Is it safe to delete the Temp subfolder in the Windows folder?

[Zombified]

I've noticed that after installing and uninstalling that my C drive was getting pretty full. I have a 10 gig hd with my C drive being 2 gigs. I deleted the temporary internet files and cleaned up as much as I could but then found about 800 mgs in the Temp subfolder in the Windows folder. Do I need these or can I delete them?

[ixl]

Definitely do *not* delete the folder itself; it is used by many programs during installations.
However, a lot of software doesn't clean up after itself, as you noticed. Look at the dates on the files. If they are months old, you can probably safely delete them.
Tip: if you want to delete a file and aren't sure if it is needed or not, try renaming or moving it first (this is essentially waht the Recycle Bin does by the way.) If you put "x" in front of the filenames of the files you want to nuke, and nothing stops working after a few days, you can probably safely delete those files.

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Charles M. Kozierok ( ixlubb@PCGuide.com )
Webslave, The PC Guide (http://www.PCGuide.com)
Comprehensive PC Reference, Troubleshooting, Optimization and Buyer's Guides...

[Samantha]

Deleting the files from c:\windows\temp, not the folder itself, is a part of Win9x maintenance. I routinely delete all the files and any subfolders from my office's computers, as well as my home computers. You shouldn't need any file in this folder that is not today's date, as no program is supposed to create permanent files or folders in the Temp folder. Not only does cleaning out the Temp folder free up disk space, but it also may improve system performance. Stray files in the Temp folders may also be the source of mysterious problems with applications.

Some people will recommend including batch commands that delete the Temp folder files on startup. This is not a great idea, however, as there are programs that require restarting the PC during installation that store files in the Temp folder. The program needs these files after restarting, but the batch commands will delete them and the program may not install properly.


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S~~

[This message has been edited by Samantha (edited 09-03-2000).]

[DANQU]

Originally posted by Zombified:
I've noticed that after installing and uninstalling that my C drive was getting pretty full. I have a 10 gig hd with my C drive being 2 gigs. I deleted the temporary internet files and cleaned up as much as I could but then found about 800 mgs in the Temp subfolder in the Windows folder. Do I need these or can I delete them?

You can add this line to your Autoexec.bat:

C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\deltree /y C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\*.*

But when adding new software remember to REM this line

[eneGGene]

Would useing a sofware application like Nortons CleanSweep 2001 delet files from your computer that are no longer needed?

[bassvax]

IN re to deleting the temp folder...The gurus as The Screensavers advise just as the previous entries with the exception that you should boot into dos to do this just in case windows happens to be using one or some the files. I do it once a week and have had no problems-Jerry

[ixl]

I strongly recommend against automatically deleting the contenst of the temp folder. It will cause problems installing some software types, and it's the kind of thing most people only need to do a couple of times a year anyway...

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Charles M. Kozierok
Webslave, The PC Guide (http://www.PCGuide.com)
Comprehensive PC Reference, Troubleshooting, Optimization and Buyer's Guides...
Note: Please reply to my forum postings here on the forums. Thanks.