How to clean your computer from junk? Cleaning the registry and temporary files. Creating your own optimizer

Most users in one way or another come across such a concept as Temporary Files. Any more or less literate user can imagine what this is in general terms. But not everyone knows that such files can correspond to different categories and belong to different processes or programs. There are even fewer who understand how to delete such objects painlessly for the system and in full.

Temporary Files: what is this in general understanding?

In order to understand what these objects are in Windows systems, you just need to translate the name of this term. In Russian equivalent, this means “temporary files,” that is, those that are not permanently on the system, but only at certain moments.

Sometimes they can be deleted automatically, sometimes you have to clean them up manually - it all depends on exactly which processes such objects were associated with. They usually have a TMP extension, but not always.

Types of temporary files

Some users mistakenly believe that temporary files appear only when working on the Internet (Temporary Internet Files), when the browser saves them to hard drive to speed up access to previously visited pages. But this is only a special case.

Conventionally, all objects can be classified into the following main types:

• temporary system files;
• objects created and deleted during application installation;
• temporary objects associated with the operation of application programs;
• Internet files (cache, cookies, page thumbnails, etc.).

Thus, issues of deleting such objects should be decided solely depending on the type. Some files are deleted automatically (for example, installer files or objects created when working with certain programs).

In this sense, another look at the Temporary Files objects will help. What is this in terms of software components, can best be understood by the example of the opening Word documents. Please note that when opened in the same folder where the original file, a temporary copy of it is created with a name starting with the symbol “~” (sometimes such objects can be hidden). After work with the document is completed and it is closed, the temporary file is deleted automatically.

The same applies to cases where the editor was terminated incorrectly. From a temporary object, the program offers to restore a document that was accidentally closed (of course, if the autosave function is enabled, indicating a certain period of time after which it should be done).

Sometimes when installing games or some repacks, glitches like “ Internal error Extract Temporary File" with a link to the libraries isdone.dll, islogo.dll, isgsg.dll or with messages about the return of a certain code by the Unarc.dll service. In most cases, such messages are generated due to the fact that some processes are blocked by the antivirus (most often this occurs in Comodo Antivirus). But such failures can be eliminated by adding programs to trusted lists. The message says that you need to check your RAM, but most often this problem has nothing to do with RAM.

Windows Temporary Internet Files: how to remove?

Now a few words about deleting temporary objects. This can be done very easily in any browser. Simply call up the browsing history menu and press the clear button.

In this case, it is advisable to indicate cleaning for the entire period, and also mark the items for deleting the browser cache, Cookies and other site data, cached images and download history.

In the case of system objects, you can do things a little differently. Since they are usually saved in TEMP directories, which can be hidden (in the system root directory and in user folders), to make your work easier, you need to use the Run console and enter the %TEMP% combination in it. In the found directories, you just need to select all objects and press the Del key to delete. If you need to delete without going to the Recycle Bin, use the combination Shift + Del.

In some cases, you can use the Disk Cleanup tool, where in the list of objects to be deleted, you should check the box next to the line of temporary files.

However, the most simple method temporary files can be treated as using special optimizer programs, in which, for quick maintenance, you need to mark the corresponding modules (garbage cleaning, confidentiality, deleting Internet history, etc.).

Instead of an afterword

That's all for such a concept as Temporary Files. What kind of objects these are, I think, has already become clear to many. It is quite obvious that the appearance of files in the system is not exclusively related to the Internet (look at the list above). As for cleaning the system from such objects, the removal methods used depend only on what type of objects such objects are and whether they are deleted automatically.

While programs are running, the computer creates temporary files. And these files accumulate. For example, over the course of 3 years, more than 1000 files have accumulated on my computer, which took up more than 40 Gigabytes of disk space. And why is this necessary? You can quite easily clean your computer's hard drive, freeing it of unused information.

So, the user's temporary files are in the folder C:\Users\_user_account_name_\AppData\Local\Temp, but it’s not so easy to get into. Therefore, below we will describe how to do this in order to delete files from this folder.

First of all, click on the button “ Start" and in the line search query enter %TEMP%. Once the folder you are looking for is found, click on it:

After this it will open Conductor with the contents of the folder Temp:

If you look at the properties of this folder, you can see how many temporary files have accumulated in it and how much space they take up. And this may surprise you. :)

Now we will delete temporary files and directories so that they do not take up disk space and interfere with the operation of other programs.

