  Have you been emptying mine by mistake?

[jgpaiva]

Craniscopical: try going to %temp% in windows explorer. That's your temp folder

[cranioscopical]

Craniscopical: try going to %temp% in windows explorer. That's your temp folder

Yes, thanks... see  « Reply #3 on: Sun 13 January 2008, 15:07:06 » above 

[jgpaiva]

Oops
But.. Out of curiosity, what's that %temp%?

[J-Mac]

Oops
But.. Out of curiosity, what's that %temp%?

That's a command line entry that should bring you directly to your Temp folder.  Bypasses having to go through the path in Explorer.

Jim

[J-Mac]

Hmm.  I think a few have mentioned not having a Temp folder in the Windows directory.  Am I the only one who has one there?  I know that I didn't create that intentionally - I thought it was created with the WinXP installation.

Thanks.

Jim

[J-Mac]

BTW, I just blew away everything in the Local Settings\Temp folder except the last two days worth.  See what doesn't like that!!

Jim

[J-Mac]

5Gig Temp folder is Huge.  <<snipped for brevity>>

Most of that was in about 6 folders from 2 Nero installations - Ultra Edition 6 and 7.  Man do they put a lot of junk in there and leave it there!

Jim

[f0dder]

Btw, check your environment variables - there can be per-system %temp% as well as per-user %temp%.

[Stoic Joker]

Btw, check your environment variables - there can be per-system %temp% as well as per-user %temp%.

Both are supposed to be there by default, one is for the user, the other is shared between hosted services & legacy applications.

I frequently dump both with no ill effects. Any in use files can/should be traced to a specific program or forcibly removed (unlocker is handy for that) as they're frequently (/probably) malware related.