Mystery around the Temp folder? [Archive] - The PC Guide Discussion Forums

andreadebiase

09-30-2001, 06:55 PM

hi,
I always wondered about those two folders in the Windows directory that are named Temp and Temporary Internet files. Can the content of these folders be deleted safely? many "cleaning" software seem to avoid cleaning junk in these two folders, is ther any reason? they seem to be full of banners and other useless files, why are they conserved so avidly
thank you

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#!@$*%.....just format the damn C:

YODA74

09-30-2001, 07:09 PM

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q260/8/97.ASP
go here it will explain temp files http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

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What have I gotten my self Into now (ROFLMAO)

Whyzman

10-01-2001, 03:02 AM

Temporary Internet Files remind me of the old movie "The Blob!" They are like parasites sucking the life blood (in our case disk space)out of our computers. As they grow and increase in size they become as weights around the ankles, eventually tiring the system down. They take on a life of their own and are sustained by their close friends the "cookies."

You may take out the Temporary Internet Files, but they'll be back!

Whoa, got carried away there for a moment. You can follow through with the link from Yoda...however, eliminating the TIF files as instructed is only part of the clean up process. If you want to see their buddies the "COOKIES" instead of clicking on DELETE FILES under Temporary Internet Files...click on SETTINGS, right next door, and then VIEW FILES...and you may be suprised what you find in there. It's the cache of cookies that the TIF have stored up for food...Oops, there I go again, carried away.

If you want to play the Cookie Monster...Try EDIT>Select all, and then FILE>Delete...they are so protective that they will ask if you truly want to get rid of them....Go Ahead, say yes!

This is the only way I am aware of to dump the Cookies. Even in AOL clearing the Browser Cache just dumps the TIF files but leaves the cookies.

The TEMP file I will leave for others....

Me, I'm going for some milk and cookies...LOL

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May all your dealings in life be win/win!

Whyzman

YODA74

10-01-2001, 06:44 AM

colorful http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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What have I gotten my self Into now (ROFLMAO)

ErnieK

10-01-2001, 08:24 AM

Yep - you can get rid of anything that sits in any "Temp" folder. The should :-( expire automarically after a set period, as I said SHOULD but go ahead and delete them manually. Also as Whyzman said get rid of the cookies as well. Tjhere are freeware programs that help you to control these monstrosities. http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/
is thew addressof one such program. Check out Script Sentry whilst you are there it is a cracking wee program and non intrusive

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Ernie

kayofcircles

10-01-2001, 11:50 AM

Whyzman : Enjoyed your post. Recently was in checking that the Temp Internet files DID in fact get deleted when closing my browser (as I set it to do). Found myself looking at a long list of cookies..but looked and there's another long list of cookies in the Cookies folder..so, a duplicate list? A different list? Probably have to check into something like ErnieK mentioned...just so the Blob won't eat my puter!

Whyzman

10-01-2001, 12:15 PM

You can set your computer to dump the Temporary Internet Files each time upon browser boot up, or is it shutdown?...However, the "Cookies" are another issue...they don't go away unless you "go in" and get 'em. Or, they will feast on your HDD space and...sorry, there I go again! LOL

And, you can set to notify when you're getting "Cookied," however, I found it really irritating when I did that. Every site I would visit was "Tossing their Cookies" http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif on my HDD and I was forever having to click...If there is a way a-round that vicious circle...I'm on a roll here!! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/tongue.gif Then, I'd certainly like to know.

And, as pointed out you can set the TIF files to dump at predetermined intervals...other than just at browser boot up, or is shutdown as Kay points out.

Beware the Keebler elves!!

Still need some info on the use of the Windows\TEMP file.

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May all your dealings in life be win/win!

Whyzman

[This message has been edited by Whyzman (edited 10-01-2001).]

kayofcircles

10-01-2001, 12:30 PM

I deleted some stuff in my Temp folder because recognized them as scanner files..think they're created for the Packager thingy, but not sure about that, just know they're created sometimes. But there were other things that I was uncertain about so didn't delete them. Hoping that ErnieK is right because I am in the mood to go and delete something....hehehe!

Whyzman

10-01-2001, 12:57 PM

Right, Kay!

I think the Temp folder is a default for a lot of programs when you're scanning, or I've noticed downloading sometimes that is the default option that comes up when asking where I want to put it. It probably just needs a good housecleaning every now and then.

