I'm on XP Home, I don't have any .tmp files on my C drive, but a few similarly named zero-byte files in C:\Documents and Settings\myname\Local Settings\Temp (rather surprisingly I don't have Clear Temp Files ticked).
As has been pointed out these files are most probable being created by some application, not the OS. If you enter 'tmp files c drive' (no quotes) in Google there are many others with the same problem which seems to be caused by some application. It may be possible that you can identify what is creating the tmp files on your pc from these postings.
CC cleans known system and popular application temp files from known locations. If it tries to clean files where it doesn't know what created them (as in the case of .tmp files on the c drive) it would be asking for trouble.
I take it that you have ''only over 48 hours'' rule unticked in CCleaner advanced options?
Just checking
Hazelnut, The first time I encountered the issue, I have tried all the advance settings of CCleaner.... the key-word is "ROOT FOLDER" not "WINDOWS\Temp" folder!.
I think nobody really understand what I'm trying to say... Did u try my suggestion to manually create a tmp file?
I'm on XP Home, I don't have any .tmp files on my C drive, but a few similarly named zero-byte files in C:\Documents and Settings\myname\Local Settings\Temp (rather surprisingly I don't have Clear Temp Files ticked).
As has been pointed out these files are most probable being created by some application, not the OS. If you enter 'tmp files c drive' (no quotes) in Google there are many others with the same problem which seems to be caused by some application. It may be possible that you can identify what is creating the tmp files on your pc from these postings.
CC cleans known system and popular application temp files from known locations. If it tries to clean files where it doesn't know what created them (as in the case of .tmp files on the c drive) it would be asking for trouble.
Your English is excellent, by the way.
Augeas, I understand that the tmp files may have been created by some applications. I'm just confused on what you said that
"CC cleans known system and popular application temp files from known locations. If it tries to clean files where it doesn't know what created them (as in the case of .tmp files on the c drive) it would be asking for trouble."
As suggested by Disk4mat, I have included this line; "Include1=PATH|C:\|*.tmp " in my CCleaner.ini. By including this line, I thought i am letting CC know the location and the files to delete. Is this line particularly asking for trouble that's why CC don't delete the tmp files?
As suggested by Disk4mat, I have included this line; "Include1=PATH|C:\|*.tmp " in my CCleaner.ini. By including this line, I thought i am letting CC know the location and the files to delete. Is this line particularly asking for trouble that's why CC don't delete the tmp files?
First let me apologize for being overly critical earlier.
You're right. By using the 'Include' your telling CC to remove all files with the tmp ext. on the root of the drive. I did some experimenting and I see the problem now.
If you enter the full file name, CC will find and remove it. But when using the wild card, it simply dosent work. This is strange because I have a dozen files and folders in the include list. All of them use a wild card. So apparently it is a bug.
I don't know if a program will dump temp files into the root directory or not if the Windows temp path variables are messed up, but I suppose anything is possible.
Sometimes if a temp folder is missing such as %userprofile%\local settings\temp that will make some programs non-functional if they use that folder and they won't load.
If I were to see random tmp files appearing in my root directory I'd do a malware scan first. Then I'd start launching all of my applications one at a time to see if they're created by a legitimate program.
First let me apologize for being overly critical earlier.
You're right. By using the 'Include' your telling CC to remove all files with the tmp ext. on the root of the drive. I did some experimenting and I see the problem now.
If you enter the full file name, CC will find and remove it. But when using the wild card, it simply dosent work. This is strange because I have a dozen files and folders in the include list. All of them use a wild card. So apparently it is a bug.
Finally, someone actually walk the talk! Thanks Disk4mat for actually experimenting to see the real issue. A lot of us in this forum simply suggest things without really understanding the problem and trying the solutions we suggest.
Anyways, how do we report the BUG to the CC developer?
Finally, someone actually walk the talk! Thanks Disk4mat for actually experimenting to see the real issue. A lot of us in this forum simply suggest things without really understanding the problem and trying the solutions we suggest.
Anyways, how do we report the BUG to the CC developer?
