What is the “Temp” folder and Should it be Deleted?

There have been many inquiries relating to the “Temp” folder that can be seen across almost all operating systems. Users are anxious regarding the purpose of the existence of the folder and many were wondering if it is safe to delete the folder or its contents.

Temp Folder

What is “Temp” Folder?

Depending upon the version of Windows that you are using the location of the folder might differ. For most users, the location is “AppData/Local/Temp” while for others it might be “LocalAppData/Temp“. The size of the folder can vary from user to user. It actually depends on the number of applications installed on your computer and the period for which the operating system has been installed.

The Temp folder is used to store certain launch configurations and cached data for all applications installed on the computer. Certain data is cached by the operating system that helps it to reduce loading times and provide a smoother experience, this data is later stored in the Temp folder. The “Temp” folder is created during the Windows installation and the files inside are also created automatically.

Should it be Deleted?

The Folder itself shouldn’t be deleted or tampered with, however, the contents of the folder are entirely safe to be deleted without any harsh side effect to the computer. In fact, it is recommended by top officials to delete the contents of the computer periodically to avoid sluggish performance on the computer’s part.

How to Delete the Content of the Temp Folder?

Although it is entirely safe to delete the content of the folder, in some cases, it was observed that some applications might malfunction if they are storing important data in the folder. Keep in mind that the folder isn’t normally used for storing important data but just to be safe we will only be deleting the content of the folder that isn’t used by any application regularly, this can easily be achieved by using the disk cleanup tool instead of conventional deleting methods. For that:

1. Press “Windows” + “S” to open search.
2. Type in “DiskCleanup” and click on the first option.
3. Select “C” as the drive and click on “OK“. Selecting the “C” drive

Note: Select the drive in which Windows has been installed.

Check the “Temporary” files option and click on “OK“. Checking Temporary Files and clicking on “OK”

Once the process is completed, the useless contents of the folder will automatically be deleted.

What happens if I delete files in Temp folder in Windows 7?

In general, it’s safe to delete anything in the Temp folder. Sometimes, you may get a «can’t delete because the file is in use» message, but you can just skip those files.

For safety, do your Temp directory deleting just after you reboot the computer. Sometimes, a program installer will put something in the Temp directory that it needs to complete the installation after a reboot. If you reboot and wait a bit so that everything has settled down, anything left in the Temp folder should be OK to delete.

If you want to be conservative, use the built-in Disk Cleanup tool (type Disk Cleanup in the Search box). If you select «Temporary files» as one of the items to be cleaned (deleted), by default Disk Cleanup only deletes files that haven’t been modified within the past 7 days.

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On Fri, 17 Jan 2014 18:56:47 +0000, steveoverholt wrote:

What goes in the Windows—>Temp folder in windows 7, and if I delete the files there, will that cause any problems? I want to free up the 1.8G disk space, but can find no info anywhere of the consequences of deleting these files, what they’re for, or how they got there.

Yes, they 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).

Windows Temporary Files – Everything you want to know

We have already seen the nature of some temporary files like Temporary Internet Files, Index.dat file, Cookies, and Prefetch Files. In this article, we shall have a look at a few aspects of the Windows Temporary Files, which your computer creates, during the course of its normal running.

Windows Temporary Files

What are Temporary Files in Windows 10

Temporary Files in Windows are those junk files whose use is only temporary and become redundant once the task in hand is completed. Such temporary files are created to hold data temporarily while a file is being created or processed or used.

Why are Temporary Files created

Windows Temporary files are created by the operating system during the normal course of its running when there may not be enough memory allocated for the task.

Software that uses large amounts of data like Graphics, Video, or Media editing software also creates temporary files. Such created temporary files are more often than not, left behind even when the task is over, leading to their wasting disk space.

Temporary Files are also created for backup purposes, by programs. For instance, Microsoft Office saves a Temporary File of the open document every few minutes. If you save the document and exit, the Temporary File gets deleted. If the program crashes unexpectedly, the Temporary File is not deleted. They can thus be useful to help recover lost data if the program or the system crashes.

Ideally, the Temporary Files should get deleted once the program exits. But this is not always the case, leading to wasted disk space.

Temporary Files Location

The Temporary Files in Windows are typically found located in two locations:

• %systemdrive%\Windows\Temp
• %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Temp

If you click on C:\Windows\Temp you will receive a message You don’t currently have permission to access this folder. Click on Continue to do so. You will see that most of its contents are .tmp, .temp and .txt files.

The other folder typically located at C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Temp, is created for each User. It’s a hidden folder and you will have to first ‘un-hide’ System folders from the Folder Options before you can see it.

The Temporary files created by the Windows operating system are usually stored in the %system%\Windows\Temp folder, whereas the ones created by the User when running any software is stored in his user profile at %userprofiles%\AppData\Local\.

