Help Bruno Clear 500MB of Temp Files

  • Thread starter Thread starter kuengb
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around how to clear over 500 MB of temporary files from a PC, specifically focusing on "Temporary Internet Files" and other temporary files that may be taking up space on the C: drive. Participants explore various methods and tools for file deletion, including built-in Windows options and third-party software.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • Bruno seeks assistance in deleting temporary files that are not visible in Windows Explorer.
  • Dduardo suggests using Internet Explorer's tools to clear temporary Internet Files.
  • Some participants propose searching for *.tmp files to locate and delete temporary files, with caution about potential software dependencies.
  • There is a discussion about the proper method of deleting temp files, with some arguing that it should be done outside of Windows to avoid issues.
  • ShawnD mentions using Disk Cleanup as another method to remove temporary files.
  • Bruno expresses confusion about why Windows retains so much internet data, speculating it may be a remnant from older internet usage habits.
  • Another participant provides a performance comparison of loading web pages with and without cache enabled, arguing that caching significantly speeds up page loading times.
  • A suggestion is made to download a specific software, Find Junk Files 3.0, for scanning and deleting unnecessary files.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants present multiple methods for clearing temporary files, but there is no consensus on the best approach. Some methods are contested, and participants express differing opinions on the implications of deleting certain files.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention potential risks associated with deleting temporary files, particularly regarding software dependencies. There is also uncertainty about the effectiveness of built-in cleanup tools like Disk Cleanup.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for users experiencing storage issues on their PCs, particularly those unfamiliar with managing temporary files and seeking various methods for file deletion.

kuengb
Messages
108
Reaction score
0
I hope you don't mind if I use the Software forum to ask for help with my PC. I'm sure someone can help me.

I have just detected that there are over 500 MB in my "Temporary Internet Files" folder, but by whatever reason none of the files is displayed in the Windows explorer. So, how can I delete them? (It's getting hot since I've only got 5MB left on C: :eek: )

Thanks for help
Bruno
 
Computer science news on Phys.org
Go into Internet Explorer, then do tools->internet options. There should be a button in the window that pops up that clears your temporary Internet Files
 
Or go to start->find and type in *.tmp

It will find all your temporary files, which you can then delete.. just know that if after that some software doesn't start anymore, it was installed in that folder and got deleted.. maybe you want to skim through before.. it happened to me once with software driving the scanner of my dad's computer, I reinstalled it for him though :)
 
Duh Monique, that's why you do it through Internet Explorer.
 
Monique said:
Or go to start->find and type in *.tmp

It will find all your temporary files, which you can then delete.. just know that if after that some software doesn't start anymore, it was installed in that folder and got deleted.. maybe you want to skim through before.. it happened to me once with software driving the scanner of my dad's computer, I reinstalled it for him though :)
What kuengb wanted to do was clear his internet cache files. That is easily done the way dduardo explained, assuming kuengb is using IE.

What Monique was referring to is the cleaning of the temp files associated with Windows. Temp files are used by Windows to operate faster. Normally Windows gets rid of them when you close down the program. But if your machine locks up they can be left behind. The ONLY way to PROPERLY get rid of them is from OUTSIDE Windows. This is because there should be none in use when you boot into the DOS Mode and removing any that exist will not cause any problems.

Some of the newer operating systems do an automatic clean up, so it is no longer an issue.

If you do it inside Windows, which is what Monique showed, you need to watch for prompts. If a file is associated with a working program it will usually ask if you *really* want to delete it, just say no, then you won't risk disabling something you need. It will continue to delete all other temp files.
 
Last edited:
Another way is to run Disk Cleanup.
 
dduardo said:
Duh Monique, that's why you do it through Internet Explorer.
Ok, I missed that he was talking about Internet files.. but the .tmp files can get really huge too, as were in that computer at the time. I was told it doesn't hurt to delete them.
 
Thank you all!

Dduardo, that worked perfectly. So easy - should have thought of something like that myself (I'm mostly using Netscape, to my excuse).

And ShawnD, I ran disk cleanup several times (Windows forced me to), and it actually said that it would clean temp. int. files, but it obviously didn't. Strange thing.

I'm really asking myself why Windows hoards all this internet data; guess that's a relict from the time when most of the people still were using 56k-modems, not?

Bruno
 
kuengb said:
I'm really asking myself why Windows hoards all this internet data; guess that's a relict from the time when most of the people still were using 56k-modems, not?

Actually it's so pages load over 90% faster. You can test it yourself if you want to. Make sure cache is enabled.
Go to http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/ site and see how long it takes to load.
Exit IE.
Open that same page again and see how long it takes to load.
Turn off internet cache.
Exit IE.
Open the same page again and see how long it takes to load.


With cache on, the first time opening that page should take about 5-10 seconds, and the second time opening that page should take about 1 second.
With cache off, every time will take 5-10 seconds.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Similar threads

Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
4K
Replies
8
Views
3K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
4K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
5K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
Replies
2
Views
2K