Hello again libanjon,
This thread serves as the Bug Report.
However I don't see a "bug" here.
I did all the testing and it works fine for me.
Remember, CCleaner is designed to safe.
I just used the Include option as listed here and everything works fine.
Just remember that once you get your list built then make a copy of (cc)leaner. ini file and keep it somewhere safe so you don't have to re-enter all those Include entries if somehow you lose your (cc)leaner.ini file from your CCleaner folder.
Hope you track down that program that keeps creating those files.
As Davey said "once you get your list built". The problem is that you are not permitted to use wildcards. So if the the file naming conventions chage, you'll have to keep updating that list. If the file names are even remotely random then your at a loss.
I did some more experimenting and came up with the following. CC simply will not allow wildcards to be used on any fixed disk. Not even another partition, not on an external hdd either.
But I think I know why. Its intentional. While XP and Vista dosent have as many critical files on the root of the drive, older Windows version do. The 9x platform relies on Autoexec, config etc. This is the reason why wildcards arent permitted. If you browse and select a single file, it stands to reason you know what file your selecting and there wont be any mishaps with numerous files getting deleted and preventing the OS from loading. What if someone unknowingly entered *exe* or *con
So I think it was done by the CC team again, as Davey indicated... To be safe. The question open for debate is, should wildcards be permitted on the root of a drive? Im undecided at the moment.
What about non-system partitions, flash and external hdd's? Absolutely. There are files I would like to clean on the root of my flash and ext hdd where wildcard use is almost essential.
I just used the Include option as listed here and everything works fine.
Just remember that once you get your list built then make a copy of (cc)leaner. ini file and keep it somewhere safe so you don't have to re-enter all those Include entries if somehow you lose your (cc)leaner.ini file from your CCleaner folder.
Hope you track down that program that keeps creating those files.
Good luck,
davey
Davey, the files i want to delete is randomly created so there is no way i will know the filename of the next tmp file to be created. Try to read Disk4mat's post and understand how he experimented. He included "*.tmp" in the include line inside the CCleaner.ini... the same way as i did. Try to UNDERSTAND the issue please before you reply. Perform a proper TESTING.... and for GOD's sake, it's a .tmp file i want to delete. Can u particularly pinpoint which program uses .tmp as a propietory file extention? There could be countless of programs which uses the .tmp file extention as a temporary file which is harmless to delete.
As Davey said "once you get your list built". The problem is that you are not permitted to use wildcards. So if the the file naming conventions chage, you'll have to keep updating that list. If the file names are even remotely random then your at a loss.
I did some more experimenting and came up with the following. CC simply will not allow wildcards to be used on any fixed disk. Not even another partition, not on an external hdd either.
But I think I know why. Its intentional. While XP and Vista dosent have as many critical files on the root of the drive, older Windows version do. The 9x platform relies on Autoexec, config etc. This is the reason why wildcards arent permitted. If you browse and select a single file, it stands to reason you know what file your selecting and there wont be any mishaps with numerous files getting deleted and preventing the OS from loading. What if someone unknowingly entered *exe* or *con
So I think it was done by the CC team again, as Davey indicated... To be safe. The question open for debate is, should wildcards be permitted on the root of a drive? Im undecided at the moment.
What about non-system partitions, flash and external hdd's? Absolutely. There are files I would like to clean on the root of my flash and ext hdd where wildcard use is almost essential.
I beg to disagree with u Disk4mat. I still think it's a BUG. To refute your argument, this is how i tested.
1. Create a file inside C:\WINDOWS folder. (in my case, i created CCleaner.k99)
2. include "*.k99" in the CCleaner.ini (Include2=PATH|C:\windows\|*.k99)
3. Check the includes screen to confirm the configuration
4. Run CCleaner.
The result of my test is attached. The CCleaner.k99 file inside C:\WINDOWS folder is deleted! WILDCARD is accepted by CCleaner.
What happens if i include "*.dll" in the CCleaner.ini? It's equally dangerous as adding "*.dll" in the ROOT of a drive, right?
