Solved Temp folder takes up 42% of computer space

TempFile

Member
My problem is that the majority of my hard drive is filled with the Temp folder. My computer has begun to run slowly, so I thought cleaning it up a bit might help. I'm not tech savy what so ever, so I came here to ask for your advice. To begin with, here are some numbers:

Size of my C: drive: 287 GB
Size of my Temp folder: 121 GB (7581 files)

This means that the Temp folder alone takes up 42 % of the drive!

Address to the Temp folder: C:\Users\MyName\AppData\Local\Temp

So my questions are:
1. Can I safely empty the Temp folder? If I do, will the computer alert me if important files are about to disappear? Are there even any important files in the Temp folder?
2. Would a help program like CCleaner be of help in the clean up process, or is it uncessessary? Is deleting the files so straight forward that I don't need an extra program to help me?
3. The largest files in the Temp folder all begin with the letters "fla", for example fla2C91.tmp. I read some where that they are some kind of copies of files played with VLC Media player. Is this true? And if it is, I assume I can delete them with ease. These "fla" files take up in total almost 11 GB, so deleting them would help.

Thanks for your advice!

P.S. If it helps, my OS is Vista Home Premium 32-bit.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    AMD Turion X2 Ultra Dual-Core Mobile ZM-82 2.20 GHz
Welcome
Download the free ccleaner. Use it to remove alll the crap from your computer. It will free up a lot of space. In addition, use it once a month to stay problem free.
In addition download the free mawaarebytes to make a malware scan and make a full scan with your anti virus. You should be problem free,
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
In addition to what RichC46 said, you can run the Disk Cleanup utility from Windows Accessories and reboot ot empty the temp folder and the recycle bin.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Operating System
    Vista Home Premium 64 bit SP2
    Manufacturer/Model
    Cyberpower
    CPU
    Intel Quad CPU Q6700 2.67 GHZ
    Motherboard
    NVIDIA 780i
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GTX 560 TI Twin Frozr
    Sound Card
    Sound Blaster SB Audigy
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VG2436
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080p
    Hard Drives
    Samsung HD 105SI
    WDC WD20
    Case
    Apevia XJupiter
    Cooling
    air
    Keyboard
    Logitech MX 3200
    Mouse
    Logitech MX 600
    Internet Speed
    30 Mbps
Thanks to both! I used Ccleaner, and got rid of about 122 GB from my drive. I could call that "problem solved".
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    AMD Turion X2 Ultra Dual-Core Mobile ZM-82 2.20 GHz
Thank you for reporting. We are glad that your problem was resolved
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Hope you're having a nice Sunday Richard. You're answer was better than mine since I notice that the folder he was talking about was Local folder and the Disk Cleanup doesn't empty that folder. Most likely those are files from some installation. 122 Gb- that's a lot of files.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Operating System
    Vista Home Premium 64 bit SP2
    Manufacturer/Model
    Cyberpower
    CPU
    Intel Quad CPU Q6700 2.67 GHZ
    Motherboard
    NVIDIA 780i
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GTX 560 TI Twin Frozr
    Sound Card
    Sound Blaster SB Audigy
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VG2436
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080p
    Hard Drives
    Samsung HD 105SI
    WDC WD20
    Case
    Apevia XJupiter
    Cooling
    air
    Keyboard
    Logitech MX 3200
    Mouse
    Logitech MX 600
    Internet Speed
    30 Mbps
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