Safe to delete .chk and .tmp files?

[Chris Yeung]

I would like to know for those numerous files converted from errors in
chkdsk, where are they kept and could I safely delete them if my XP has no
problems starting up again? The files in windows/temp directory also. Is it
safely to clean this directory before I shut down my computer?

Thanks,
Chris

[Sharon F]

Chris Yeung wrote:
> I would like to know for those numerous files converted from errors in
> chkdsk, where are they kept

Whenever chkdsk has removed files on my system, it placed them into a newly
created folder named Found.0001. The Found* folder was placed inside of
Documents and Settings\<user name>

You can search for the folder if you'd like. To do so, open Windows
Explorer. Click on Tools> Folder Options. Make the change Show all hidden
files and folders. Then use Start> Search and look for "Found"

>and could I safely delete them if my XP has no
> problems starting up again?

Yes, you can safely delete them. Even if XP has a problem starting again, it
would be better to do a repair install than to try to restore potentially
damaged files.

>The files in windows/temp directory also. Is it
> safely to clean this directory before I shut down my computer?

I prefer to delete temp files at startup. Reason: Many software setup
programs will use the initial restart after an installation to make changes.
Sometimes that includes overwriting files that were previously in use. The
new files are usually stored in the Temp folder for this purpose.


> Thanks,
> Chris

You're welcome.


--
Sharon F
Microsoft MVP, Windows - Shell/User

[Pebso]

deleting temp files at startup seems a good idea; are you sauggesting that
this is done automatically, if so how would I go about this please?

TIA


"Sharon F" > wrote in message
...
> Chris Yeung wrote:
> > I would like to know for those numerous files converted from errors in
> > chkdsk, where are they kept
>
> Whenever chkdsk has removed files on my system, it placed them into a
newly
> created folder named Found.0001. The Found* folder was placed inside of
> Documents and Settings\<user name>
>
> You can search for the folder if you'd like. To do so, open Windows
> Explorer. Click on Tools> Folder Options. Make the change Show all hidden
> files and folders. Then use Start> Search and look for "Found"
>
> >and could I safely delete them if my XP has no
> > problems starting up again?
>
> Yes, you can safely delete them. Even if XP has a problem starting again,
it
> would be better to do a repair install than to try to restore potentially
> damaged files.
>
> >The files in windows/temp directory also. Is it
> > safely to clean this directory before I shut down my computer?
>
> I prefer to delete temp files at startup. Reason: Many software setup
> programs will use the initial restart after an installation to make
changes.
> Sometimes that includes overwriting files that were previously in use. The
> new files are usually stored in the Temp folder for this purpose.
>
>
> > Thanks,
> > Chris
>
> You're welcome.
>
>
> --
> Sharon F
> Microsoft MVP, Windows - Shell/User
>

[Sharon F]

I'm suggesting that any needed changes a program installation will make at
the next startup will happen "automatically." (They're not really but since
the underpinnings that accomplish this task are behind the scenes, it seems
automatic.)

Deleting abandoned Temp files still needs to be done manually. By default,
Windows XP has a Windows\Temp folder and a Temp folder in Documents and
Settings for each and every user account. To see the folders, change Folder
Options, View to show all files and folders. Then in Windows Explorer,
navigate to Documents and Settings\<your user account>\Local Settings\Temp.

Select all of the files and folders inside Temp and delete. Do not delete
the Temp folder itself. Leave that where it is. If Windows is using any of
the selected objects, it will name names and refuse to delete them. Select
all files and folders again. Press Ctrl and click on the file names Windows
said it couldn't delete. This will deselect those items from the group. Then
press Delete on the keyboard to finish up.

Repeat the steps for deleting objects located in the Windows\Temp folder.

(NOTE: If you check System> Performance> Environment Variables, you can view
a list of paths that lead to the designated TEMP folders on your system

Alternatively, you can leave Disk Cleanup to do this cleaning up of Temp
files for you. However, it will only delete files and folders in the Temp
locations that have been hanging around for 14 days or more. A nice safety
factor added to an automated tool allowed to delete files. However, if
having trouble with a program installation -- or -- after installing a
rather large program and restarting, use Windows Explorer in the manner
described above to clean out the Temp folders to a greater degree.


