Temporary files under W2K

[Ken3]

When I was running Win95, I was pretty confident of deleting files under the \WINDOWS\TEMP folder. But since I'm really an end user at my workplace (maybe a novice at best) W2K is obviouslly really different when looking at the directory/folder structure. (I like to understand the computer/system I use).

Here goes.... Under the Local setting\temp folder of my username there are quite a few files accumulated here. Short of displaying contents here, is it safe to remove these files and subfolders permanently? Or is there a standard set that needs to remain?

Also, I see a WINNT/TEMP folder, same question applies.

On my previous computer (W95) I scheduled a batch file to delete the contents of the WINDOWS\TEMP at the end of my work day. I would like to do something similar on this new computer (W2K). As much as there is a boat load of temporary file cleaners out there, I would like to be more comfortable/confident/secure (take your pick) on removing temp files under W2K.

Thanks for any help.

Ken

[Troy]

Delete all files in both the folders without hesitation. But DO NOT DO it before rebooting when you have installed some program or device driver that asks you to reboot.

[MrPewty]

How about XP home?

Are there any files i should be cleaning out? (I already clean the prefetch files)

[Troy]

Do not delete the prefetch files. They help to start your programs faster. Only delete prefetch file when you have done a disk defragmentation. If you want to know why, I can explain.

You can empty the Temp folder, Recent folder and the Temporary Internet Files folder located under Documents And Settings/ User Name/Local Settings ( Hidden ).

[duhmez]

Rebot, wait 1 minute, then delete away and there will be no problem.

[MrPewty]

Troy said:

Do not delete the prefetch files. They help to start your programs faster. Only delete prefetch file when you have done a disk defragmentation. If you want to know why, I can explain.

I would appreciate the explanation Troy. I thought prefetch files just clogged up the system. I have been deleting them with a batch file every time I log in .

Thanks MrP

[HDL]

Originally posted by MrPewty
Troy said:



I would appreciate the explanation Troy. I thought prefetch files just clogged up the system. I have been deleting them with a batch file every time I log in .

Thanks MrP

MrP or Troy,

I'm not familiar with them. I looked up the definition but it didn't tell me what extension they use. Can you enlighten me?


Thanks.

[Ken3]

Troy,

Thanks for the info . I'll schedule the deletions sometime before I shut down the computer at the end of the work day.

Ken3

[Thunder]

Interestingly, Windows XP has a feature unique to it (among other versions of Windows) which can also benefit from a periodic neatening-up. XP creates a system directory called the Prefetch folder and populates it with precached data that's used when you start the system. This is part of the reason boot times in XP are faster than Win2K -- it's getting data intelligently for the boot cycle based on previous boot cycles.

Get this:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/article.php?sid=2495&cat=17

[Troy]

Hi Mr. Pewty, check my words below:

Of everything you can do to optimize Windows XP, one of the simplest is just to use it. As you launch and exploit applications, Windows observes your behavior and updates a dynamic file called Layout.ini. After every three days, when it senses that the computer is idle, it rearranges the locations of programs on the system hard drive to optimize their launch and execution.

XP also speeds up and the boot process and optimizes the launch of programs by using prefetching. Windows observes the code and programs that are used immediately upon bootup and creates a list of data to prefetch very early in the boot process. Similarly, as individual programs are launched, Windows keeps track of different files and components are accessed. The next time the application is accessed, Windows prefetches the necessary items to expedite the application's launch.

The prefetch optimizing code exists both within the XP kernel and the task scheduler service. The kernel keeps track of pages that are referenced by a given process immediately after the process is created. The service transforms the recorded pages into prefetch instructions for that process. The next time the process is created, the kernel executes the prefetch instructions, speeding up the creation of the process.

Disk optimization and application/boot prefetching work in tandem. That is, when XP optimizes file system for faster program access, the data it recorded for the application and bootup prefetch processes is factored in to determine optimal file placement on the disks.

So you understand that an application uses a lot of files. By prefetching, WinXP creates its own comfortable and optimized routine to fetch the files as soon as possible.

But when you do a defragmentation, many files are moved to newer location. As a result the prefetch data does not remain valid anymore. Anyway, windows will find the locations again but this time it will be complicated. So when you defragment your hard drive, clean the prefetch folder so that windows builds its prefetch database from scratch.

Hope this helps. Happy to share the knowledge.

[Troy]

As for the location and properties of the prefetch folder:

The prefetch files are located in you the "Prefetch" folder under your Windows directories.

The prefetch files have a .pf extension. Only one file is named "Layout.ini".

[MrPewty]

Thank you for the info Troy. I will delete the prefetch files on defrag day only.

MrP