Date Reviewed: January 20, 1998

Article ID: HDH98001

The information in this Help Desk Hint applies to:

• Windows 95

Summary

This Help Desk Hint gives the step by step process for removing old, unneeded temporary filed from the hard drive.

Problem

Whenever a program locks up, or the computer looses power, or just about anything goes wrong, several temporary files are left behind. As programs run, they create and use temporary files. If everything works correctly, and you have a well behaved program, these temporary files are deleted when you exit the program. If they are left behind, the computer does not know how to remove them without a little help from the user.

Solution

1. Click on Start, Shut Down, Restart Computer.
2. Click on Start, Programs, Windows Explorer.
3. Use the +/- sign next to the C:\ drive to expose the file folders in C:\.
4. Scroll down to the Windows file folder, click on the + sign to expose the folders inside of the Windows folder.
5. Scroll down to the Temp folder and click on it.
6. On the right hand side you may see several files listed. These are the useless temporary files you need to remove.
7. Click on the first file at the top, hold down the shift key and press the END key, this will select or highlight all of the files in the folder.
8. Press the DEL key, click on Yes to all. The files are now being removed to the trash bin. When the deleting is done, click on File, Close.
9. You can now empty your recycling bin. If you have removed a great deal of information you may wish to run Scandisk

Benefits

1. Free up disk space on your hard drive
2. Less mess for Windows to deal with in the temporary folder