--
Sharon F
Microsoft MVP, Windows - Shell/User


Pebso wrote:
> deleting temp files at startup seems a good idea; are you sauggesting that
> this is done automatically, if so how would I go about this please?
>
> TIA
>
>
> "Sharon F" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Chris Yeung wrote:
>>> I would like to know for those numerous files converted from errors in
>>> chkdsk, where are they kept
>>
>> Whenever chkdsk has removed files on my system, it placed them into a
newly
>> created folder named Found.0001. The Found* folder was placed inside of
>> Documents and Settings\<user name>
>>
>> You can search for the folder if you'd like. To do so, open Windows
>> Explorer. Click on Tools> Folder Options. Make the change Show all hidden
>> files and folders. Then use Start> Search and look for "Found"
>>
>>> and could I safely delete them if my XP has no
>>> problems starting up again?
>>
>> Yes, you can safely delete them. Even if XP has a problem starting again,
>> it would be better to do a repair install than to try to restore
>> potentially damaged files.
>>
>>> The files in windows/temp directory also. Is it
>>> safely to clean this directory before I shut down my computer?
>>
>> I prefer to delete temp files at startup. Reason: Many software setup
>> programs will use the initial restart after an installation to make
>> changes. Sometimes that includes overwriting files that were previously
in
>> use. The new files are usually stored in the Temp folder for this
purpose.
>>
>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Chris
>>
>> You're welcome.
>>
>>
>> --
>> Sharon F
>> Microsoft MVP, Windows - Shell/User

[Pebso]

Thank you, I'll look at the appropriate folders.
"Sharon F" > wrote in message
...
> I'm suggesting that any needed changes a program installation will make at
> the next startup will happen "automatically." (They're not really but
since
> the underpinnings that accomplish this task are behind the scenes, it
seems
> automatic.)
>
> Deleting abandoned Temp files still needs to be done manually. By default,
> Windows XP has a Windows\Temp folder and a Temp folder in Documents and
> Settings for each and every user account. To see the folders, change
Folder
> Options, View to show all files and folders. Then in Windows Explorer,
> navigate to Documents and Settings\<your user account>\Local
Settings\Temp.
>
> Select all of the files and folders inside Temp and delete. Do not delete
> the Temp folder itself. Leave that where it is. If Windows is using any of
> the selected objects, it will name names and refuse to delete them. Select
> all files and folders again. Press Ctrl and click on the file names
Windows
> said it couldn't delete. This will deselect those items from the group.
Then
> press Delete on the keyboard to finish up.
>
> Repeat the steps for deleting objects located in the Windows\Temp folder.
>
> (NOTE: If you check System> Performance> Environment Variables, you can
view
> a list of paths that lead to the designated TEMP folders on your system
>
> Alternatively, you can leave Disk Cleanup to do this cleaning up of Temp
> files for you. However, it will only delete files and folders in the Temp
> locations that have been hanging around for 14 days or more. A nice safety
> factor added to an automated tool allowed to delete files. However, if
> having trouble with a program installation -- or -- after installing a
> rather large program and restarting, use Windows Explorer in the manner
> described above to clean out the Temp folders to a greater degree.
>
>
> --
> Sharon F
> Microsoft MVP, Windows - Shell/User
>
>
> Pebso wrote:
> > deleting temp files at startup seems a good idea; are you sauggesting
that
> > this is done automatically, if so how would I go about this please?
> >
> > TIA
> >
> >
> > "Sharon F" > wrote in message
> > ...
> >> Chris Yeung wrote:
> >>> I would like to know for those numerous files converted from errors in
> >>> chkdsk, where are they kept
> >>
> >> Whenever chkdsk has removed files on my system, it placed them into a
> newly
> >> created folder named Found.0001. The Found* folder was placed inside of
> >> Documents and Settings\<user name>
> >>
> >> You can search for the folder if you'd like. To do so, open Windows
> >> Explorer. Click on Tools> Folder Options. Make the change Show all
hidden
> >> files and folders. Then use Start> Search and look for "Found"
> >>
> >>> and could I safely delete them if my XP has no
> >>> problems starting up again?
> >>
> >> Yes, you can safely delete them. Even if XP has a problem starting
again,
> >> it would be better to do a repair install than to try to restore
> >> potentially damaged files.
> >>
> >>> The files in windows/temp directory also. Is it
> >>> safely to clean this directory before I shut down my computer?
> >>
> >> I prefer to delete temp files at startup. Reason: Many software setup
> >> programs will use the initial restart after an installation to make
> >> changes. Sometimes that includes overwriting files that were previously
> in
> >> use. The new files are usually stored in the Temp folder for this
> purpose.
> >>
> >>
> >>> Thanks,
> >>> Chris
> >>
> >> You're welcome.
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Sharon F
> >> Microsoft MVP, Windows - Shell/User
>