Disk Cleanup - C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Temp

Dru2 · Apr 20, 2023

Haydon said:
There is always a trade-off in cleaning, not just for computers. There are gentle soaps and aggressive soaps, I prefer the former

Same here. I'm also not a fan of CCleaner or apps like it when Windows built in utility apps work just fine. I'm with you on this.

TM21 · Apr 20, 2023

I just checked my own Win-11 Setup, and Storage Sense is already turned on.
Always has been. So I went in and did some manual cleaning, etc, as far as it went.
Then I ran my own Cleanup.bat (batch file program) and got this result:

And, that's just since yesterday, when I got this result:

And Storage Sense has been ON the whole time. I've still not turned it OFF, but maybe I should, for all the good it's doing me.

I just wonder, casually of course, how many hundreds of thousands of junk files it's leaving on YOUR computer?
But that's immaterial, since you really don't seem to care.

Well, now that I've finally got my HD clean, it's an excellent time for me to do a Ghost Backup.

Y'all have a great day now, Y'hear?
TM

TM21 · Apr 20, 2023

But, the point of my story was, that those MS programs DO NOT do a good job of cleaning the crapola out of the hard drive. They barely scratch the surface.
And, they don't clean up after After Market Apps, browsers, etc.
I'm sorry if you actually think they do.
I'm not really a glutton for punishment, or I would not have spent hours working on my Cleanup batch file. I just wanted to get rid of every last Byte of junk that I possibly could, before doing my backups. Because I just hate backing up junk.

I think I'm done here. Beam me up Scotty.

Haydon · Apr 20, 2023

You can tighten up the settings of the Storage Sense utility, if you so desire.

However, right now my 'Cleanup recommendations' says 'Over 1.00 GB of storage available' which includes windows.old (736 MB) and the like and the total is still less than 1% of my disk capacity, so I leave it at the default settings <insert shrug shoulders emoji>

mart44 · Apr 21, 2023

I think it all comes of being 'old school'. I got my first computer (a 486) in the Windows 3.11/Windows 95 transition period. Not as old school as some but fairly so. Disk space was limited back then and tracking down and removing unwanted files that were taking up disk space was important. Plus many articles in computer magazines encouraged the procedure and that had an effect on me as a newcomer to computers. Cleaning made quite a daily pastime and I never have completely got out of the habit. No magic batch file but maybe did a fair job of keeping the disk free of junk.

Some people never clean out their computers and of those that I've seen, they run just fine. I still clean up to a fair degree because old habits die hard but have rethought the need for absolute cleanliness. I feel it isn't necessary to worry too much about a few bits of dross left on the disk. I don't think they make a difference. Maybe the only one would be that feeling of contentment that comes from knowing there is zero junk.

safron · Apr 22, 2023

Kol12 said:
Does Windows Disk Cleanup clean this folder out or not? I have lot's of stuff in there that looks old and I run Disk Cleanup regularly.

In my experience, it does not. There may be a setting I've not applied, but after running, there are still numerous files and folders (many empty) in the Temp folder - some from months ago. Similar to @TechnoMage2021, I use a Powershell script, called by a scheduled task to periodically clear files from this folder that are older than x days. As far as I know, and generally speaking, Windows won't allow deletion of folders or files in C:\Temp if they're in use.

MilesAhead · Apr 22, 2023

TechnoMage2021 said:
But, the point of my story was, that those MS programs to NOT do a good job of cleaning the crapola out of the hard drive. They barely scratch the surface.
I'm sorry if you actually think they do.
I'm not really a glutton for punishment, or I would not have spent hours working on my Cleanup batch file. I just wanted to get rid of every last Byte of junk that I possibly could, before doing my backups. Because I just hate backing up junk.

I think I'm done here. Beam me up Scotty.
View attachment 58378

I liked to use Wise Care 365 Free for the same reason. But I found that even if I deselected Opera Browser often after running the cleanup module my SpeedDial thumbnails were deleted. So I have been using Disk Cleanup. I notice that most times I run it, when I click the button to delete files the UI hangs until I run the mouse over it. Same thing used to happen in W10. Strange.

