Discussion:
Directory \var\TEMP
(too old to reply)
PaulRS
2016-08-19 22:25:01 UTC
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I noticed a lot of "stuff" in this directory. Since it appears to be
stuff associated with web downloads and the directory is labeled
TEMP, is it safe to delete files in this directory without wreaking
havoc somewhere else?

Paul
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A.D. Fundum
2016-08-20 08:03:21 UTC
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Post by PaulRS
I noticed a lot of "stuff" in this directory.
Go to a prompt near you, and type "ECHO %TEMP%". It's a (default)
environment variable, set in CONFIG.SYS. The other one may be "%TMP%".
Using a RAM disk is an option.

TEMP and/or TMP may occur more than once in a CONFIG.SYS. IIRC IBM's
VisualAge C++ package sets it again, instead of changing or using the
existing default setting.
Post by PaulRS
is it safe to delete files in this directory without wreaking
havoc somewhere else?
Yes, by design, perhaps unless you're browsing. So "DELTREE *" after a
reboot first, but don't try to unlock and delete all remaning files
and directories without thinking.

I'm not sure if it's still valid, but one may be able to find more
rare and cached, large video files in the Mozilla directories too.
Parts of possibly crashed videos, like temporarely files not saved in
a TEMP or TMP directory. IIRC there's no file extension, with names of
those large video files like "MEDIA_CACHE_2". The size of the files is
more clear than a recalled name. You can play those files with a video
player like KMP, just like parts of video files recreated by CHKDSK
can be played, to check what they are.


--
Dave Yeo
2016-08-21 03:17:23 UTC
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Post by A.D. Fundum
Post by PaulRS
I noticed a lot of "stuff" in this directory.
Go to a prompt near you, and type "ECHO %TEMP%". It's a (default)
environment variable, set in CONFIG.SYS. The other one may be "%TMP%"
Easier to type "set temp" without the quotes. There's also %TMPDIR%.
Dave

Dave Yeo
2016-08-21 03:14:50 UTC
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Post by PaulRS
I noticed a lot of "stuff" in this directory. Since it appears to be
stuff associated with web downloads and the directory is labeled
TEMP, is it safe to delete files in this directory without wreaking
havoc somewhere else?
Yes, ideally right after booting up and before you start up your browser
etc. Some of those files might be required by a running program, at
least for a while.
I have %TEMP%, %TMP% and %TMPDIR% pointed at a ramdisk so it gets
cleaned on every reboot. Linux usually has a script to clean /tmp during
startup. I think Windows hides it all to force you to buy a new computer
and Windows license regularly.
Dave
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