Delete unneeded space on C drive or in Windows

  • Thread starter Thread starter Charles Perkins
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Charles Perkins

I have 2 hard drives on my PC.

C: - Which I use for the OS (WINXP)
D: - Whenever I install a program, I install it to D:
I never install any program to C:, unless it doesn't give me a
choice.

The problem is that over time, SOmething is taking up space and I can't
figure it out. I know Windows stores Temp files somewhere when you do an
install, but could that be taking up all that space?

My other question is this. Are there any files in windows that I can
delete that are just taking up space, that I don't really need? I'm not
worrying about deleting anything, but I can always restore my computer,
but I notice OS runs better when it has more space.

Thanks in advanced.
 
I have 2 hard drives on my PC.

C: - Which I use for the OS (WINXP)
D: - Whenever I install a program, I install it to D:
I never install any program to C:, unless it doesn't give me a
choice.

The problem is that over time, SOmething is taking up space and I can't
figure it out. I know Windows stores Temp files somewhere when you do an
install, but could that be taking up all that space?

My other question is this. Are there any files in windows that I can
delete that are just taking up space, that I don't really need? I'm not
worrying about deleting anything, but I can always restore my computer,
but I notice OS runs better when it has more space.

Thanks in advanced.
Click to expand...


In conjunction with your question, I too would like to know why XP has
so many temp files;

Drive C: (Boot Drive)
JBTEMP
MM2TEMP
TEMP
DOCUMENTS & SETTINGS (Drive C)
Total of 4 in various folders
Windows Folder=1

For a total of 8. When I booted this morning, there were files in
every one of them. A real pain in the butt to empty all of them and
if you don't, the accumulation of files can be monumental.
 
In conjunction with your question, I too would like to know why XP has
so many temp files;

Drive C: (Boot Drive)
JBTEMP
MM2TEMP
TEMP
DOCUMENTS & SETTINGS (Drive C)
Total of 4 in various folders
Windows Folder=1

For a total of 8. When I booted this morning, there were files in
every one of them. A real pain in the butt to empty all of them and
if you don't, the accumulation of files can be monumental.
Click to expand...

Temporary folders are used by programs. The programs will use the system
defined temp folders or they will use their own.

Windows\Temp: a standard that many programs look for. On my system, I have
noticed that files only show up here on occasion. Usually leftovers from
the installation of an older program.

<root drive>\Temp: another standard location but not used as often these
days. This folder is not added to the tree by a clean WinXP installation on
a blank hard drive. I have one but I added the folder manually and on
purpose.

<user account>\Local Settings\Temp: Only active profiles will have contents
in their temp folders so there is no need to check folders for accounts
that no one ever logs on to (default, local system, etc). These temp files
can be cleaned periodically using Disk Cleanup. The Disk Cleanup tool
operates conservatively and will only remove files older than 14 days. If
you want to remove more recent temp files, you'll need to remove them
manually.

JBTEMP and MM2TEMP: No idea. Sounds like temp folders created and used by
specific programs. These are usually maintained by the program and contents
are flushed as needed. Once in a while, especially with a troublesome
program that may crash now and then, manual deletion of temp files is
necessary. If you can figure out what the programs are that own these
folders, check the configuration menus to see if they offer the option to
redirect temp files to a folder of your choosing.

The system TEMP variable can be adjusted in System Properties> Advanced>
Environment Variables. By default the entry here is for %userprofile%\Local
Settings\Temp. That means that older programs that are using the
Windows\Temp folder have no awareness of that folder/variable or that they
are unable to reach it due to the long path involved.

Suggestion: Tuck a folder away someplace handy. Place shortcuts inside of
it to all of your Temp folders. When it's time for a cleanup, pull up the
folder of shortcuts. Use them one by one to make your deletions. This
method should save a bit of time over locating each folder individually in
Explorer.
 
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