Temporary Files of a particular software may also be located in a sub-folder, inside the parent folder of the particular software.

On rare occasions, a temporary file or a temporary files folder may get created into the root directory of the C (System) drive. You may want to examine the folder in details, and then delete it if you are sure, if it indeed contains temporary files.

Change the location of the Temp folder

If you wish, you can change the location of the Temporary Files folder. To do so, open System Properties via the Control Panel > Environment Variables > Edit the System and/or the User variables as you wish.

But do remember that it is never a good idea to combine the temporary directories together for all the user profiles, for security reasons, since there have been cases of security vulnerabilities with temporary files, due to a particular software’s incorrect file permissions or race conditions.

Empty Temporary Files folder

There are several different ways to delete Temporary Files. You can use freeware junk file cleaners or the in-built Disk Cleanup utility to easily empty the contents of the Temp folders.

Planning to empty the contents of your Windows Installer Folder or WinSxS directory due to its sheer large size!? Think again!

Date: February 5, 2018 Tags: Files, Folder

What are “temp” folders used for in Windows 10?

I wanted to do disk cleanup myself and found a large folder in %localappdata% called Temp. I wondered if deleting the contents of it won’t harm my computer. All I know about «temp» folders is that there are more of them. Is it safe to delete a «temp» folder’s contents?

2 Answers 2

You can delete the files in local appdata .. \temp with no harm. If any file is busy by an app, it will not allow deletion. Do not force it.

You can also delete files in c:\windows\temp with the same notes as above. Do not force deletion of any file in appdata temp or windows temp.

Once deleted, do not forget to empty the recycle bin.

You can also run Admin Tools, Disk Cleanup and use the Cleanup System files option.

As the name suggests, %localappdata%\Temp is a folder where any app can store temporary files.

Normally, apps should clean up after themselves by removing any temporary files they create. However, they may fail to do so, perhaps if they encounter unexpected setup errors, or if your computer crashes for some unrelated reason while they are running.

The only thing to be careful of is that an app may create temporary files and expect to find them after a reboot, so as to complete a setup or uninstall you ran. In this scenario, if you had cleaned up by deleting temporary files, the app would then not be able to complete the setup/install as you would have removed files that were not yet finished with.

So yes, as long as you perform a clean boot first, you can delete any or all contents of %localappdata%\Temp (although you should keep the folder itself as it’s a Windows folder).

Change location of TEMP files folder to another drive

1. What are the steps (dialogue) to change Windows7 system TEMP files on C-drive to one of my other local HHD drives? I now have only a 160GB SSD for my boot (C-drv) and want to keep the WRITE/ERASE ops down to a minimum.

2. Is it a security risk to change the Internet TEMP file Folder from the hidden/protected area on the C-drive to another local HHD? I have read that there are built-in virtual paths and protectors both on the system and registry which tends to protect from internet TEMP files contains viruses, rootkits, etc from reaching the critical areas easily. Also Norton likely checks signatures in these default areas for TEMP files.

Thanks in advance.

Core i7-975 3.33GHz, 12GB RAM, nVidia GTX280m, Win7 Ultimate64

To change the location of the System Temp folder, follow the steps given below.

1. Right click on Computer and click on Properties. In the resulting window with the basic information about your computer

2. Click on Advanced system settings on the left panel resulting in a dialog box click on the Advanced tab a

3. Click on the button near the bottom labeled Environment Variables.

4. You may see both TMP and TEMP listed in the section labeled User variables for (account). That’s the common location; each different login account is assigned its own temporary location.

5. In the Variable value Edit box you may specify the path to the directory that Windows and many other programs will use for temporary files.

Be sure and repeat that process for both TMP and TEMP.

You’ll need to restart any running programs for the new value to take effect. In fact, you’ll need to restart Windows for it to begin using the new value for its own temporary files.

To change the location of the Internet Temp folder, follow the steps given below.

Note: That Internet Explorer moves cookies to the new folder and the old folder is removed. Additionally, the following message is displayed when you attempt to move the Temporary Internet Files folder:

Warning: Moving the location of your Temporary Internet Files folder will delete all your subscription data.

1. Create a new folder to store the files. For example, if you want to store the files in a folder named Ietemp on drive D, create the following folder:

For information about how to create a folder, click Start, click Help, click the Index tab, type new folder, and then double-click the «New Folders» topic.

1. Start Internet Explorer.
2. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
3. On the General tab, click Settings.
4. Click Move Folder.
5. Click the folder you created in Step 1.
6. Click OK, click OK, and then click OK again.
7. Restart your computer

You can change the location of Internet explorer temp folder; there is no security threat to your computer.

Hope this information is helpful.

Microsoft Answers Support Engineer
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