Disk Cleanup - C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Temp

Does Windows Disk Cleanup clean this folder out or not? I have lot's of stuff in there that looks old and I run Disk Cleanup regularly.

It will delete temporary files that are not been in use.

The best way to delete everything in the Temp folder is to boot into safe mode, then open file explorer window and go to %temp%. Then you delete everything.

I use the search tool 'Everything' to delete them. Type .tmp into the search field. It finds temp files in places other than the local\temp folder. Select all and delete. Used this method for a while now and all has been OK. It does leave some temp behind (being used by the system probably) but perhaps not enough to worry about.

mart44 said:

It does leave some temp behind

Click to expand...

By logging on in Safe Mode, you're able to remove all temp files in the %temp% folder. I'm not sure about .tmp files in other locations.

I've written a Cleanup batch file, that does clean out many of the Temp folders in Windows. There is a Bunch of them!
That particular one you mentioned, is not in my list. But it WILL be!
However when I looked into that folder, on this PC, I saw this:


And when I ran this command from a CMD prompt, it got everything but the NVIDIA stuff. For some crazy reason,
NVIDIA creates a bunch of temp files every day. And when one or more of those files is still open, they will not delete!
del /F /S /Q C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData\Local\Temp\*.*

It reported that some of those files were still open in Windows. I get that a lot.
It's almost not worth the effort, but I WILL be adding that temp folder to my Cleanup Batch file, that I run almost daily.
(some days, I get busy and just forget to run it.) When I do run it, I get results like this:


I really don't know why, but if you've ever installed NVIDIA drivers on your PC, you'll find it creating a LOT of temp files.

Thanks for letting me know about that temp folder. It's one I had somehow missed.
I do run the Disk Cleanup program in "Extended" mode, and it does not clean out that folder. (I guess that was your question) It also does not get rid of the temporary internet files from either Edge or Firefox. It basically cleans out junk left by Windows, and not Installed programs, like Firefox, etc. At least, that's been my experience. Other browsers, like Chrome, will probably create their own junk pile, but since I don't use those, I can't swear to that.
With just a little research, you can easily find out where your favorite browser stores its Junk.
I have a separate line in my batch file, for each of the browsers that I use.
In just one day, of browsing and forum work, Firefox will generate several thousand Temp files. Likewise, Edge!
I just ran my Batch file yesterday, before I did a C: drive backup, and when I ran it again a few minutes ago, it found and removed over 46k of junk files....created in just one day.

Cheers Mate!
TM

mart44 said:

I use the search tool 'Everything' to delete them. Type .tmp into the search field. It finds temp files in places other than the local\temp folder. Select all and delete. Used this method for a while now and all has been OK. It does leave some temp behind (being used by the system probably) but perhaps not enough to worry about.

Click to expand...

I think you meant *.tmp?

I ran CCleaner yesterday with Temporary Files selected for cleaning, among the other (few) selected things. Maybe that's why this folder is as it is. I certainly wouldn't get my knickers in a twist over a folder like this. Note the files sizes, BTW.

kelper said:

I think you meant *.tmp?

Click to expand...

Everything doesn't care. Just type tmp in the blank. It just now found 6,000 files on my desktop PC with .tmp extensions.

mart44 said:

I use the search tool 'Everything' to delete them. Type .tmp into the search field. It finds temp files in places other than the local\temp folder. Select all and delete. Used this method for a while now and all has been OK. It does leave some temp behind (being used by the system probably) but perhaps not enough to worry about.

Click to expand...

Inspired by your post I did a similar thing using WizFile. It found about 1800 files and folders. I selected all and chose Delete from the context menu. It allowed me to send all but a couple dozen to the recycle bin. Running Disk Cleanup as administrator it showed about 380 MB of crap I could remove without resorting to safe mode. It removed all the folders so I guess I can do that once a month or so.

kelper said:

I think you meant *.tmp?

Click to expand...

No, just .tmp

kgarrett67 said:

By logging on in Safe Mode, you're able to remove all temp files in the %temp% folder. I'm not sure about .tmp files in other locations.

Click to expand...

Yes, that is a way but I don't worry too much about the .tmp files left behind. It leaves the system fairly free of them.

kelper said:

I think you meant *.tmp?

Click to expand...

Going over the deletion done by 'Everything' again, I think that search term is best. If only .tmp, is searched for, the search picks up on this file: 'filesize-popover-accordion.tmpl.html' because it has .tmp in the name. Using *.tmp, the file is not picked up on. This doesn't matter in my case because Windows won't let it be deleted anyway. It might make a difference in some cases though.

Don't delete every file with .tmp in the name as not all will be temporary files as shown in your example. Try dot tmp space.

kelper said:

Don't delete every file with .tmp in the name as not all will be temporary files as shown in your example. Try dot tmp space.

Click to expand...

Yes, I can see that would also work.

Still..... Del /F /S /Q C:\*.tmp will find and delete every file in your PC, with a name that ends in .tmp
Except, of course, the ones that are open and in use. There will be several of those.

This simple little command can be run from either the CMD prompt, as a one-time thing, or put into a batch file for repeated use.

The Batch File (a simple text file with the suffix .bat) once you see how easy it works, can be easily added to, with more lines like: Del /F /S /Q C:\*.bac and Del /F /S /Q C:\*.old

Then as you find more hiding places for junk, add those to your batch file as well.
Like the location that the OP listed:
Del /F /S /Q C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData\Local\Temp\*.*

This is basically what I've been doing for over twenty years, and today I've got a pretty inclusive and comprehensive Cleanup Batch file.
And, every time I find a new hiding place for junk, it goes in to my Batch File.
I want to thank the OP for giving me one more.
Someday, if there's a demand for it, I may just publish the whole thing.

Here is a script that will delete files and folders within Temp folder.

I have show hidden files / folders enabled and manually go in and empty that folder. I also use MS PC Manager as a good safe replacement for CC Cleaner.

TechnoMage2021 said:

Still..... Del /F /S /Q C:\*.tmp will find and delete every file in your PC, with a name that ends in .tmp
Except, of course, the ones that are open and in use. There will be several of those.

Click to expand...

I made a small utility called RunItOnce mainly so I could delete all the index.dat files on my C: drive now and then. It uses the registry RunOnce key for the current user. It delays login until the command is completed which is why it could remove index.dat as they were not in use yet. So you probably should not use it for anything that takes a long time or is interactive. If you search the terms RunItOnce and MilesAhead it should be near the top of the list. Freeware with a Readme. Easy to use for simple stuff.

Note: I may not have used this since index.dat became no longer an issue. Perhaps Windows 7?? So consider it experimental.

For an average user like me > turn on Storage Sense > let it do its work in the background > very occasionally run it manually

It may not be the cleanest clean, but there is very little performance difference from the cleanest clean, if any, and the built-in tool is safe