and still ANOTHER computer question

[Beerd]

My computer has 444 gig of space on the hard drive, and it's getting full.
Are the files in C:\Windows\Temp\ something that can be deleted without messing up something I don't want to mess up?
Thanks.
..

[Conditor22]

don't delete anything that ends with .exe

These are safe to delete: (won't hurt how the computer runs)
any JPG, WMV picture files
PDF, DOC, EXCEL, MP3 or MP4 (music or video) file
empty the recycle bin

you can download and run CCleaner Free http://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner hit run cleaner and only clean/remove the files from the default setting.


You can also download and run defraggler http://www.ccleaner.com/defraggler/download click the ▼ by defrag and select "quick defrag"

It will offer to empty your recycle bin say yes. this doesn't remove anything besides emptying the recycle bin but it organizes your file so your computer runs better

[flyingmonkey35]

before you do anything. Buy a flash drive and BACKUP YOUR DATA!

YOUR PHOTOS
IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS
VIDEOS
.
then you can start cleaning stuff up

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[Mal Paso]

Find a $40 1 TB hard disk that has cloning software you can download free and a $12 disk x usb adapter. (Amazon) Swap drives and live in bliss a while longer. SSDs are about $125/TB if you want to burn rubber.

[Land Owner]

1.) How "full" is "getting full"? Go to Windows Explorer. Hold your cursor over the C:/ Drive. RIGHT click. In the drop down menu==>PROPERTIES will tell you how full or empty your computer has become. If you are running Windows 10, there is a DISK CLEANUP button there. Use it.

2.) Go to START (bottom left corner at Microsoft logo) SETTINGS==>APPS, sort by SIZE and see if there are any large applications that you do not want, then UNINSTALL them. This is probably not going to retrieve a lot of space, but it will get rid of unwanted applications and their bulk.

3.) You do not have to seek the TEMP files to delete. Start off with CTRL-SHIFT-DELETE simultaneously. This is the acceptable "first volley" against TEMP file storage.

At the drop down menu check ALL of the boxes and let your machine's software, the software put there by Microsoft for this very thing, do its best to delete the junk in TEMP folders. Repeat the process multiple times to be sure. On exit, CHECK the box that removes this junk every time you turn your computer off.

4.) Go to RECYCLE BIN and EMPTY it.

5.) Turn OFF your computer for 20-30 seconds and turn it ON again. Check disk space as in 1.) above.

[DougGuy]

For the most part you are okay emptying the C:\Windows\Temp directory. You can also go into your browser, in the preferences, and find where you can clear cache. I would not check the cookies box, you will have to input all your passwords again.

A VERY helpful free app is called WinDirStat, it gives you a graphical view of files on your drive, you can navigate within this app, you can delete files and whole folders within this app. You can also hunt files by size, for instance if you ever watched a movie online, those huge files may still be stored on your PC, WinDirStat will find them.

https://windirstat.net/

245056

[Traffer]

Actually 444 GB of hard drive should be pretty good unless you "collect" video files or other very large files.
Depending on how much you understand about computers, if instructions get dizzying. You can use the Ccleaner program. It will clean temp stuff. There is also a part of the program that will help you find files you don't need.
In Tools>disk analyzer it will show what files are on there with largest first in each category. You will have to decide whether you want to copy them to a different disk or dvd or just delete them if you want to free up space.
There is also a "Duplicate finder" in the tools section. Be careful with it. Just because there are duplicates doesn't mean you want to delete what are duplicates. Check it out well first then do them as you are sure where the originals are. It is a good program for people who don't want to get real involved in the operations of their computers. Handy as they say.

[Dieselhorses]

Type %temp% in the run line, press enter. Press "CTRL-A" simultaneously to select all, then delete, it may not delete everything as something might be running, but you are safe to do delete what you can.

[David2011]

before you do anything. Buy a flash drive and BACKUP YOUR DATA!

YOUR PHOTOS
IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS
VIDEOS
.
then you can start cleaning stuff up

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

After 25 years in IT I would recommend a USB hard drive over a flash drive 1000 times. Flash drives are OK for transferring data but too risky for using as backup. I've had to try to recover too much data from flash drives that have become corrupted.


Type %temp% in the run line, press enter. Press "CTRL-A" simultaneously to select all, then delete, it may not delete everything as something might be running, but you are safe to do delete what you can.

That will clear the Temp folder but it will send the files to the Recycle Bin so the space is still occupied on the drive. To recover the space the Recycle Bin should be emptied after carefully reviewing the contents.

[Dieselhorses]

After 25 years in IT I would recommend a USB hard drive over a flash drive 1000 times. Flash drives are OK for transferring data but too risky for using as backup. I've had to try to recover too much data from flash drives that have become corrupted.



That will clear the Temp folder but it will send the files to the Recycle Bin so the space is still occupied on the drive. To recover the space the Recycle Bin should be emptied after carefully reviewing the contents.

That is correct, I'm just so use to getting message "What you are deleting is too big for recycle bin, do you want to permanently delete the files?" Thanks for the correction.

[Beerd]

I found a LOT of files with names like cab_01234_1 in the Windows\Temp folder.
Deleting them didn't seem to hurt anything and it freed up 400 gig (how many 0's is that?) of hard drive space.
..

[Dieselhorses]

Holy Moly! Well there was your culprit. Carefully examine Recycle Bin like David mentioned and then empty it.


I found a LOT of files with names like cab_01234_1 in the Windows\Temp folder.
Deleting them didn't seem to hurt anything and it freed up 400 gig (how many 0's is that?) of hard drive space.
..

[Traffer]

400Gb of cab files? That is hard to believe.

[Land Owner]

You need to turn ON a toggle that deletes TEMP files upon exiting as well as REDUCE the size of your internet cache to prevent these from compounding an unwarranted decrease in your remaining storage space. Before Win 10, I used to know where these toggles and size reducing decisions were. Now, IDK. Some research has uncovered the following:

START > SETINGS > SYSTEM > STORAGE > Keep Clutter Off of Your PC > Get help freeing up space

[waksupi]

I store everything on thumb drives, and in the cloud.