Millions of Temporary Internet Files in temp folder

Good Day,
My sister gave me her dell dimension 3000 to look at a few days ago, It has a 80gb hard drive with XP operating system.

I noticed the first thing is the PC was SUPER SLOW. I looked at the hard drive pie and it was 100% full I ran ccleaner for 16hrs it was still at 0% finished. It continued to pull files from folder Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5

At this point I thought malware or virus so I ran malwarebytes. 16hrs later it found 1 trojan and was STILL RUNNING at this point I stopped the scan and deleted the trojan. (sorry off the top of my head, I don't remember the name)

At this point I went in and disabled the hibernation on the PC and looked at the internet options "Browsing History" setting it was at 250 I changed it to 50

I am assuming this is simply a HUGE hidden internet temp folder that's FILLED with junk temp files..

I then (in internet options) selected delete temp internet files. (it's been running since 9am this morning)

I tried some clears other then ccleaner I got the same results (freezing up or just running forever)

At this time I have had the delete temp internet files process still running I guess this is the only way to clear the folders out correct? This can run for DAYS

Is there a better (faster way) ?
Thanks
Superlost6

 

>> My sister gave me her dell dimension 3000 to look at a few days ago, It has a 80gb hard drive with XP operating system. I noticed the first thing is the PC was SUPER SLOW. I looked at the hard drive pie and it was 100% full. Superlost6<<

Hi Superlost...

A few questions... Since the computer was a gift and you only received it "a few days ago" have you gone to Windows Update yet for the very latest Windows XP updates? Additionally, did your sister have the same exact problems with the computer before you received it? Also, how much memory do you currently have installed?

My first advice right off the bat would be to try a much faster cleaner, something like Disk Cleaner which you can download from right here at MajorGeeks.

Side Note: Just a thought. If the hard drive is reading at 100% full - since this Dell Dimension 3000 is obviously an older model which is running extremely slowly and the other cleaners you tried didn't work; then my advice would be that it might actually be easier for you perhaps start out clean by reinstalling the operating system. I know this sounds a bit drastic but if the hard drive is 100% full I believe the problem could be that the computer might very well have far more problems than just too many temporary files on it.

Of course, before you take that drastic a step, you should probably wait until the other Major Geek members chime in with their good advice concerning this problem.

Good Luck! -- COMP​

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Hi my friend , you can follow these tips

Start - Run cleanmgr - ok removing all files
Start - Run prefetch - ok removing all files
Start - Run %temp% - ok removing all files

also you can download this

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/defraggler.html

even you can check the status of your hdd ( Health/Performance ) , download this utility

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/hard_disk_sentinel.html

you can give your service tag by following this

http://www.dell.com/support/trouble...KcsArticles/ArticleView?c=&l=&s=&docid=267748 :wave

 

COMPUABLE, Thanks for the reply. For the record, my sister gave to me to fix not keep and she has a ton of business on the PC so losing data is not an option. The PC has 1.5 gig ram and all windows updates are up to par. I ran the clear link you posted. It cleans some items just not the internet i5 temp folder ?????

I would love to format drive and be done with it, yet I LOVE the challenge of finding and fixing the problems. It's in my blood.

Falconattack, Thanks for the reply.

Start - Run cleanmgr - ok removing all files
program starts yet simply does not respond as way to many items?

Start - Run prefetch - ok removing all files
this only had maybe 20 files, yet deleted them

Start - Run %temp% - ok removing all files
this only had maybe 13 files, and I deleted them

WERE AM I NOW,
I stand corrected, the Hard Drive is 70gig and was 100% full. after deleting as much as I could that was non useful to this PC I have freed up about 19gig on the Hard Drive. The PC is running good now however, The problem still exist. There is a HUGE Temp Internet folder FILLED with files..

I started to run a "QUICK SCAN" superantispyware. It's been running for 1hr. Has found 500 tracking cookie threats and is still running. (it's been in this same TEMP folder for 45min) see attached image

How do I know the problem is still there you ask?
After getting back 19gig on Hard Drive I attempted to run ccleaner and after 4hrs it was still showing status 0% and still in the temporary internet folder.

I know this problem is common as there are tons of post for this issue. (temp folder took over hard drive)

However, I would Love to delete all the items in this folder simply by running ccleaner for 10 days (if that's what it takes)

I'm not sure if this malware or virus related as it takes days to run a quick scan for any program. This is why I have been persistent in deleting as much as I can to assist in a faster scan for the programs.