For this click on any folder or file (this is necessary to be in this directory), then press Ctrl+A (A - Latin, from English all ) - this will select all folders and files. After this, you can right-click on any directory or file and select “ Delete"or just press the key Del on the keyboard:

Foolproof protection will turn on and ask: “”. Well, yes, who would have thought! This is exactly what we came here for. Therefore, press the button “ Yes»:

Aaaand... Our files went to the trash! :)

But it's not that simple. The size of the recycle bin is not infinite and some folders and files may not fit in it. Therefore the question will arise: “ Are you sure you want to permanently delete this folder?"In order not to get up twice (or many, many times), it is better to check the "". Delete, delete! :)

Aaaand... That's not all. There are temporary files that are currently occupied by running programs. You can, of course, close the program that occupies the file that is not being deleted and click “ Repeat", and then he will leave. But you don’t have to waste your time on trifles and click “ Skip" Well, so that your finger doesn’t get tired of skipping all the files, it’s easier to check the “” box:

That seems to be it! Everything that was possible was permanently deleted; everything that fit in the trash was moved to the trash. Let's look now at Temp folder properties and we are pleasantly surprised:

After all this, be sure to empty the recycle bin and deleting the user’s temporary files in Windows 7 can be considered complete! :D

There are a huge number of different computer optimizer programs on the Internet for cleaning up unnecessary temporary files. But you would probably like to control the process yourself, so as not to install third-party optimizers and not waste your time on activation and registration. In this post I will teach you how to clean your PC standard means operating system Windows.

Creation own optimizer

First of all, open Notepad via " Start" - "All programs" - "Standard" - "Notebook", or through the program " Execute"by pressing the keyboard shortcut " Win" + "R" and typing the command " notepad".

Now let's create BAT file. In the Notepad that opens, click on the " File" - "Save as...", then select a location on your PC, for example, I chose the desktop, then write the name of the future program and indicate the extension " cleaner.bat" (you can come up with any name, but you don’t need to change the .bat extension!).

In the newly created file we will write commands to clean the system.

Clearing temporary files

First of all, let's clear all temporary folders on your PC, for this we will use the command " DEL"with parameters" /q /f /s" - files, subfolders, folders.

Type the following in Notepad (bat file):

del /q /f /s %Temp%\*.*
del /q /f /s %Tmp%\*.*

Where, " %WINDIR%\Temp" - is equivalent to " C:\Windows\Temp", A " %SYSTEMDRIVE%" - system partition, in most cases it is " C:\", "%Temp%" And " %Tmp%" - folders with temporary user files.

Clearing the Prefetch folder

In a folder Prefetch(files with the extension .pf) contains information about frequently opened programs and services, for faster subsequent loading. You can delete all files from this folder, which will allow the system to boot faster, but the programs will load more slowly the first time. After deleting all the files and folder, the system will again create a cache of these frequently launched programs. Why do you need to clean this folder? Often in this Prefetch folder contains cache for a long time remote programs, so the folder size can reach up to 400 MB by default.

Command to clear the Prefetch folder:

Del /q /f /s %WINDIR%\Prefetch\*.*

Cleaning the logbook - logs, tanks, guides, etc.

Windows and other programs like to keep logs of errors and various actions; depending on the number of programs, these files can accumulate several tens of megabytes.

The command to clear these files is:

The command will delete all files by mask (*.log, *.bak, *.gid) on the system disk, including subdirectories system disk.

Bottom line

What did we get?

Del /q /f /s %WINDIR%\Temp\*.*
del /q /f /s %SYSTEMDRIVE%\Temp\*.*
del /q /f /s %Temp%\*.*
del /q /f /s %Tmp%\*.*
del /q /f /s %WINDIR%\Prefetch\*.*
del /q /f /s %SYSTEMDRIVE%\*.log
del /q /f /s %SYSTEMDRIVE%\*.bak
del /q /f /s %SYSTEMDRIVE%\*.gid

We save the resulting result: " File" - "Save". Now we can run the bat file to clean the system of garbage.

Temporary file- file created specific program or an operating system for saving intermediate results during operation or transferring data to another program. Typically, such files are deleted automatically by the process that created them.

