Mystery file eating by system partition

  • Thread starter Thread starter Oliver Costich
  • Start date Start date
O

Oliver Costich

Severl weeks ago, I got a warning that there was no more space on C:,
my system partition. Properties showed 0 free space. I tracked down
the problem to a file named mnc82DB.tmp, which was about 50GB. It was
in the folder users\owner\appdata\local\temp. I have no idea where it
came from and Google has no entries if I search on that file name.
Trying to delete it fails, saying that it is open in another program.
Rebooting and then deleting it fixes it....

....Temporarily. Today it came back. Same issues. It's very annoying
sice if I try to print something I will lose if I reboot, it won't do
it (0 free space). Another weirdness is that if I try to type
something into the Firefox Goggle engine, the letters are entered in
reverse order.

Anyone have any idea what in the world this is? The OS is Vista
Business x64 SP3.
 
Well something is writing the file. Right click on File and select
properties, any info? Do you use Symantec/Norton antivirus or
security suite? Try TaskManager and MSCONFIG to see if
you can figure out what is writing the file.
 
Vista SP3? Could be part of the problem. It's not real.

http://www.vistax64.com/windows-updates/222759-vista-business-service-pack-3-a.html

Also mentioned here:

http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1031116

At least one suspected cause is installing an SP2 beta version. Needs to be
uninstalled in order to install the released version of SP2.

There's no such temp file in my Vista HE so I've no real clue as to what
program is creating it. Very few references to "mnc" but one app that I
found using those letters as a file extension is My Notes Center. It
apparently creates an open-ended data base file with .mnc extension. If the
app is installed, speculating that mnc82DB.tmp could be one of its temp
files? In any case, you could try deleting the mnc82DB.tmp file and then
try opening the smaller recreated version in a text editor to look for any
entries within the file that might identify the culprit program.
 
could be music downloads.

try deleting it again.

then change your temp
environments to help manage
the temp files and folders.

first created c:\temp

then change your current tmp
and temp files location to the
c:\temp

click on controlpanel>system>
advance>environment variables

modify both user and system
temps.

also, might as well change
your current internet temp
folder to the c:\temp directory
too.

then hold off on rebooting.

next, initiate a clean boot
by clicking on start>msconfig.

go to startup tab and disable
all your startups.

you might want to jot down
what they are.

next go to services tab and
"hide" all microsoft services.

then disable what remains
on the list.

jot these down too.

then reboot the machine.

if that file no longer appears
in your c:\temp folder and
or your disk maintains
free space,

then something you disabled
from msconfig likely attributed
to the problem.

you will have to figure out which
program is the problem and
also consider which startup and
services you disable should be
re-enabled.

--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces
- Microsoft Partner
- @hotmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~"share the nirvana" - dbZen
 
"db" <databaseben at hotmail dot com> wrote in message
next, initiate a clean boot
by clicking on start>msconfig.

go to startup tab and disable
all your startups.

you might want to jot down
what they are.

next go to services tab and
"hide" all microsoft services.

then disable what remains
on the list.

jot these down too.

then reboot the machine.

if that file no longer appears
in your c:\temp folder and
or your disk maintains
free space,

then something you disabled
from msconfig likely attributed
to the problem.

you will have to figure out which
program is the problem and
also consider which startup and
services you disable should be
re-enabled.
Click to expand...

Lots of stuff to jot down, and get wrong. Is there any command line tool
that will list all this jotted stuff so it can be redirected to a file. Or,
can VBScript access this info directly or through some COM object? Or, is
the info available in the registry, and if so, where?

Thanks,
-Paul Randall
 
Already used several of these and they found nothing. If it were a
virus, I assume some of these would have the signature since it's been
around several weeks.
Click to expand...

Are you downloading Usenet binaries by news reader?

Some apps keep .tmp/index files. Open the program and "purge
/compact".

If you dual boot, delete the file from another drive. I won't be open.

Tmp/Temp files are harmless, so delete them. Some you may need to
change attributes on the file.
 
unfortunately, I am not
sure of any program
that prints your startups.

but it doesn't mean that
there isn't any.

perhaps, this is a problem
with your system,

in that you may have too
many things loading up,
bogging down your system
and you don't know which
ones are doing what.

for many of us, we have
less than a dozen start
ups.

perhaps, you might want
to jot down the names of
those services and startups
that are enabled only.

even though you will disabled
them,

they will continue to appear
in the start up and services
tab but unchecked/disabled.

--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces
- Microsoft Partner
- @hotmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~"share the nirvana" - dbZen
 
Vista SP3? Could be part of the problem. It's not real.

http://www.vistax64.com/windows-updates/222759-vista-business-service-pack-3-a.html
Click to expand...

My mistake it is SP2.
Also mentioned here:

http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1031116

At least one suspected cause is installing an SP2 beta version. Needs to be
uninstalled in order to install the released version of SP2.
Click to expand...

Installed Vista SP2 from Windows Update.
There's no such temp file in my Vista HE so I've no real clue as to what
program is creating it. Very few references to "mnc" but one app that I
found using those letters as a file extension is My Notes Center. It
apparently creates an open-ended data base file with .mnc extension. If the
app is installed, speculating that mnc82DB.tmp could be one of its temp
files? In any case, you could try deleting the mnc82DB.tmp file and then
try opening the smaller recreated version in a text editor to look for any
entries within the file that might identify the culprit program.
Click to expand...

I don't have that installed. I have deleted the mnc82DB.tmp file and
it isn't back yet. When it does reappear, it shows up as almost 50GB.
I suspect it would be big enough to fill my C: partition no matter how
much space was there.
 
could be music downloads.

try deleting it again.

then change your temp
environments to help manage
the temp files and folders.

first created c:\temp

then change your current tmp
and temp files location to the
c:\temp

click on controlpanel>system>
advance>environment variables

modify both user and system
temps.

also, might as well change
your current internet temp
folder to the c:\temp directory
too.

then hold off on rebooting.

next, initiate a clean boot
by clicking on start>msconfig.

go to startup tab and disable
all your startups.

you might want to jot down
what they are.

next go to services tab and
"hide" all microsoft services.

then disable what remains
on the list.

jot these down too.

then reboot the machine.

if that file no longer appears
in your c:\temp folder and
or your disk maintains
free space,

then something you disabled
from msconfig likely attributed
to the problem.

you will have to figure out which
program is the problem and
also consider which startup and
services you disable should be
re-enabled.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I will try to use the methods proposed here and in the other
responces, but what makes it difficult is that the file only shows up
after three or four weeks after I delete it. Its coming back is
unpredictable.
 
yes, it is a problem.

but I am confident that
with a little patience and
observation,

you will find the culprit
that is causing it.

if you move all your
temps to one location,

you can then create a
desktop shortcut to
the temp file for easy
access and monitoring.
--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces
- Microsoft Partner
- @hotmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~"share the nirvana" - dbZen
 
"Autoruns" from sysinternals.com

Newer versions use "Export as" for a list in a plain text file.
 
Did you ever set up or install an auto-backup program? Either Windows or
some app that came with an external harddrive? Grasping at straws here but
possibly some app could be running in the background creating a backup set
and then not finding the backup media it expects to write to it exits
without deleting the temporary file(s)?
 
I downloaded and ruan AutoRuns. It looks like it does show all the items
that MSConfig shows plus more, with the Export as option. Thanks!

-Paul Randall
 
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