Any Ideas? :confused
Superlost6

 

Good job on getting back 19 Gigs.

Run it over night (for convenience) or more if required. I've seen current machines with no housekeeping take hours!!!

Don't worry about the tracking cookies- SAS flags them by default. CCleaner will take care of that.

Work your way through the Read & Run Me.
Post the requested logs in Malware Removal.

Cheers..

 

>> Thanks for the reply. For the record, my sister gave to me to fix not keep and she has a ton of business on the PC so losing data is not an option. <<

Anytime, Superlost...

Since your sister has a "ton of business data" on her computer; since "the PC is running good now," you should consider immediately backing up all of that data onto either an external drive or perhaps on a few CDs and/or DVDs - just in case something goes wrong she'll still have that date preserved. Secondly, she might benefit from having more than 1.5 gig of ram installed. When the Dell Dimension 3000 desktops first came out that amount of RAM memory was sufficient back then. However nowadays with memory consuming applications (and updates of old apps) she would most definitely benefit greatly having more installed and memory priced have gone way down as of late. Dells are also very easy to open and install memory sticks.

Side Note: Additionally, there is also a freeware version of a "multi-purpose" utility program available called Glary Utilities that might be useful in this situation. The Temporary Files Cleaner option removes useless "junk data" from your disks and can recovers disk space in the process. The program can also do a lot more than that, but you might consider looking through the HELP files (before using it) in order to get the most out of its many additional useful options available. It also offers a large variety impressive and easy-to-use system tools and utilities to fix, speed up, maintain your PC.

P.S. I highly recommend this program as I have tested every single version update since it was in beta. It is regularly updated and can automatically check for that, as well.

Good Luck! -- COMP​

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Many thanks to all for the input. I determined to to fix this without formatting. II did what I said I was going to do in last post, "Run Cleaner" for days until it deleted every file.

Ccleaner is a good program and I've used it for years. However, I found a cleaner simply called "Clean-up" It deletes files 10 to 1 compared to Ccleaner (it's 10 X's faster) . I ran it Clean-up for 18hrs and was able to delete every temp file in the ie5 temp folder. I have now recovered 40gigs of the 70gig hard drive.

Now that I have a clean drive I am going to run all the malware/virus scans and post the logs in the proper section of the forum...
Thanks to all!
Superlost6

 

You can read this

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/...nup#delete-files-using-disk-cleanup=windows-7

also you can run this tool

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/defraggler.html

as i suggested you before , i am happy you sorted out the problem you had :wave

 

Is this the program?
http://www.stevengould.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=69
It would be a good tool to use on the seniors computers I look at when no sort of maintenance is ever done.

I just spied this:
System Requirements
You need to be running one of the following Operating Systems:
Windows XP (any edition)
Windows 2000 (Professional, Server or Advanced Server)
Windows NT 4.0 (Workstation or Server)
Windows ME
Windows 98
Windows 95

So it looks like it won't work on anything above XP.

 

>> So it looks like it won't work on anything above XP. plodr <<

CleanUp was a great 'donation-ware ' program back in the day and it still is used by many users who just want an east-to-use and simple to operate cleaning app for their older computers. Steven Gould the program author was really quite an innovator when it came to providing a freeware alternative to manually deleting "unnecessary" temp and registry files on computers - from way back to Win 95. When I first started getting interested in freeware apps I actually contacted him a few times to thank him. He was one of the few programs authors who had time to promptly reply to support emails - even if users didn't donate he would so, as well.

However, CleanUp 4.5.2 has not been updated since Dec. 2006 so I'm not sure if I would risk by using on Windows 7 or 8 - Windows 7 was released to manufacturing on in July of 2009.

Important Side Notes: In the 'options' section of this app there are some options available that I would not advise using, especially for newbies. No matter what operating system you use, if you decide to try it, be sure to read the both the FAQ as well as"Known Issues/Bugs" sections of the CleanUp website. Especially this one: "Under some - not all - configurations of Windows XP enabling the option "Scan local drives for temporary files" can result in some required system files being deleted."

Good Luck! -- COMP​

 

I've been using Windows CleanUp! v4.5.2 for about 4 months on my Windows 7 (sp1) 64-bit system and it works great. It doesn't get everything but it's simple, fast and safe... as long as you use the "Standard Clean Up" setting under the "General" tab in the Options screen. You can configure the program to scan your drives for custom defined junk files but that adds a lot of time to the scan. You can also add custom directories to clean out but I wouldn't add anything here unless you're sure you know what you'll be deleting.

