How to Clean Up Your Computer's Temp Folder

Give the Temp folder a thorough cleaning and free up disk space on your Windows PC.

Nearly every computer user is familiar with the basics of cleaning up a PC on the outside to keep it looking nice. Experienced users are familiar with techniques for cleaning out browser cookies and cached files. An additional cleanup procedure can free up precious space on the hard disk in just a few minutes, and many PC users don’t know about it.

Instructions

1. Click on the Windows "Start" orb in the lower left corner of your desktop.

2. Type "run" in the search box at the bottom of the Start menu. A small dialogue box will open with a single input field. If any text appears on this field, delete it.

3. Type the following into the text field and then press the "Enter" key.

   %temp%

   A new Explorer window will open. It may contain dozens or even hundreds of files. You can safely delete all files in this folder.

4. Select individual files that you want to delete by pressing and holding the "Ctrl" key while clicking on the files. Each file name will be highlighted when you click on it.

5. Click the "Delete" key on your keyboard to delete the selected files from the Temp folder. Windows deletes the files and frees up valuable disk space on your computer.

Tips & Warnings

• If your Temp folder contains a large number of files, it may take Windows several minutes to delete them all. Do not turn off the computer while this operation is in progress.

• Cleaning your Temp directory periodically can speed up your computer. Optimally, you should perform this step on a weekly basis as routine maintenance.

References

• Microsoft: How to Delete the Contents of the Temporary Internet Files Folder
• Ask-Leo.com: Can I Delete the Contents of My TMP folder?
• SourceDaddy.com: Clean Out Your Temp Folder (Windows 7)