Wisewiz · Apr 22, 2023

MilesAhead said:
... I have been using Disk Cleanup. I notice that most times I run it, when I click the button to delete files the UI hangs until I run the mouse over it. Same thing used to happen in W10. Strange.

Yeah, me too. I have to move my pointer to the UI box, and then it closes. I think maybe that hang-up only happens when certain things are ticked for deletion. (Makes no sense to me to tick everything. Why, for instance, delete the thumbnail collection? I gets re-created exactly as it was, down to the last byte. And it's ultimately a time-saver, small though the time may be. Most of my checkboxes are un-checked, unless they're showing more than, say, a couple of MB.) And my first guess is that ticking Defender causes the hang. The UI box seems to be showing Defender-cleaning as the operation when the hang takes place. A little ex-peddimentation (harrumph!) should confirm this. Later, dudes.

MilesAhead · Apr 22, 2023

Wisewiz said:
And my first guess is that ticking Defender causes the hang. The UI box seems to be showing Defender-cleaning as the operation when the hang takes place.

I have gotten the hang in many places. The most popular was Temporary Internet Files. But sometimes it hangs with just a bit of green progress bar. Other times on Windows Update Cleanup or even log file deletion. Seems unpredictable.

MilesAhead · Apr 22, 2023

mart44 said:
I think it all comes of being 'old school'.

I agree. Especially with programming these days. They want to optimize everything for speed even if the routine is only run on program load that happens once every three months. But deallocate memory? Nah! The system will free the memory once the program closes so let it worry about it. I mean scraping for every byte is compulsive but not caring at all is just slovenly. What if the user leaves the program running all the time and never shuts down the system because a little personal web server is running? Oh well, this post was cathartic at least.

TM21 · Dec 11, 2023

l see that this topic has not been posted to since April 2023. That's too bad, because this is really a HOT Topic.

What can be done in Windows, is beside the point, since Nothing in Windows will remove the junk that I remove with my simple little Batch File. Likewise, commercially available software, like CCleaner.

For years, I ran my own Computer Repair business, and I would go into peoples' homes and tune up/Clean up their computers.
To speed up the Cleanup process, I wrote my first Cleanup.bat (batch file) program. I didn't even have to install it to the PC I was working on, to clean it up. I'd just run my batch file from my Utilities Flash Drive. *
If my customer understood the value of my simple little batch file, and wanted a copy, I would then install it on their computer, with a shortcut on their desktop.
* I've even tuned up computers half a world away, using Team Viewer, without ever installing my Batch File on the computer I was tuning up.

I've reported the success that I've had with my new and improved Batch File before, but now, it's even better. (Newer and even more improved)
I've added one more line, to clean out the Temporary Internet Files created by Chrome. I don't use Chrome, but many others do.
So now, my Cleanup.bat program is even more inclusive. (for those around the world who want to use it)
I'll still send it to anyone who wants it.

Every time I run my Batch File on my own PC, I get this report at the end of the run.

That is just the junk that was created in one day, on my PC. I shudder to think what could build up on my SSD in a year. Yikes!
In the past, I've cleaned up customer's PC's that had Millions of junk files present on their HD's.
Some of those PC's had slowed to the point of being almost inoperable.
And, how many times have we read on this forum, "my PC is running so slow....". And they receive so many complicated answers, that really don't address the root cause. "Junk Buildup".

If anyone wants my new Batch File, I'll post it. Otherwise......

Merry Christmas Mates!
TM

Attached, is my Christmas Present to y'all.
The text of my Cleanup batch file. Just copy the text into any word processor and save it as "Cleanup.bat".

TM21 · Dec 11, 2023

Going all the way back, to the OP's original post.
I reworked the path in question (it had flaws) and added it to my Cleanup.bat program, and it worked, but only when the syntax was changed to:

del /F /S /Q "C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData\Local\temp\*.*"

That command can now be run individually from a command prompt, or it can be put into a batch file.
But, when corrected, as above, it works!

The great thing, I learned years ago, is that even the most complicated command, once put into a batch file, can be run over and over, thousands of times, without ever having to be RE-Typed.

In the above example, the folder in question had files in there going back months. Now, after running my Batch File, with that command added, that folder is empty. Voila!