The program keeps track of user stats and so far I've run it 208 times and cleaned up 35.8 GB of junk.

 

>> It doesn't get everything but it's simple, fast and safe... as long as you use the "Standard Clean Up" setting under the "General" tab in the Options screen. You can configure the program to scan your drives for custom defined junk files but that adds a lot of time to the scan. You can also add custom directories to clean out but I wouldn't add anything here unless you're sure you know what you'll be deleting. <<

That's great rusty!

I've have always I believed that users should always utilize only the apps which they are most comfortable with - whether it is an older or newer utility or program. And I totally agree people that have never used CleanUp before shouldn't click on the "additional options" unless they sure of what they are deleting as well as the potential consequences.

I always glance through the HELP files first. That's very good advice as well, regarding using "Standard Clean Up" setting under the "General" tab in the Options screen.

I actually used that CleanUp utility program from Windows 98 until Windows XP with absolutely no problems at all. However, I currently primarily use Glary Utilities and CCleaner Portable (for whenever I'm in a hurry) for my Windows 7 and 8 computers. Also, because it is "donationware" if anybody who uses CleanUp wants to thank Steven Gould the programs developer, I'm quite sure he'd would certainly appreciate it. Even just a brief email alone saying thank you would be good as well.

Good Luck! -- COMP​

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I suggest running MalwareBytes in safe mode, and any other anti-virus or anti-malware program you like. if there are net nasties on the system, this should keep most if not all of them from running in the background and interfering with your program's progress.

If you think you have a virus infestation that cannot be dealt with this way, go to the Malware thread here and follow the instructions to the letter. There are some scary-smart folks lurking in there

Probably worth a try to run cleaning programs that you are comfortable with in safe mode also . . .

For general computer speed boosts, check "Startup" in the program list and see what's there . . . a lot of programs insert themselves in your computer's start up routine needlessly - I've always considered that akin to leaving your car idling all the time just in case you want to go somewhere . . . it's not worth saving a few seconds starting a program to have it eating up resources all the time in the back ground when you aren't using it.

 

>> For general computer speed boosts, check "Startup" in the program list and see what's there. A lot of programs insert themselves in your computer's start up routine needlessly. Spad <<

Hi Spad,

A few years ago while I was still using XP, I always used Mike Lin's "StartupCPL" to accomplish the management of start-up programs.

It works very well on Windows 95, 98, 2000 as well as XP - in order to very easily configure which programs run when the computer starts. You can also easily reverse the process by just checking the box on the program list and then it will run once again in Start Up, should you change your mind. When it was originally released it was really sort of a revolutionary first-of-its-kind tool and was such a relief to use; rather than haphazardly fiddling around w/MSCONFIG in order to configure exactly which programs run when your computer starts. MSCONFIG can be far more tricky to use, especially for new users.

Side Notes: The StartupCPL utility program is a very easy-to-use and intuitive tool, really (especially for Windows XP users) but unfortunately as far as I know, StartupCPL has not been updated since 2004 and Mike's primary website is down. Currently there are a number of start-up apps which do a far better job of managing startup programs IMO; such as CodeStuff Starter and Sysinternals Autoruns for Windows.

I could be wrong but I do not think available is CodeStuff Starter for download here at Major Geeks… but you can get it from this this link.

Good Luck - COMP​

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I started a new post with logs from all the scans. Thanks for all the help guys!
Superlost6

 

I use Starter all the time for when I want to change startup apps only (which is all the time). There's a working homepage mirror at the following address where one can download the latest version 5.6.2.9:

http://codestuff.obninsk.ru/

It doesn't allow toggling of services and drivers like AutoRuns but I don't change those much so I just use the faster loading Starter app.

Looks like we have the same taste in programs, COMPUTABLE

 

>> It doesn't allow toggling of services and drivers like AutoRuns but I don't change those much so I just use the faster loading Starter app. Looks like we have the same taste in programs.. rustysavage <<

I agree entirely, Rusty.

Great program with a very small amount of spent memory usage while it is running. I generally use the AutoRuns 'services' option to uncover any baddies (running with stealth), but I rarely use it for entirely disabling services. The app called System Explorer is very good for this as well. Additionally, if I'm having trouble I also use the System Explorer as the temporary 'default' task manager replacing the one that came with Windows. I like the fact that it stays in the taskbar area and displays a red light when memory or CPU usage is suddenly surging.

Good Luck -- COMP​