What's with all the files

Apple seems intent on clogging our C:\Drives with multiple copes of the same files.....very annoying for SSD users. Need to keep Users / DocsAndSettings data on C:\Drives as we keep all data files on NAS and have no need for local storage

8 files with size of 1,533,182,095 .... a random series of numbers and letters and no file extension

2 in C:\DocumentsandSettings\Username\AppData\Roaming\A ppleComputer\MobileSync\Backup
2 in C:\DocumentsandSettings\Username\ApplicationData\A ppleComputer\MobileSync\Backup
2 in C:\Users\UsernamAppData\AppleComputer\MobileSync\B ackup
2 in C:\Users\UsernamApplicationData\AppleComputer\Mobi leSync\Backup

4 files with size of 1,489,997,003 .... starting with iPhone6 and ending in restore.ipsw

1 in C:\DocumentsandSettings\Username\AppData\Roaming\A ppleComputer\iTunes\iPhoneSoftwareUpdates
1 in C:\DocumentsandSettings\Username\ApplicationData\A ppleComputer\iTunes\iPhoneSoftwareUpdates
1 in C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\AppleComputer\iT unes\iPhoneSoftwareUpdates
1 in C:\Users\Username\ApplicationData\Roaming\AppleCom puter\iTunes\iPhoneSoftwareUpdates

2 files with size of 1,412,545,615 .... U.S.A.1.11.ipa

1 in C:\DocumentsandSettings\Username\Music\iTunes\iTun esmedia\MobileApplications
1 in C:\Users\Username\Music\iTunes\iTunesmedia\MobileA pplications

4 files with size of 1,489,997,003 .... starting with iPhone3 and ending in restore.ipsw

1 in C:\DocumentsandSettings\Username\AppData\Roaming\A ppleComputer\iTunes\iPhoneSoftwareUpdates
1 in C:\DocumentsandSettings\Username\ApplicationData\A ppleComputer\iTunes\iPhoneSoftwareUpdates
1 in C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\AppleComputer\iT unes\iPhoneSoftwareUpdates
1 in C:\Users\Username\ApplicationData\Roaming\AppleCom puter\iTunes\iPhoneSoftwareUpdates

2 files with size of 549,387,197 .... ending in *.mov

1 in C:\DocumentsandSettings\Username\Pictures\Date
1 in C:\Users\Username\Pictures\Date

2 files with size of 1,533,182,227 .... ending in *.mov

1 in C:\DocumentsandSettings\Username\Pictures\Date
1 in C:\Users\Username\Pictures\Date

8 files with size of 549,387,065 .... with no file extension

2 in C:\DocumentsandSettings\Username\AppData\Roaming\A ppleComputer\MobileSync\Backup
2 in C:\DocumentsandSettings\Username\ApplicationData\R oaming\AppleComputer\MobileSync\Backup
2 in C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\AppleComputer\Mo bileSync\Backup
2 in C:\Users\Username\ApplicationData\AppleComputer\Mo bileSync\Backup

Looking further

Have 508 Macromedia flash folders on 0 bytes
Have 32 NvCplSetupInt.exe files of 72-74 MB
Have 3 files names 2 w/ no file extension 247 MB in size for nVidia update manager
have 810 files in C:\Windows\winsxs\FileMa

List goes on and on......

And a *.* search shows about 20% of the 22k files and folder are 0 bytes.

We shouldn't have to do all this

Hard Disk Space - Free Up and Recover

to keep HD clean and that still doesn't address the dupe file copies.

1. No really an alternative when ya have iPhone

2. This endemic to modern windows .... I just used apple files as an example because the files are listed alphabetically. Started with A .....didn't work my way down to Z .... but did includes some random items.

From end of original post....

Have 508 Macromedia flash folders on 0 bytes
Have 32 NvCplSetupInt.exe files of 72-74 MB
Have 3 files names 2 w/ no file extension 247 MB in size for nVidia update manager
Have 810 files in C:\Windows\winsxs\FileMaps

Have more than twice as many files on my 128GB C partition than all other 3 TBs, many man y of which are dupes.

Don't be concerned about apparently duplicated files in the Documents and Settings" and "Users" folders. The issue is only apparent and not real.

In Windows 2000 and XP user profiles were stored in the "Documents and settings" folder. For a number of reasons this was changed to the "Users" folder in Vista and later. To avoid compatibility problems with applications that hard coded the old location the "Documents and settings" folder was provided as well. But a feature of the NTFS file system was utilized that allows a single copy of a file to appear in more than one folder. This feature is used elsewhere as well.

logicearth said:

The problem is you opened Documents and Settings which is a junction to the Users directory. That is your problem. You should not be able to access Documents and Settings, if you can then your system is messed up.

Also, Application Data, that folder should not be accessible either, it loops back on itself creating an infinite loop.

Right click on your C Drive and use file finder with *.* and let me know if you find anything different. I see the same thing on every system I have looked out.

LMiller7 said:

Don't be concerned about apparently duplicated files in the Documents and Settings" and "Users" folders. The issue is only apparent and not real.

In Windows 2000 and XP user profiles were stored in the "Documents and settings" folder. For a number of reasons this was changed to the "Users" folder in Vista and later. To avoid compatibility problems with applications that hard coded the old location the "Documents and settings" folder was provided as well. But a feature of the NTFS file system was utilized that allows a single copy of a file to appear in more than one folder. This feature is used elsewhere as well.

Ah... hadn't realized that .... that explains the double appearance but not the quadruple. Or is the ApplicationData / AppData folder duplication the same type of "virtual duplication"

Any suggestions on the others.....

Have 508 Macromedia flash folders with 0 bytes
Have 32 NvCplSetupInt.exe files of 72-74 MB
Have 3 files names 2 w/ no file extension 247 MB in size for nVidia update manager
have 810 files in C:\Windows\winsxs\FileMa

I thought I had eliminated the problem when I stopped doing builds w/ less than 120/128 GB SSDs but at least once a week it seems I'm asked to fix a machine w/ a clogged C:\Drive. All programs were installed on HD's except for those that are the reason to buy the SSD (i.e. AutoCAD) all file storage is NAS.....no "My Anything" folders being used. I get most of the crap off and teach them how to use Disk Cleanup utilities, remove dmp / tmp / cache files etc but would like to be more aggressive so as to reduce the frequency.