Windows 10: Can I Delete The content of C:\Windows\Temp folder?

Hi!


Pretty auto-explainable question. Can I Delete The content of C:\Windows\Temp folder? (Don't confuse it with C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local).


I believe there's a ton of files up there and I'd want to remove it, but I'm not sure if it is safe. Can I do so?


Thanks in advance.

:)

 

C windows installer folder - Delete?

He can do symbolic link redirection and move the files in it to a different location. *Wink
Better try it out in a virtual of first. Just a suggestion.

Like:
First move everything in c:\windows\installer to d:\installercache
Then delete c:\windows\installer folder
Then type this in command mode as admin
mklink /d c:\windows\installer d:\installercache

Removing those installer files is a bad idea. it might prevent you from updating or uninstalling apps.

 

Is it safe to delete the Temp folder in C:/Windows/Temp?

Yes, all *files* in the temp folder (not the folder itself) can, and should be, deleted periodically.

The temp folder provides workspace for programs. Programs can create temporary files there for their own temporary use. Each program should delete all its temporary files when it closes, but for various reasons it doesn't always happen (for example,
if the program crashes, it never gets to do this). That's why it's a good idea to periodically clean out anything left there.

Also note that there are some program installations which work in two steps. The first step concludes by writing temporary files and rebooting. The second step starts automatically after rebooting and needs to find those files there (and then deletes
them when it's done).

Other than doing it automatically when rebooting (that would interfere with installations like the kind I described), it's always safe to delete the contents of the temp folder. Because it's safe to delete any temp files that aren't open and in use
by an application, and since Windows won't let you delete open files, it's safe to (try to) delete them at any time. If any fail to delete because they're open, they'll either be deleted automatically when the app using them closes, or you'll get them the
next time you delete manually.

Some people may suggest that you reboot before deleting anything, but that's not necessary, for the reason described above (on the other hand, it doesn't hurt to do it).

 

Win 10 - Folder and files in C:\Windows\Temp\NC5pBB

Thank you for the suggestions.

To answer your question as to what happened when this was first seen,

• updated Win10 with the anniversary update
• my antivirus notified about a C:\Windows\Temp\tmp00007eb1\tmp00000000 file, which was quarantined and subsequently I deleted through the antivirus

Now I see that there is a C:\Windows\Temp\tmp00007eb1\tmp00000000 file there, which the antivirus says is clean and I can delete, but I cannot delete the C:\Windows\Temp\tmp00007eb1\ folder!

From your suggestions:

1. Run the sfc /scannow command

It came back with:

W i n d o w s R e s o u r c e P r o t e c t i o n d i d n o t f i n d a n y i n t e g r i t y v i o l a t i o n s .

2. Rebooted

I was able to delete the NC5pBB folder and all its contents.

I was not able to delete the tmp00007eb1 folder

I could delete the tmp00000000 file

3. Did a clean boot

I was able to delete the NC5pBB folder and all its contents.

I was not able to delete the tmp00007eb1 folder

I could delete the tmp00000000 file

4. Did a regular boot

The NC5pBB folder came back, with a bunch of contents similar to the original post.

I was able to delete the folder and its contents.

The tmp00000000 file came back and I was able to delete it.

I was not able to delete the tmp00007eb1 folder.

Do you have any other suggestions?

Thank you!