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May all your dealings in life be win/win!

Whyzman

ErnieK

10-01-2001, 06:13 PM

TEMP(abreviation of tempreature) means just that. It is put there so that we will get hot and bothered as our tempreature rises when we discover what is in there http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif
Kay do not worry just go ahead and delete the CONTENTS of ALL the temp folders. Another one to check is UNZIPPED, as after unzipping some thing you will, in hte majority of cases, find a load of files left there as well. Delte them as well. If you are unsure about it do the following. Create a folder on the desktop and drag all file from the temp(s) folder(s) into it and put it into the recycle bin and leave there for a week.

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Ernie

mjc

10-01-2001, 10:49 PM

Basically the Temp folder (temporary) is the "junk drawer" of the windows world...I have my temp folder setup on a RAMDRIVE...it gets totally dumped with every power down, reboot, etc...scanned files, setup files and all sorts of other things reside there, most of which is never needed again after the first time it is used (if you need to reinstalll it is better to unzip the file again anyway). In a perfect world this folder would only see activity when something was being installed & it would be self-cleaning, but as we all know this one is far from perfect.. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif so we on occasion must empty it manually (or use some other means to control it).

So if you want space on your drive or just want to get rid of the last six months of photos that you turned into greeting cards go ahead and send all the stuff in the temp file to electronic oblivion...not the recycle bin!

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

bassman

10-02-2001, 10:18 AM

I love this. Some very creative writings going on here http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/cool.gif
I have a question! How much space does a program take up that is designed to free up space?? http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif Does it use resources while running in the background? Does it conflict with other background programs that need to be run occasionaly?
Just a few points to ponder from "The Minimalist" http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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If I tell you to think for yourself, then you're not doing it.
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This is not directed at those asking questions in order to gain knowledge. That shows you are thinking.

bassman

10-02-2001, 10:19 AM

mjc

10-02-2001, 11:02 AM

Well, Bassman,

I have the RAMDRIVE setup to use 18MB of my 192MB of memory...plenty for most things, and since it runs in DOS, before Windows boots up Win just sees a 18MB drive, no conflicts, no resouces (from Win at least) and very little DOS memory (after it is running I still have over 600K the first 640K)...all in all I think it was an equitable trade...especially since I have the browser cache there too (a noticeable speed increase on reloading pages from the cache).

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

ErnieK

10-02-2001, 03:30 PM

Two Questions.
1 Why is it that sometimes when I click on reply I can scroll down and see the opost I am replying to, and at other times (like just now) I have only the reply box?

Now to main Q' -
MJC how would I set up ram drive like you say? (Go easy on the technical terms - use words like thingy and whatdiyimicallits) I do have the "My Documents" set up to save by default to my partition. (If I ever need to reformat all docs are saved there) and have deleted the My Documents" folder on my "C" drive. Also would it be possible to set the "Favourites folder in this way?

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Ernie

kayofcircles

10-03-2001, 09:51 AM

ErnieK The first answer, as far as I understand it, is that the thread gets too long. If you look just under the Submit button, it says "click here to review this topic" and will open a second window with the posts so you can review as you write.

Not clear on why exactly, but this topic is continued in this thread (http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/000411.html).

FrankSG

10-03-2001, 04:06 PM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by andreadebiase:
hi,
If you're using Internet Explore, which you probably are, you can do what I've done. Go to TOOLS\INTERNET OPTION and then click on the General tab. Then click on the button that says Settings. Then under where it says AMOUNT OF DISK SPACE TO USE, slide the little bar as far to the left as you can get it. This will set things up so that your browser will use only a very small amount of space for those files. Then take two Aspirin with a full glass of water. (Just kidding about the Aspirin http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif The reason for those files is because it's supposed to speed things up. But most of the time it slows things down. I wish they would just do away with the Temporary Internet Files. If you really want to see how it hogs up disk space, there is also a folder in the Temporary Internet Files folder called, Content.ie5, which also has some folders in it. Those folders also have a bunch of those files in it.