I beg to disagree with u Disk4mat. I still think it's a BUG. To refute your argument, this is how i tested.
1. Create a file inside C:\WINDOWS folder. (in my case, i created CCleaner.k99)
2. include "*.k99" in the CCleaner.ini (Include2=PATH|C:\windows\|*.k99)
3. Check the includes screen to confirm the configuration
4. Run CCleaner.
The result of my test is attached. The CCleaner.k99 file inside C:\WINDOWS folder is deleted! WILDCARD is accepted by CCleaner.
Yeah but... Wild cards are permitted by CC for subfolders. But not the root of the drive. Perform your test again using the .k99 on C:\
I placed a file named 'test.d4' on C and used the wildcard *.d4 and it remained. Moved the file to C:\SubFolder\ and updated the ini accordingly and presto it was found/removed. I put the file back on C:\ and in the ini changed it to the full file name. It was found/removed. Also note the screenshot reflects what happens when you select the root of a drive in CC to add a folder and specify cleaning using a pattern.
I did some more experimenting and came up with the following. CC simply will not allow wildcards to be used on any fixed disk. Not even another partition, not on an external hdd either.
What I should have said is that CC wont allow a wildcard to be used on the root of any drive/partition. CC allows the wildcard if a subfolder is selected...
Yeah but... Wild cards are permitted by CC for subfolders. But not the root of the drive. Perform your test again using the .k99 on C:\
I placed a file named 'test.d4' on C and used the wildcard *.d4 and it remained. Moved the file to C:\SubFolder\ and updated the ini accordingly and presto it was found/removed. I put the file back on C:\ and in the ini changed it to the full file name. It was found/removed. Also note the screenshot reflects what happens when you select the root of a drive in CC to add a folder and specify cleaning using a pattern.
What I should have said is that CC wont allow a wildcard to be used on the root of any drive/partition. CC allows the wildcard if a subfolder is selected...
I also tried to change the Windows Environment User Variable to "TMP = C:\" just to test whether CC actually retrieve this info and use it as parameter during the cleaning. CC didn't clean the root folder as well!
If CCleaner is designed to behave like this, it must be a FEATURE! Not a BUG! a very special feature because other cleaners don't behave like this.
You may want to make another variable for your system i.e.; something like %drive% and have it mapped directly to C:\
Then in CCleaner for the path use: %drive%
I have no ideal if this will work as I've not tried it, and do please use the Analyze button in CCleaner first before committing to an actual deletion.
The only other option I can think of is to make a Temp Files cleaner batch file simply with this line in it:
del /q "C:\*.tmp"
Other than that is "may not be a bug in CCleaner, and perhaps it's just a safety feature."
You may want to make another variable for your system i.e.; something like %drive% and have it mapped directly to C:\
Then in CCleaner for the path use: %drive%
I have no ideal if this will work as I've not tried it, and do please use the Analyze button in CCleaner first before committing to an actual deletion.
The only other option I can think of is to make a Temp Files cleaner batch file simply with this line in it:
del /q "C:\*.tmp"
Other than that is "may not be a bug in CCleaner, and perhaps it's just a safety feature."
If this is a safety feature, why would i be allowed to delete *.tmp in the "c:\windows" folder and not in the "c:\" folder? This is defenitely overlooked by the developers.... Disk4mat also did his own testing and found out this behaviour to be weird. The basic question is, in the CCleaner.ini Include line, why allow "c:\windows |*.tmp" but not allow "c:\|*.tmp"? Can you explain? Anyone can explain please?
The basic question is, in the CCleaner.ini Include line, why allow "c:\windows |*.tmp" but not allow "c:\|*.tmp"? Can you explain? Anyone can explain please?
I think the reason is that teh dev's dont want people to use any wild card or patterns to removed files on the root of the drive. I say this because of the dialog title in my screenshot "you can not select the root of the drive". I really had hoped someone from Piriform would either explain the behavior (is intentional?) or offer a proposed solution (may be fixed in another release?).
