Vista - Newbie here...Help me please...

Hello!!!
I have a couple questions that have been bothering me for the last few days.
1. Why do the file or program that I know for sure I deleted, but is still there although it is an empty file. I right clicked it>delete and it says can not be found. It won't let me delete. It doesn't take up any disk space but it bothers me that it is still there. How do I get rid of it?
2. I have many files that are empty in my appdata\local\temp location. Most of them I don't even know what they are. I never downloaded them. Quite a few of them are empty files. Can I delete them?
Please help me. I'm not a computer person.
Thanks in advance.

on your desktop you'll (recycle bin) right click on it and empty it. that should remove
the files / folders that you deleted.
scrooge

Deleting AppData

I've gone in and deleted a few old files from the AppData folder myself with no ill-effects. As the above thread notes, sometimes things don't get completely wiped clean when you uninstall, but clearing out these folders is ok... just make sure you don't delete AppData, Local, LocalLow or Roaming.

Thanks you for your replies. Very helpful because I was thinking of deleting the AppData, Local, LocalLow or Roaming. files so everything would be clean. However, there are a couple empty files in the appdata/local\temp that won't let me delete them. They just simply refuse to leave. Reminds me of my ex-girlfriend.

thay are being used by some programs on your system and can not be deleted till the program is stoped..
scrooge

Hello bennys, welcome to Vista forums!

It would be wise to use extreme caution deleting files/folders as you can disable your machine!










Later Ted

these are the folders where 99% of all your settings for all apps, are stored.

My advice to you - you're too new to the OS - stop deleting folders. work with Vista ***as it is*** and get to know it for at least a couple of months before you go off doing things like or you will break your system irreparably making it unbootable or unrepairable.

I'm running 32-bit Vista with SP1. There's one and only one user - me - and of course I'm the administrator too. Regarding my own trio of mystery folders, this other Vista Virgin (also annoyed by clutter) seeks some clarity. Are these three supposed to appear on the desktop: Local, LocalLow, and Roaming? Could they be made hidden and still function normally or might I later have a need to look inside for something? Why did MS not put them someplace that's not in my face?

M$ *did* - something else moved them.

Your Desktop folder should be just that - a folder called Desktop under your username.

Those three folders should be under a hidden folder called AppData.

The fact that they are on your desktop bodes ill for your system - because they grow larger and larger as you install more apps, and thus will start slowing your desktop down as they grow larger and larger.

I would honestly try to figure out how they appeared there from their default location - and if you cannot, start making contingency plans for backing up all your data so you can reinstall your OS.