saving space

  • Thread starter Thread starter Albert Smith
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A

Albert Smith

I am trying to gain some space on my C drive, and I downloaded a program
called CCleaner and I found that I have almost 2 gigabits of temporary
files.The question is What are temporary files, and is it safe to remove
these files?
 
Albert said:
What are temporary files, and is it safe to remove these files?
Click to expand...

Yes it is safe to delete these files. I imagine the program i
referring to temporary internet files, which are simply copies of th
webpages and images from those pages that you have visited. They buil
up over time and need to be deleted once in a while
 
Temporary files are safe to remove. Just let CCleaner to its job.

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Associate Expert
Windows - Shell/User

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Albert said:
I am trying to gain some space on my C drive, and I downloaded a program
called CCleaner and I found that I have almost 2 gigabits of temporary
files.The question is What are temporary files, and is it safe to remove
these files?
Click to expand...


"Temporary" files are just that: files placed on the hard drive for
brief, temporary use by your web browser or application installation
routines. They can be safely deleted. In fact, WinXP won't let you
delete a file that's currently in use.

A primary space waster within each user profile would be IE's
penchant for storing copies (or significant portions thereof) of nearly
every web page your friend has ever visited. Try reducing the amount of
temporary Internet files cached, which is huge by default. I always
reduce it to a maximum of 50 Mb. In Internet Explorer, click Tools >
Internet Options > General, Temporary Files > Settings.

Same principle for the Java cache. Start > Control Panel > Java >
Temporary Internet Files > Settings.

The System Volume Information is the folder in which WinXP's System
Restore feature stores information used to recover from errors. By
default, WinXP sets aside a maximum of 12% of the partition's size for
storing System Volume Information, but the amount of space set aside for
this purpose can be adjusted by the user. Start > All Programs >
Accessories > System Tools > System Restore > System Restore Settings,
select the pertinent partition and click Settings. With today's large
hard drives, 1% to 2% should be more than enough space. If you don't
want to use System Restore at all, simply turn off the System Restore
feature (Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System
Restore, System Restore Settings) and reboot. This will delete all of
your Restore Points, freeing up the hard drive space.

Another great waster of space can be the Recycle Bin. By default,
this takes up to 10% of your hard drive capacity. On today's large hard
drives, this is tremendously wasteful. It can be set to a lower limit
by right-clicking the desktop Receycle Bin icon, selecting Properties,
and using the slider bar to lower the maximum size to something more
reasonable -- 1% to 2% should be more than enough space.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell
 
As many have said, these are likely Temporary Internet Files and can be
deleted. To reduce the size of the "storage area" for these files and
delete the files you can do this: Start Internet Explorer. Click Tools
then Internet Options. Once the options window opens, under the General
tab, click on Delete Files. Click the radio button for Delete all offline
content and then click on OK. Once this has finished (the hourglass goes
back to normal cursor) click on Settings. Now in the new window that opens
you will see a slider and a box telling you how much disk space is being
used for those files. Yours currently should be somewhere around 1.5-2 GB
of drive space. You can use the slider to lower the amount of reserved
space to about 300-400 MB. Click OK to get out of this window and OK to get
out of Internet Options.

If you have freshly rebooted your computer, all files in these locations can
be safely deleted. Look for temporary files is in the C:\Documents and
Settings\EACH ACCOUNT NAME\Local Settings\Temp.
 
I am trying to gain some space on my C drive, and I downloaded a program
called CCleaner and I found that I have almost 2 gigabits of temporary
files.The question is What are temporary files, and is it safe to remove
these files?
Click to expand...


Yes, they can, and should be, deleted periodically.

The temp folder provides workspace for programs. Programs can create
temporary files there for their own temporary use. Each program should
delete all its temporary files when it closes, but for various reasons
it doesn't always happen (for example, if the program crashes, it
never gets to do this). That's why it's a good idea to periodically
clean out anything left there.

Also note that there are some program installations which work in two
steps. The first step concludes by writing temporary files and
rebooting. The second step starts automatically after rebooting and
needs to find those files there (and then deletes them when it's
done).

Other than doing it automatically when rebooting (that would interfere
with installations like the kind I described), it's always safe to
delete the contents of the temp folder. Because it's safe to delete
any temp files that aren't open and in use by an application, and
since Windows won't let you delete open files, it's safe to (try to)
delete them at any time. If any fail to delete because they're open,
they'll either be deleted automatically when the app using them
closes, or you'll get them the next time you delete manually.
 
Thank you everybody you have all been a great help .The temporary files I
was referring to were temporary Internet files and just temporary files .
 
Thank you everybody you have all been a great help .The temporary files I
was referring to were temporary Internet files and just temporary files .
Click to expand...


You're welcome. Glad to help.

Temporary Internet Files are *not* the same as temporary files. But
they too can be deleted.


 
thanks I have just deleted both types of files and everything seems to
working fine
Ken Blake said:
Thank you everybody you have all been a great help .The temporary files I
was referring to were temporary Internet files and just temporary files
.
Click to expand...


You're welcome. Glad to help.

Temporary Internet Files are *not* the same as temporary files. But
they too can be deleted.
Click to expand...
 
Albert Smith said:
thanks I have just deleted both types of files and everything seems to
working fine
Click to expand...


In IE go to Tools | Internet Files and reduce the sized to 50 MB. There is
no need for it to be higher. If you need more complete instructions we need
to know your IE version.
 
Thank you Bruce? re the Recycle Bin.

My slider was on 80%. Could that have contributed to my computer going very
slow?

Katherine
 
jones said:
Thank you Bruce? re the Recycle Bin.

My slider was on 80%. Could that have contributed to my computer going very
slow?

Katherine
Click to expand...


80%? Wow! It might have affected performance if the hard drive was
nearly full.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell
 
In IE go to Tools | Internet Files and reduce the sized to 50 MB. There is
no need for it to be higher. If you need more complete instructions we need
to know your IE version.
Click to expand...

I've always put mine at 5 megs and delete on exit. You don't collect
crap.
 
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