Windows ME - Clearing large TEMP folder

[JTH]

Hi,

I'm using Win ME and have a 125mb. + TEMP folder that is part of a problem constantly giving my 20gig. hard drive readings of as low as 1mb.! Can I safely delete files in the TEMP folder or are they important? And how can I get Windows to stop it taking up as much space?

Thanks in advance,

JTH

[mike breck]

Yes,

You can safely delete the contents of C:\Windows\Temp and the Temporary Internet Files folders.

Also, check and see how much room you're Me System Restores are taking up. You can adjust the amount of HD space allocated for these restores.

Check the size of index.dat (or any other .dat files that exist) in C:\Windows\Cookies.

You can't delete index.dat when Windows is running but if it seems abnormally large, you can delete when Windows is starting by adding a line in autoexec.bat

del c:\windows\cookies\index.dat

Windows will build a create a one everytime it starts.

You can add this line to the autoexec.bat by accessing the System Configuration Utility i.e. Start>Run and type MSCONFIG.

HTH

[JTH]

Okay... how do you change the allocation to System Restore and is there a better way to purge the TEMP folder than to just go in and delete everything??

JTH

[mike breck]

Forget what I said before. I forgot Me doesn't have an easily accessible autoexec.bat file. You can do it with an Me startup disk - but it's hardly a convenient way of doing it.

I think you're easiest option with Me is the use the built in Disk Cleanup Tool.

Double-click My Computer, right-click the hard disk on which you want to free space, click Properties, and then click Disk Cleanup on the General tab.

On the Disk Cleanup tab, click to select the check boxes of the files that you want to remove, click OK, click Yes, and then click OK.

According to MS, that should give you options to clean up all
the temp files.

To adjust the HD space allocated to System Restore:

In Control Panel, click System.
Click the Performance tab.
Click the File System button.
On the Hard Disk tab, adjust the System Restore disk space use slider to the preferred size.
The minimum Me will allow you to use is 200MB

You can also flush all but the most recent Restore Points:

Control Panel>System Applet>Click first on the Performance tab, and then on the File System button.

Move the System Restore Space Use slider all the way down to the bottom. Your HD disk should now start working overtime for a while while it is deleting all the extra restore points.

HTH

[JTH]

Unfortunitly Disk Cleanup reads my TEMP file as being 0mb. and even when I tick it and click okay it has no effect. Is there another way?

[mike breck]

What does it say about your Temp Internet folder?

How much space do you have left on your HD?

If space is that tight, you'll need to uninstal some programs or move your data to backup media. The Windows Swap file needs room to breath; otherwise Windows won't operate properly.

How much space is allocated to the System Restore Files?

[JTH]

See I've been having this long-term problem with space whereby no matter how many programs I uninstall and files I move or delete, the lack of space stays the same. I ran a thorough scandisk which found a problem that gave me inaccurate readings for disk space and said it fixed it, but the symptoms remain the same. One minute I have 84mb. left, the next 756kb. (yes it actually did go that low!)

Looking into the problem I found my Temporary Internet Files folder was a whopping 650mb. but I managed to purge it and set it to go no higher than 25mb. My joy was short lived however, as my space soon filled up again. So I began to suspect something else - leading me to my TEMP folder and now, as you've suggested, to System Restore.

So how can I check how much space System Restore is using and change it if necessary? And will I just go into Windows\TEMP and manually delete everything inside to free up space (I mean what size should a TEMP folder be - especially when space is tight - and will it clearing if have any effect?)

Thanks once again,

JTH

[mike breck]

For System Restore, just follow the directions I gave you above:

"To adjust the HD space allocated to System Restore:

In Control Panel, click System.
Click the Performance tab.
Click the File System button.
On the Hard Disk tab, adjust the System Restore disk space use slider to the preferred size.
The minimum Me will allow you to use is 200MB

You can also flush all but the most recent Restore Points:

Control Panel>System Applet>Click first on the Performance tab, and then on the File System button.

Move the System Restore Space Use slider all the way down to the bottom. Your HD disk should now start working overtime for a while while it is deleting all the extra restore points."

The Temp folder should only have a few files in it. It is, as it's name implies, supposed to be a folder used by Windows and other applications to store files "temporarily". The programs should then delete them when they are no longer needed.

However, some programs, like children, don't clean up behind them and that's why debris is left in the folder.

I clean out my folder every few days or so. So on most days, there are only one or two little files in there.

If it has tons, then you need to clean them out. Just go to the Temp folder, select all the files, hold down Shift key, right-click, select Delete.

Holding down the Shift key when you delete anything, deletes the file without sending it to the the Recycle Bin - where, ofcourse, it still takes up Disk Space.

Talking of Recycle Bins - remember to empty it. It may have a little goldmine of old files in there just waiting to be deleted.

However, as I've said, if space is really that short you need to be thinking about unistalling some programs OR getting another HD to expand your storage.

Is most of your HD taken up by programs or by personal data like MP3s, photos etc.

Do you have a CD Writer? If you have a lot of important data, then you should really be backing it up to CD-R or CD-RW anyway. With HDs it not a matter of "if" they die - it's "when".
So a backup is imperative.

Also try running the short version of Scandisk (not the thorough) a few times on your HD. Sometimes you need a few passes for all errors to be identified and fixed.

HTH

[RodneyMargis]

have you considered buying a new drive. they are preety cheap these days you can get a 120ggi 8mb cahce from tigerdirect for $99.99