CCleaner deletes personal documents?

[krit86lr]

If your %TEMP% environment variable is set to your documents folder, then CCleaner will delete it without haste. Dial-a-fix tries to check for this kind of error and warn you about it, but as of v0.57.7 it is currently not 100% foolproof at figuring that out. Dial-a-fix v0.58 is going to be very good at detecting this kind of problem. CCleaner needs to start checking %TEMP% to make sure it does not match other environment variables and system folders.

 

Okay DjLizard. Can you give us step-by-step instructions on how to adjust our %TEMP% environment variables so that CCleaner won't delete personal documents?

 

Thank you

 

There's a bug in DAF's display of your %TEMP% variable - it's not blank, it most likely matches %USERPROFILE%. This is fixed in v0.58 which will be out in a week or two.

 

Try this:

Start > Run > cmd.exe

echo %TEMP%

echo %USERPROFILE%

 

See if they match. If they do, that's why CCleaner deleted your files.

Right-click My Computer > Properties > Advanced tab > Environment Variables > and change the TEMP and/or TMP paths listed there to: %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temp <- change them to exactly what is written here.

 

 

 

I suppose that I want to make sure that I understand.

 

1. echo %TEMP% should say %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temp?

2. echo %USERPROFILE% should say what?

 

Also, what would cause someone's environment variables to be set incorrectly?

 

Thanks again.

[Ken3]

1. Documents and Settings\"username"\Local Settings\Temp

2. Documents and Settings\"username"

 

Just did this using Win2KPro with (1) shown in 8.3 format with "~" folder names. XP has it similar to this if not exact (don't know about the 8.3 format though)/

 

All you need to do is follow what he did.

[krit86lr]

Okay. These are my results.

 

1. C:\DOCUME~1\username\LOCALS~1\Temp

2. C:\Documents and Settings\Phish

 

 

I still would like to know what would cause those to be incorrect.

[DjLizard]

I would like to know too, but it seems to be fairly common lately, so something is going on. Sometimes, users or programs unknowingly set the TEMP location to somewhere that it really shouldn't be, like C:\WINDOWS. Oh yeah, every time I clean the TEMP folders, I want C:\WINDOWS to be deleted. Hooray!

 

At any rate, when you are in System Properties changing your TEMP and TMP variables, you need to use the environment variable, instead of the path it expands to. So, use "%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temp", NOT "C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Local Settings\Temp" (or what-have-you).

 

When you do echo %TEMP% at the command prompt, it should expand %USERPROFILE% and show you the entire path (C:\Documents... etc)

 

I'm not sure what causes the variable to get screwed up, and how not having %TEMP% set could lead to data loss, but I know that if %TEMP% is set to a folder containing important files, CCleaner will happily empty it for you. Dial-a-fix 0.58 is going to thoroughly check %TEMP% against all other important variables and make a best guess as to what is going on, and inform the user. It will also check for blank variables. When either of these conditions are detected, Dial-a-fix will not allow you to install any of its support files or empty the temp folders from within DAF.

[SeanC]

I would like to know too, but it seems to be fairly common lately, so something is going on. Sometimes, users or programs unknowingly set the TEMP location to somewhere that it really shouldn't be, like C:\WINDOWS. Oh yeah, every time I clean the TEMP folders, I want C:\WINDOWS to be deleted. Hooray!

My first reaction: If someone is reckless enough to make such a puposefully intentioned mistake (as opposed to an honest, easy or simple mistake, which this most certainly isn't), they should have their important documents or, using the above example, their WINDOWS directory, destroyed. It is their destiny. The universe itself deems their impending tragedy necessary. Otherwise, how are they ever going to learn not to make mistakes of this magnitude in the future? "I'll never stick my hand in a lion's cage again," said he, offhandedly....

 

And: Isn't this really an issue for the Windows OS? I mean, it shouldn't let you set a TEMP variable to a decidedly permanent or otherwise non-temporary directory, e.g., My Documents, C:\WINDOWS, etc. I'm surprised it doesn't offer some form of warning or guidance in this regard. And if other programs really are changing this variable (I've never before heard of such a thing...) these programs need to be identified so their authors can be publicly flogged.

 

Lastly, such a scenario could be easily addressed in the ReadMe, something along the lines of, "Be aware that this utility purges the contents of your TEMP directory should you instruct it to do so. If you've changed the TEMP variable to a folder containing non-temporary documents and files, CCleaner will permanently delete these files along with the temporary ones. Further, if you have changed the TEMP variable to a location containing important files and documents, perhaps you should pause and reflect upon your decision to use potentially destructive file and system utilities, be it CCleaner or others, at all."

[krit86lr]

 

Okay, just to clearify. My User Variables for TMP and TEMP should be changed to "%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temp" (minus quotes)

 

And what are my System Variables supposed to be?

 

 

FYI: I have never changed these variables myself. I added a variable once, and that is all that I've ever done with Enviroment Variables.

 

 

Thanks,

K

[Andavari]

To change them:

1. Right click the My Computer icon and select Properties.

2. Click Advanced (tab), then click Enviroment Variables.

3. It will list the Temp directory under 'User Variables for UserProfile'

4. It will list the Temp directory under 'System Variables'

...both can be changed to a different directory, I personally use C:\TEMP

[krit86lr]

User Variables Temp

 

 

User Variables TMP

 

 

System Variables Temp

 

 

System Variables TMP

 

 

They are all okay like this, right?

[DjLizard]

They're all correct, krit86lr.

 

The "system variables" versions of TEMP and TMP are for 16-bit and other legacy applications, I believe.

 

If you change them to non-dynamic versions of TEMP and TMP (like Andavari did), there exists the possibility of conflicts on multi-user systems, especially when taking advantage of Fast user-switching. On a single user system, this is not an issue.

[krit86lr]

They're all correct, krit86lr.

 

The "system variables" versions of TEMP and TMP are for 16-bit and other legacy applications, I believe.

 

If you change them to non-dynamic versions of TEMP and TMP (like Andavari did), there exists the possibility of conflicts on multi-user systems, especially when taking advantage of Fast user-switching. On a single user system, this is not an issue.

SWEET! Thanks. I want to clean up my computer at work, but not until I'm sure that it's safe.