Temporary internet files wont delete.

[needhelp]

I have Win ME on one of my computers and recently I ran the disk clean up utility that comes with Windows and tried to delete my temproary internet files. It starts to do its thing and then the application freezes. There are a lot of files in that folder so I thought maybe I had better delete them manually. So I tried to delete them by selecting all in files in temporary internet folder and hitting "delete" same thing, it just froze and nothing would delete. Its not the computer that freezes, just the task of deleting the files freezes.
I tried selecting about a hundred files at a time and then hit delete and this seemed to work so after what seemed like hours I deleted all the files in the temporary internet folder using this method, selecting a few at a time. So my temp internet folder was empty, or so I thought, when I rebooted my computer, you guessed it, all my temporary internet files were still in the temporary internet files folder.
Is there another way I can delete these files permenantly from my computer, I have never had this problem before. Maybe there is another application I can download to do this. Is this a common problem and how do I solve it guys.

[Panama Red]

Try doing it in Safe Mode. If necessary, do small blocks of files rather than all at once.

[needhelp]

Thanks Pananma, will give it a try.

[Kov-Ice]

That's virus-like behavior. Definitely go to Safe Mode, but make sure you scan your computer with a good Anit-Virus product while there.

[GaryRouth]

. . . lots of good advice already! I'd also add another few things, just to be extra-sure:

Why not change the setting in Internet Options (if you're using IE) under the "Advanced" tab, go down the long list to the "Security" section (not the Security tab, but the Security section in the Advanced tab) and place a checkmark in the box beside "Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed" - this should help things not build up in the future. Storing such temporary files is really a relic of the days when modems connected at 28k & caching things helped a little. No need for it nowadays.

And - might want to try an online scan after all the rest of your trouble-shooting, just to double-check on things (viruses can sometimes successfully compromise your locally installed antivirus scanner)... HouseCall does a pretty nice job http://housecall.trendmicro.com

Best of luck
. . . Gary

[Jomama]

Try emptying your recycle bin first.