Cleaning Up Your Temp Files
I am going to do a series of three articles on Emptemp. In this article, I'm going to explain how to use it to quickly, easily and safely delete your temporary files. Next month, I'll explain using it to keep your cookies deleted, and the following month I'll explain how I use it as a scheduled task to delete my temporary files and cookies twice a week automatically.
What are Temp Files?
While installing programs and frequently at other times Windows Installers or other software write files to the hard drive for temporary use. These files should be erased after use, but often are not.
Why do you want to delete them?
All these extra files not only take up space, but can sometimes confuse software and⁄or Windows.
What Precautions should you take?
- Do not delete temp files currently in use!
- Do not delete needed files.
Fix a Windows Flaw first!
Before running Emptemp, reduce your temporary Internet files to a sane level.
- Open: Control Panel
- Open: Internet Options
- Under: Temporary Internet Files - Select: Settings
- Set your Temporary Internet Files to between 15 and 25 megabytes. Windows normally sets this WAY too high. Click: OK
- When you are returned to the General Internet Properties Tab, Click: Delete Files to empty your excessive Temporary Internet Files.
Using EmpTemp to Remove Temp Files
This program allows you to easily and quickly delete your temporary files.
- Install and run the program.
- Select the “Options” Menu and “Program Options”
- Set it to not delete files unless they are over 1 day old
- Then go to the “Add Predefined Folders” from the “Options” Menu.
- Select all the Temp folders. I do not select any of the recent or history folders. I appreciate having lists of recent files used, so I do not want these deleted.
- If you have a program that stores temporary files in a particular place, then you can add those files from the Action Menu. For example, Timeslips usually stores it's temporary files in a TEMP folder underneath the Timeslips program folder on each local machine, and Timeslips wants you to remember to delete them! Let Emptemp do it for you by adding that temporary file folder to your temporary folder list.
- Now, and into the future, all you'll need to do is click the multiple folder Icon, and all folder items more than 24 hours old will be deleted.
Next month I'll show you how to expand Emptemp to handle Cookies, and the following month we'll see how to schedule it so you'll never have to think about temporary files again.