Problem with temp files

devox · Dec 20, 2010

Hi,
I am using Vista-32bit, and when i start instaling software or even downlad something big, i got the message that there is no enough space and the install/downlad will be stoped and after that i don't get the space used by the software back . so if i had 600MB and tried to isntall something need 800MB it will stop round 200 or 150 and tell me no enough space, then the C drive will have only 200 or 150 MB of space, whatever i do fo cleaning up the drive nothing happen.

I am sure that there is more than 2GB of rupish files that i cant move and its killing my PC.

What should i do?

Thanks,

Lorien · Dec 20, 2010

Hi devox,

Welcome to Vista Forums.

I think a little maintenance is in order. There is a specific program below for temp files and it will clean up ALL of them everywhere on your system.

One very important thing to begin – do NOT use any Registry Cleaner or Registry Booster or Enhancer, or Repairer or Fixer software (or whatever it calls itself) no matter what it says (scans will tell you have thousands of errors just to get you to download and install the program or worse, buy it) or where you got it (even safe sites sell these products but they are not worth the headaches they can cause). Most do nothing of value and some can do great harm (to the point where you need to do a clean install to fix the problem – and that’s not even counting the fact that many such programs are actually malware in disguise). Vista keeps the registry clean on its own quite well and doesn’t need any help.

To improve your speed and space, do Disk Cleanup using: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76073-disk-cleanup.html. Delete as much as you feel comfortable doing – nothing deleted there will harm your system in any way. This includes deleting the Temporary Internet Files. If you want to keep this from building, go to Tools / Internet Options / Advanced and check the box Empty Temporary Internet Files Folder whenever browser is closed and then that folder will always stay empty (except when you're using the program).

Also do an Optimization: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Optimize-Windows-Vista-for-better-performance. Do all of the options (or at the very least, consider them - many can help a great deal).

At least once every month or so, run CCleaner http://www.piriform.com/ with as many options as you choose to delete (but be careful because this program if not used properly and with caution and with you paying attention to what you are doing can delete important and even critical files that could cause a great deal of trouble). Do not check any of the registry options.

Clearing out your temporary files can also save you much space and improve performance and while some of the above will clear a lot of the temp files, they won't cover them all. This will. I recommend running it every month or two. It is TFC by Old Timer TFC - Temp File Cleaner by OldTimer - Geeks to Go Forums and you should download and save it to your desktop. When run, it will close everything else, so be sure to save anything you're working on and basically close all your programs. If it asks (and when done even if it doesn't ask), reboot to complete the process.

System Restore can take up to 15% of your partition's space but that can be reduced. It's a trade-off. The less space you allocate, the fewer restore points you will be able to retain - but many people reduce this to save some space while leaving enough to save 3-4 restore points at least (which is usually enough - until you need them). Here's the procedure: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76227-system-restore-disk-space.html.

Go to Start / Search options and type in msconfig and enter and then double click on the program icon that appears. Go to the startup tab and uncheck any program that you don't need starting at startup. That will probably be the majority of items there - if not most of them (some are needed like the AV program and Windows Defender but most are there to make opening the source programs faster and make you think they're more efficient). This will free up a lot of RAM and help a lot in making your system faster (though perhaps not so much that you'll be able to notice the difference - but maybe depending on how much unnecessary stuff is loading at startup). When I did this on my system I removed over 90% of the entries and suffered no ill effects – to the contrary, I noticed startup was quicker, response times when working were better and I could open more programs at the same time and still have no problems, and shutdown was also faster. Better still, download Autoruns http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx which is much superior to msconfig and click on the Everything tab and do what was suggested above (though here you can’t delete everything as with the start menu in msconfig because there are some very important files and services included which MUST not be deleted or it can cause serious harm to the system). If unsure, leave it alone.

You can accomplish some of these tasks (and more that aren't entirely related) by using http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/center/whatsnew.htm (which also searches for malware). I do this on a monthly basis just as a part of normal maintenance and I suggest you do the same (except for the registry cleaner – no not even Microsoft’s own product is entirely safe and the product has been removed from the paying marked for reasons unknown though it’s still available here for now but probably not for long). Make sure you select a full scan - it will take a few hours (mine can take around 5-6) but can work in the background so start it when it has enough time to complete.

You also want to have good AV and AS programs on your system (so no malware is operating in the background draining resources). Windows Defender is a good AS program. The new, free Microsoft Security Essentials http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/default.aspx is an excellent AV/AM program that has one of the least impacts on system performance and resources according to reliable sources and it does the job very well. If you're using MSE, you don't really need Defender and MSE will deactivate it when installed (but you would with many other AV programs - though some of them also deactivate Defender). I would also suggest downloading http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php and running it monthly to catch anything that MSE might miss.

If you follow this advice and do it periodically (at least monthly) then I believe you will have as fast and clean a machine as it is capable of going given the hardware.

I hope this helps.

Good luck!

richc46 · Dec 20, 2010

In addition to the above or, maybe confirming the above, here is a great article that I have used many times:
How to Fix Shrinking Disk Space in Vista » My Digital Life

devox · Dec 22, 2010

Thank you all for your reply it was useful,

Only the TFC helped me since i did all the other things before

And regarding the CCleaner, its not free so i didn't use it.

TFC was able to bring me 300MB back, i am sure i have more than that space but its ok for now.
Thanks allot

Problem with temp files

devox

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Lorien

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richc46

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devox

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