Some operating systems have additional features when working with temporary files - the ability to get the name of a temporary file (and one that will be unique - that is, it will not coincide with the name of an existing file); the ability to specify a special parameter when creating (opening) a file, instructing the file to be deleted immediately after recording

But not all programs delete temporary files. Over time, the folders where temporary files are stored grow and take up a lot of space on your hard drive. You can, of course, clean these folders manually, but then you will have to clean temporary files located in several places, since the system provides its own temporary folders for each user.

• C:\Windows\Temp
• C:\Users\Vladimir\AppData\Local\Temp
• C:\Users\All Users\TEMP
• C:\Users\All Users\TEMP
• C:\Users\Default\AppData\Local\Temp

Settings

How to set up automatic cleaning of temporary files in browsers is described in my article " Removing temporary files and cookies in browsers. Clearing the disk cache. ". To configure automatic deletion all temporary files, you must define one temporary folder for all users. Open system properties Control Panel - System - Additional options systems - Environment Variables. Changing variables TEMP And TMP on C:/Windows/Temp. To change, for example, a variable TEMP, select it and press the button Change. Enter the value and OK

When both variables have been changed, you can configure automatic cleaning of this folder Temp

Open Notepad or any text editor and copy this code

pushd %TEMP% && rd /s /q . > nul 2>&1
pushd %WinDir%\TEMP && rd /s /q . > nul 2>&1

We save the file under any name, but with the extension .cmd in a folder, for example, of a user with administrator rights.

Now let's launch the editor group policies: Start - Run and enter the command gpedit.msc Open Computer Configuration - Windows Configuration- Scripts (start/stop). In the right half of the window, open the parameter properties Shutdown. Button Add and specify the path to the saved file

Click OK, then Apply and OK. Now we do the same in the section User Configuration. Everything - setting automatic cleaning temporary files are finished. When you shut down, temporary files will be deleted. You can check the deletion of temporary files by opening the folder C:/Windows/Temp, reboot and open this folder again. If there are no files, then everything is done correctly.

Many Windows users We’ve heard the term “temporary files,” but not everyone fully understands the essence of these elements and why they are created by the system and applications. Some people think that they should be removed and that they are unnecessary, while others try not to touch them and carefully avoid them. Let's look at this issue in more detail from all sides.

Windows temporary files

What is it?

Temporary files in Windows are created on the system various applications and the operating system itself in order to store in them the data that is required for the current task.

Why are temporary files created?

Temporary files are most often created to transfer large amounts of information that are not profitable to store in RAM, or their volume is greater than the amount of RAM. Therefore, program developers temporarily store this data in a folder with temporary files, so that after some time their program or a separate module can use this information.

Temporary files are also created as a backup copy of the data you are working with. present moment. For example, programs from Microsoft package Office creates temporary files with backup copies documents you are working with. This is in case of failure office program or sudden PC restart. The next time you start it, you can continue working from the same place without losing the data in the document.

As a rule, after the application terminates correctly, temporary files should be deleted automatically. But in fact this does not always happen. As a result, we observe a cluster large quantity temporary files that lie like dead weight and take up useful disk space on the system disk.

Where are Windows temporary files located?

In the operating system itself there are two places where it is customary to store temporary files. You can go to them from Explorer at the following addresses:

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

You can paste into address bar Explore one of these lines to jump into them.

Temporary Windows folder usually used by the operating system itself. The temporary folder in your user profile is usually used by the programs you use. If you have multiple user accounts on your computer, then there are several folders with temporary files, one for each user profile.

Some programs use their own temporary folder to store such data and often place it inside their own folders - there may be a temp subfolder in the folder with the program name.

There are also cases when individual programs create Temp folder at the root of the system drive C.

How to change where temporary files are stored

The operating system provides a way to change the variable folder in the user profile. To do this, in the environment variables ( Control Panel → System properties → Additionally → Environment Variables) you need to change the storage folders for temporary files.

If you have several user profiles on your computer, you should not move the folder with temporary files for all users into one folder. First of all, this is not recommended for security reasons and maintaining stability, since it is unknown how this or that application will behave if it sees temporary files from another user in the folder. It's best to leave them where they are.

How to delete temporary files?

To remove unnecessary temporary files, you can use specialized utilities like Reg Organizer or.

The standard operating system disk cleaning tool is also suitable for this, but third party applications there is usually more ability to clear the system of unnecessary data, which makes them more efficient.