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"No one stands so tall as when they stoop to help a child"

ErnieK

10-03-2001, 06:05 PM

Thanks Kay

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Ernie

Gallaeglagh

10-04-2001, 08:08 PM

My understanding is that after a fresh reboot it's always safe to delete what's in the temp folder

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Your attempt to reach civilization by fashioning a crude raft will astound everyone else at the office. - The Onion

iisbob

10-04-2001, 08:27 PM

Feel kinda rude stepping in here with these mundane explanations and tips; but here goes;

No matter what settings you use in IE to control the temp Internet folder, you'll still wind up having some hidden files ( and it duplicates everything in the local settings folder ).

i use 2 programs to control these issues; Cookie Manager (http://home.nordnet.fr/~pmdevigne/) Internet Cache cleaner

Both are free ( and from the same site ) and do a wonderful job of cleaning/controlling your IE sessions. Cookie Manager allows you to save a list of cookies you want to keep, and ones to always delete.

IE cleaner will remove all temp IE files, regardless of their tenacity, and it will even give you a report of what it deleted.

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iisbob
"Ward, come upstairs and talk to The Beaver."
-- June (Mrs. Frisky) Cleaver

[This message has been edited by iisbob (edited 10-04-2001).]

Whyzman

10-05-2001, 01:54 AM

Iisbob,

Hardly rude, hardly mundane, thanks for the link! I for one am always interested in your comments/suggestions/insights/computer savvy!

If you check back here...what was the cordless mouse brand that you are using!

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May all your dealings in life be win/win!

Whyzman

Vic 970

10-05-2001, 03:48 PM

I use cleanup (to get rid of temp files easily) & spider (to get rid of hidden files) spider usually takes several re-boots before coming up 'clean' but I wonder if there is anything else 'hidden' that we would like to get rid of but of which we are unaware.

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for every question there's an answer. Then a load more questions.

Regards..,
Vic.

iisbob

10-06-2001, 05:14 AM

I appreciate the gratitude Whyzman and in regards to your question, i use a Logitech cordless/optical ( both keyboard and mouse are cordless ).

Best things since white bread. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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iisbob
"Ward, come upstairs and talk to The Beaver."
-- June (Mrs. Frisky) Cleaver

FrankSG

11-07-2001, 12:23 PM

Originally posted by iisbob:

About the folder called Content.ie5--that's the one in the Temporary Internet Files folder. That folder also has a bunch of sub-folders in it that contain a lot of the same files that are in Temporary Internet Files.
When you clear the files in Temporary Internet Files, that does not clear the files in Content.ie5. What I found out yesterday is that you can just delete the Content.IE5 folder. When you start up Windows, it will put the folder back, but it will be empty.

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"No one stands so tall as when they stoop to help a child"

kfh

11-07-2001, 01:29 PM

Hi All!
Excuse me for this as I am only a novice and you guys are all pros.
But I use ie6 set the privacy to high. Set it to delete all tif at log off, I have no cookies or tif files when i've finished surfing.
kfh.

kfh

11-07-2001, 01:31 PM

not_fred

11-07-2001, 07:54 PM

I found it handy to at least consolidate the problem: I created a 5G partition to contain both swap and temp files of all types. All of my programs map their temps into the same folder on that partition. Takes a bit of discipline, but with one pull of the trigger...

Dinosaur

11-08-2001, 12:59 PM

Cookies have their advantages. Several sites I go to often require logging in with a name & password. cookies make this automatic for me.

While I would like to get rid of most of the Cookies on my system, it is a bit of mental effort to figure out which ones I want to keep.

In addition to the temporary files mentioned above, you might have hundreds of fff*.tmp files in your Windows folder or elsewhere. They are all zero length files and can be erased without harm, but they will come back (see below for permanent fix).

Microsoft Office applications also create files ff*..ff? Files used to speed up access to Office documents. On a fast system, they have little value. Even on a slow system, I do not think anybody would notice their effect. These can be deleted, but they will come back (see below for permanent fix).

To get rid of the fff*.tmp files, go to Control Panel/Internet Options and Disable Script Debugging. When that has been done, you will discover a lessor number are created by something else, so this only cuts down on the number created. There are some people researching this, so try a google search or search the PC Guide.

Ff*.ff? Files are generated by MS FindFast. Msconfig ( Left Click Startup Tab) can be used to stop FindFast from being initiated when Windows Loads.

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Gouverneur
Eschew Obfuscation!
If one hundred million people believe a foolish idea, it is still a foolish idea.