Deleting Temp Files in Windows XP - Maintenance Tip of the Week

Monday, March 21, 2005

(Note: These are NOT the same as Temporary Internet Files)

 

When you install new applications on your computer, the operating system stores some files, supposedly temporarily, in the "Temp" Folder. But the files aren't always stored temporarily. Often they're kept there for good, or rather no good. That is until you delete them, which is what we're going to do right now.

However, the Temp Folder is usually kept hidden from view. So first we have to unhide it:

Double click on your My Computer icon. click on Tools at the top, then click on Folder Options, then on the View tab.You should see a bunch of checked boxes and round buttons. Look for where it says "Hidden Files and Folders." Underneath it, you should click a dot next to "Show Hidden Files and Folders." Next, click on the Apply button and then OK. Now you'll at least be able to see the folder when we navigate to it.

OK, now we have to get to the Temp Folder:

Double click on My Computer again. Double click on the C Drive. Then double click on the Document and Settings Folder.

Now this may get a little tricky. You may see several folders under Documents and Settings. You may have one with your name on it. You may have one that says All Users, etc. Fish through each folder to see which one contains the Local Settings Folder. That's the one we want right now.

Double click on the Local Settings Folder, and you should see the Temp Folder. See it? Great. Now we can Double Click on it and open it to delete the garbage inside. As a reminder, NEVER delete the actual Temp Folder itself. Windows XP needs it. You can only delete the files and folders inside of it.

OK, so you see a lot of stuff in there? Not to worry.

I suggest highligting a block of several files or folders at a time. To do this, click once to highlight the first file. Then hold down the Shift Key and click on the last file in the block. The entire block should be highlighted (probably in blue). Then hit the Delete Key on your keyboard.

If you're lucky all the files in the block will be deleted. But more often than not you'll get an error message saying you can't delete a certain file. Then you sort of have to delete the files in the block one by one to see which ones won't delete. Repeat these steps for the entire folder.

Now you're bound to have at least several files you couldn't delete. Try restarting your computer, finding the Temp Folder all over again, and deleting those pesky files on more time. If you can't delete them all, don't worry about it. If you cleaned out most of the Temp Folder, at least you got rid of most of the garbage and you can leave the rest.

After you've done this, I would wait a week or so to make sure you didn't delete anything important. Then I would empty your Recycle Bin, because that's where all the files went that you deleted!