Disc Cleanup

[jimmyringo]

Hi,
I just ran disc cleanup and it tells me that i can delete 30.7GB of temp files.This seems a huge amount to me.Is it safe to delete these or is there a chance i'll be losing something i need?

jimmyringo

 

[saltynay]

How long have you had the computer? Its not a surprising amount of junk.

Windows disk clean up misses loads but it does only delete the completely unused files, so you will be fine, you should still always have a copy of your most important files I have triple backups just because I can and one hdd may day but unlikely all 3 will die within the 2 weeks it takes me to order my replacement.

 

[jimmyringo]

I've had it about a year but it gets quite a bit of use.

All the wifes university work is backed up in triplicate so no probs there.

is there any way to view these files before deleting?

 

[saltynay]

Not through the built in tool I believe, you can use a program called reg cleaner which lets you view as you go. You can also manually do it without much issue are you running vista or xp? The easiest way is just to reinstall windows and start a fresh takes about 30 mins and then 10 to get all your programs back (depending on the speed of your computer ofcourse), I start a fresh copy of windows every two months to keep my pc at optimum performance temp files will bog down the speed.

 

[Arfie]

I use ccleaner to keep my disks clear of clutter and it gives you a full list of everything it is deleting.

But 30gb does sound like a massive amount of disk space, bearing in mind my current laptop only has a 40gb disk however if you've never emptied the recycle bin it is certainly possible.

Arfie

 

[Colin_T]

Whenever you make a new document or file, a copy is saved in a temp folder for quick reference by the computer. This is only used by the computer and is safe to delete as it is only a copy of the original file.

First open Windows Explorer and go into the Tools tab at the top of the window. In the tools menu click on Folder Options. Click on the View tab. Click on the circle next to “Show hidden files and folders”. Then click OK to close that window.

You can find the temp files on Windows XP by looking in the C: drive.
Then go to Documents and Settings
Click on your user name, ie: Colin/ Local Settings/ Temp. These are the temp files that will be deleted.
Underneath the Temp file are the Temporary Internet Files and these can be deleted too as they take up a bit of space if you surf a lot.

After you have looked at your files go back to the Tools tab in Windows Explorer and open up Folder Options again. Click on View and then click the circle next to “Do not show hidden files and folders”. Then click OK.