I want to thank the OP, for giving me just one more location to add to my Batch File, to clean out one more location where Windows hides its Junk.

Merry Christmas, everyone!
TM

garioch7 · Dec 11, 2023

Personally, I am a fan of System Ninja. I formerly used CCleaner years ago (I never touched the registry cleaner), but it became very bloated. System Ninja is lean and mean. I run it every week. It is amazing the junk it finds.

I was so impressed that I signed up for System Ninja Pro after a year or two just to support such a great cleaning utility.

That's just my preference. To each their own! Opinions vary.

Have a great day.

Regards,
Phil

cereberus · Dec 11, 2023

Kol12 said:
Does Windows Disk Cleanup clean this folder out or not? I have lot's of stuff in there that looks old and I run Disk Cleanup regularly.

Going back to original question.

Answer is no.

I use Treesize to analyse the folder and delete old stuff manually e.g. stuff related to programs I no longer use. In the end, it does no real harm to leave data if not sure.

TM21 · Dec 11, 2023

As I indicated in my previous post....
The folder that the OP mentioned in his original post does contain quite a few files, and sub folders.
Look for yourself!

Those files can all be deleted with the command:
del /F /S /Q "C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData\Local\temp\*.*"

I just wonder, how many if not all professionally written programs will just ignore this folder. ??? (and many others)

After you have run your favorite Cleanup program, check this folder in Windows Explorer and see how many files remain.
Besides the files, there are also a whole bunch of sub folders, that "DEL" does not delete, but it just removes the files they contain.

I've spent years, ferreting out all the hiding places for Windows junk files. Places that the so-called Cleanup programs just ignore.
I've put every one of those places, at least the ones I've found, in my Cleanup Batch File.
But, if someone can show me a spot I've missed, I'll add it to my program.

Merry Christmas everyone,
TM

MilesAhead · Dec 11, 2023

For a time I used

Wise Care 365 Free

but even if I unchecked the option to clean browsers it would often corrupt the speed dial thumbnails in the browser(s.)
Very frustrating as getting them back seemed to require an image restore. Your Cleanup.bat works well if I reboot first and run it before launching any browser(s.)

It seems like there must be a nice free Gui cleaner out there. But apparently, they can't be trusted.

torchwood · Dec 11, 2023

close in-use temp files, by adding the

CloseProcesses:

command setting at the start of your .bat

TM21 · Dec 12, 2023

Temp Files 101:

All temporary files are not created equal. Some are not even named .tmp.
.tmp files, for instance can be deleted simply with this command, either at a CMD Prompt or in a batch file.
Del /f /s /q "C:\*.tmp"
That little command will delete every .tmp file in the entire drive C: except those that are in use. (Open)

Temporary internet files,for instance, are not .tmp files, but files that are coded by the browser, for its exclusive use.
And every browser codes their own temp files differently.
In most cases, those temp files do not include stored passwords, and other personal data.

In my Cleanup.bat file, I have three separate lines, one for Edge, Firefox and Chrome.
Each one points to the specific folder where the browser stores its Temporary Internet Files.
So, only those specific files get deleted.

A really weird thing that only Edge does, is it makes a lot of .old files. Don't ask!
But this little command, in my Batch File, takes care of those.
Del /F /S /Q "C:\*.old"

So to really clean up a PC, one really has to get down and dirty with it.
I've heard people say, something regarding the "Temp" folder.... Duh, which one?
In the average PC there can be a dozen or more "Temp" folders.

You could just call it, "Weird Science".

Well, it gives me something to do, and keeps me out of the pool halls and other halls of ill repute.

Merry Christmas Everyone,
TM

MilesAhead · Dec 12, 2023

Since rebooting with an SSD only takes a few seconds I guess I will stick with my current method. Reboot then run TM's CleanUp.bat file. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Merry Christmas to all.

TM21 · Dec 12, 2023

Is that so it will delete temp files that would otherwise be Open?

I could do that, I just never have.

I might give it a try. I do have DOS Utility disks that will boot the PC.

Thanks for the tip.
TM

Disk Cleanup - C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Temp

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