System Tuneups: Temporary Files

System Tuneups: Temporary Files

We continue our series of System Tuneups articles, designed to save you time and a lot of stress. We have previously advised on the topics defragmentation and scandisk.

Today we talk about temporary files. These are files that are generated by the programs you run that store information that is destined to be deleted once the program has exited.

The problems with Temporary Files

Temporary files are quite harmless by themselves. A program will exit, and will then delete the files it used in order to run effectively.

However, what happens when the program or your computer you’re using crashes?

The files remain in place, never to be used again. This becomes a problem over time, with an increasingly large amount of files left on the system. This takes up valuable space on older machines with smaller hard drives.

Locations of Windows Temporary Files

The location of temporary files is typically the same between all machines. Under Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows Me, temporary files are stored in one or more of the following:

C:\TMP
C:\TEMP
C:\WINDOWS\TEMP

Older DOS based programs will typically store their files in the first two of these directories.

Deleting Windows Temporary Files

You can safely delete all files under C:\WINDOWS\TEMP following a reboot. Navigate to this directory by first looking on your hard drive, entering the Windows folder, and then entering the Temp folder. Select all files in this directory, and click Delete.

Other Temporary Files

Individual programs also have their own temporary file repository, and every once in a while it is best to clean these out as well. Here are some steps for some common programs:

Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer is a well-known product used for browsing Internet web pages. In order to perform its task, as well as speed up the experience for you, it stores copies of the web pages as you visit them. The next time you go back to that web page, it won’t need to download things like pictures again. As the cache builds, it takes up disk space and slows down the speed of Internet Explorer. Here’s how to clear the cache:

Open your Control Panel (StartàSettingsàControl Panel);
Double click on Internet Options;
There is a subsection called “Temporary Internet Files”. Left click on “Delete Files”, and select the “Delete all offline content” checkbox, and click “Ok”.
NB: Depending on the amount of files stored, this process may take some time.
Close this screen and the Control Panel;
Click Start, Run, and enter the following:
explorer ”C:\WINDOWS\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\”
Delete any directory with 8 characters. Examples are “EHA5AH29” or “JS62JS24”. These directories contained cached versions of most web pages you have visited during the life of your history file (1-3 months) and can be safely deleted.

This process should be repeated once every 1-3 months.

Recycle Bin

The Recycle Bin stores files that you delete in case you need to restore them. A common mistake is for people to not empty the recycle bin, sometimes leaving thousands of files inside it. Here’s how to empty your Recycle Bin:

Navigate to your desktop;
Right click on Recycle Bin, and click “Empty Recycle Bin”. Click “Yes”.
This process should be repeated regularly.

Scandisk

Windows Scandisk also stores some temporary files in your root C:\ directory known as “FILE0001.CHK”, where “0001” increments as necessary. These are snapshots of data found on your drive that wasn’t quite right when Scandisk passed through the drive. It is saved just in case you need to view the contents and recover the data. More often than not however, these files can be safely deleted.

Easy!

These are just a few of the tricks and traps you can perform yourself to aid your computer in its daily tasks.

Using a program such as Norton Utilities, which includes WinDoctor, can further help other issues and problems Windows experiences. This program will scan your Windows Registry for faults, as well as scan through other Windows areas to repair and notify you of any problems that may exist.

Norton Utilities is available as part of Norton Systemworks Professional ($159.95), or separately for $79.95.

Deleting your temporary files clears your HDD and gives you extra space. A slow and sluggish computer can be the result of a full HDD.

As HDD come down in price, it's getting easier to purchase bigger HDD - you can even buy 200Gb storage capacities now.

But there is a word of warning - some old computer systems can only see a certain amount of HDD space, so although you may buy a 60Gb drive, if your computer is old, you may be looking at only 20Gb or so of usable space.