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Windows XP Home system temporary files


Kas

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I have run CCleaner and it has found 12,571 Windows system temporary files - 976,800 KB for deletion.

 

I am aware that with one key press I could do a Gung Ho and delete all these files, but is it safe to do so ?

 

Is there a chance that somewhere in this pile of junk are a few files that are being used as vital links in my PC operations blood supply network ? The last thing I want is to resume and get a "File not found" panel come up. Presumably, once they are gone, they are gone.

 

Please do not mention back-ups, I have never done a back-up in my life or any CD stuff. Either they go to Heaven or they stay.

 

It is always safe policy with any delete operation that it is two stage - 1. Delete and store, 2. If no adverse effects occur due to the deleted items not being missed in any way after a reasonable time lapse - Action complete Delete.

 

Is it not possible to provide a back-up segment which goes into the Recycle Bin exactly as you already do with deleted Registry items ?

 

If your program selection of Registry items is considered sufficiently suspect that you feel a back-up is needed, why are you so confident that such a misjudgement is not present with Temporary Files ?

Aut viam inveniam aut faciam - "I will  either find a way or make one"

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because temporary files are well...temporary. For the most part you will have no issues by cleaning with the default checkmarks checked. The analysis is a good place to look to see if anything looks needed, but I've never encountered anything major from cleaning. Making a back up of the cleaned items would defeat the entire purpose of ccleaner's junk removal, to regain space.

 

ADVICE FOR USING CCleaner'S REGISTRY INTEGRITY SECTION

DON'T JUST CLEAN EVERYTHING THAT'S CHECKED OFF.

Do your Registry Cleaning in small bits (at the very least Check-mark by Check-mark)

ALWAYS BACKUP THE ENTRY, YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'LL BREAK IF YOU DON'T.

Support at https://support.ccleaner.com/s/?language=en_US

Pro users file a PRIORITY SUPPORT via email support@ccleaner.com

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because temporary files are well...temporary. For the most part you will have no issues by cleaning with the default checkmarks checked. The analysis is a good place to look to see if anything looks needed, but I've never encountered anything major from cleaning. Making a back up of the cleaned items would defeat the entire purpose of ccleaner's junk removal, to regain space.

 

Thank you so much for the reply and advice.

 

Point taken about the temp. files back-up.

Sorry to ask this thread question, it seems so simple, but I was puzzled.

 

What I have done is this :-

I created a Windows restore point as a safeguard in case something bad happened and I could restore to pre-deletion.

I ran the CC and all the files I mentioned have now been deleted.

 

All went well and I have had no problems at all - the files have gone.

 

In future I will do the same.and have now confidence in CC.

Please regard the thread as being solved.

Very grateful to you.

Kas

Aut viam inveniam aut faciam - "I will  either find a way or make one"

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At the very best of times I have no confidence in System Restore on XP.

Amongst other things it cannot decide if Firefox caches are System Files to be preserved, of User Files to be abandoned.

 

If you run CCleaner and it removes 976,800 KB,

then if your Free Space remains as it was then System Restore has perfectly preserved all those files which you fear might be essential.

 

If, as I suspect, you actually gain 976,800 KB of extra free space,

Then System Restore has decided that these files are beneath its dignity and it has preserved nothing at all.

 

What you really need (and I suggested years ago) is a CCleaner option to purge the old stuff from the Recycle Bin,

and then everything else that is removed to be deleted INTO the recycle bin.

Then if something is broken you can restore from the recycle bin.

 

But Sadly .....

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At the very best of times I have no confidence in System Restore on XP.

 

That's exactly how I also feel about it.

 

Kas making a backup via freeware disk imaging software has to be one of the easiest most beneficial things you could do, and when something eventually goes completely wrong with Windows and it always does you'll quickly find out how much faster it is to restore from an image and be up and running in mere minutes to perhaps a few short hours versus absolutely re-installing everything from scratch.

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What I have done is this :-

I created a Windows restore point as a safeguard in case something bad happened and I could restore to pre-deletion.

I ran the CC and all the files I mentioned have now been deleted.

 

if you did the restore point to back up those temp files in case if went pear-shaped and you wanted to get them back, you would have been in for a nasty surprise indeed.

System Restore does not touch personal files, temp files, program files, it doesn't 'backup' the system.

it only touches, snapshots, a very limited set of essential system files. the sort of ones it would need to rollback to in order to start the PC after a wayward installation.

 

I assume that when you say you never do backups that you also never insure your car or house?

All I can make from that is you would not care if all your digital life was erased !

 

In my experience, you live or die by your backups.

But... each to their own....

 

(as you may have gathered, backups - or lack of - are a bit of a bug-bear for me) :blink:

Backup now & backup often.
It's your digital life - protect it with a backup.
Three things are certain; Birth, Death and loss of data. You control the last.

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