Cleaning Out Temp Files - How Far to Go?

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Jenny

I'm running WXP Pro, SP2. I usually try to go into the ..../WINNT/Temp
folder every couple months to clean out the accumulation of .tmp files. I'm
not sure why I do this, other than somewhere along the line I was told it
was a good thing to do. I don't usually see any significant change in
computer performance. Anyway, a couple questions -

1) Is this a good thing/necessary thing to do for computer health and
well-being?

2) This folder has also accumulated a number of other file types such as
..log, .dll, .pdl, .INF, .CAT, etc. etc. I don't have a clue what these are.
Given an unusually high level of ignorance, am I better off to leave these
alone, or is everything in the Temp folder fair game?

Thanks for your help,
Jenny
 
Jenny said:
I'm running WXP Pro, SP2. I usually try to go into the ..../WINNT/Temp
folder every couple months to clean out the accumulation of .tmp files. I'm
not sure why I do this, other than somewhere along the line I was told it
was a good thing to do. I don't usually see any significant change in
computer performance. Anyway, a couple questions -

1) Is this a good thing/necessary thing to do for computer health and
well-being?
Click to expand...


Yes, it's usually a good thing to clean out the "trash" every so often.
The accumulation of temporary files can slow down hard drive seek
times, increase search times, so down defragmnentation, and waste
storage space. Although, if you clean them out frequently, as you do,
you won't notice a great deal of difference in performance; your action
is more of a preventative measure to prevent the system from slowing
down. (Were you to let these files accumulate for 6 months or more,
you'd probably see a slight improvement upon their removal.)

2) This folder has also accumulated a number of other file types such as
.log, .dll, .pdl, .INF, .CAT, etc. etc. I don't have a clue what these are.
Given an unusually high level of ignorance, am I better off to leave these
alone, or is everything in the Temp folder fair game?
Click to expand...


These are "leftovers" from patches and software installations. They
were placed in the Temp folder for use during the installation of
patches, upgrades, and/or new software, but aren't needed after the
installation completes. They can be safely deleted.



--

Bruce Chambers

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safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

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Just a quick note to say thanks for the prompt and helpful feedback. I love
this ng...
 
DISK CLEANUP that comes wuth the system does a good job of cleaning out the useless garbage.
under Accessories | System Tools.
less likely to delete important system stuff using a buiult in system tool than 3rd party tools.





(e-mail address removed)



I'm running WXP Pro, SP2. I usually try to go into the ..../WINNT/Temp
folder every couple months to clean out the accumulation of .tmp files. I'm
not sure why I do this, other than somewhere along the line I was told it
was a good thing to do. I don't usually see any significant change in
computer performance. Anyway, a couple questions -

1) Is this a good thing/necessary thing to do for computer health and
well-being?

2) This folder has also accumulated a number of other file types such as
..log, .dll, .pdl, .INF, .CAT, etc. etc. I don't have a clue what these are.
Given an unusually high level of ignorance, am I better off to leave these
alone, or is everything in the Temp folder fair game?

Thanks for your help,
Jenny
 
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