Disk Cleanup has found 35.5 GB of temporary files; how can I see them?

I ran Disk Cleanup and it found 35.5 GB of "Temporary Files."

I thought this was odd.

Before continuing, I checked my disk usage. I have used 48.3 GB of my 80 GB partition (actual size 74.2 GB). I doubt I only have 12.8 GB of "real" files and the rest are "temporary," but maybe.

I took a look with WinDirStat and I don't see any one folder in the root directory (C:\) that could contain the entire 35.5 GB. Not C:\Windows, not C:\Users, not C:\Program Files, etc.

C:\.TemporaryItems is empty because I cleaned up with CCleaner already.

SO ANYWAY... is there some way to see exactly what Disk Cleanup is thinking is a "temporary" file? Can I trust that it knows what it's doing and delete them without checking first?

I'm afraid this is only a partial answer to your question. Some of those 35.5GB files could include system files, non-system files, programs and features, and restore points and shadow copies. The restore points and shadow copies can easily add up.

Because these temp files are kinda scattered around the hard drive, there's not just one central location where they're stored. When you open Disk Cleanup you can highlight one of the file areas to clean up and then click the View Files button. That would at least show you what files in that particular category would be cleaned. And it's been my experience that whatever Disk Cleanup recommends is perfectly safe to delete.



And this tutorial may give you some additional info.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/818-disk-cleanup-open-use.html

Delete files using Disk Cleanup

I use Disk Clean Up every couple of days and I also have never had any problems with the job it does. Here is another one from are Tutorial I use.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/76383-disk-cleanup-extended.html

marsmimar said:

When you open Disk Cleanup you can highlight one of the file areas to clean up and then click the View Files button. That would at least show you what files in that particular category would be cleaned.

Click to expand...

This doesn't work for "Temporary files" unfortunately.

Thanks for the advice. I decided to go ahead and clean up. Doesn't seem to have blown up yet. 35 GB of temp files on a system with 12 GB of non-temp files is silly.

...scratch that...

I waited for it to clean up, re-opened it, and it still showed 35 GB of temp files. I ran it again, opened it again, and still 35 GB of temp files.

I'm not sure what's happening now.

Sometimes 3rd party tools give better/more functionality than native Windows tools. Two such products regularly recommended on this Forum are CCleaner and Temp File Cleaner by OldTimer. (NOTE: if TFC is used you must reboot to finish clearing any in-use temp files.)

CCleaner - PC Optimization and Cleaning - Free Download

TFC - Temp File Cleaner by OldTimer - Geeks to Go Forums

I already used CCleaner just before I used Disk Cleanup and found 35 GB of temp files.

I tried TFC just now, and it reported cleaning out 7 GB of files.

I rebooted, opened Disk Cleanup, and it still shows 35 GB of temp files. :/ I ran Disk Cleanup and tried again. Still 35 GB of temp files.

Does anyone have any idea why this might be? What might create such a large amount of temp data? Why does Disk Cleanup find it, but not clean it up?

To rule out another possible source of your problem, then carry out:

HOW TO USE WINDOWS DEFENDER OFFLINE ON A USB STICK
Windows Defender Offline
· is a free standalone, bootable malware and virus remover from Microsoft.
· performs an offline scan of an infected PC to remove viruses, rootkits and other advanced malware.

Download Windows Defender Offline (about 764 kB)

You will have the choice of downloading the 32bit version (x86) or the 64 bit version (x64).
The link will help you determine whether you are running a 32 bit version or 64 bit version of Windows

NOTE!! You can download and prepare a 32 bit version using a 64 bit version of Windows
NOTE!! You can download and prepare a 64 bit version using a 32bit version of Windows.

You run the 32 bit version on a 32 bit version of Windows.
You run the 64 bit version on a 64 bit version of Windows.

The 32 bit download file name is: mssstool32.exe
The 64 bit download file name is: mssstool64.exe

For the curious, this program was originally name Microsoft Standalone System Sweeper.


INSTALLATION:
You will need an Internet Connection.
Insert 512 mB (Microsoft’s 256 mB is no longer accurate) or larger USB stick into a usb port.
Run the downloaded program--mssstool64.exe or mssstool32.exe
NEXT button
Choose the option On a USB flash drive that is not password protected
NEXT button
NEXT button
.
The install program will format the usb stick using the NTFS format.
The install program will download about 210 mB.
The install program will name the USB stick WDO_Media32 or WDO_Media64
The WDO_Media32 usb stick will have used space of 255 mB (268,140,544 bytes)
The WDO_Media64 usb stick will have used space of 282 mB (296,165,376 bytes)
You can expect the number of mB to increase as more malware appears.

UPDATE Windows Defender Offline USB stick:
· reinsert the usb stick
· run the installation program, mssstool64.exe or mssstool32.exe, again.
· the update will download about 66 mB (mssstool32.exe) and 68 mB (mssstool64.exe).

Since the malware database is sometimes updated several times in a day, always update before running.

PERFORM AN OFFLINE SCAN
Bootup your computer from the USB stick
Windows Defender Offline will automatically perform a quick scan.
After the quick scan finishes, Choose Full Scan
Select all of your drives

The initial, full scan can easily take several hours, but
Remember, your computer is being very thoroughly checked for all types of malware.

I would love to, but for the life of me I can't figure out how to get my Mac to boot from the resultant USB key.

My roommate's Windows netbook will boot from it (though he has 64-bit windows and I have 32-bit, so I can't actually use it there, but it boots). My Mac doesn't offer it as an option in the EFI boot menu. I get OS X on the internal drive, I get Windows on the internal drive, I can get it to boot Mac OS on USB, I can get it to boot from a Mac DVD, but I have no clue, after much googling, how to get this to boot.

EDIT: I'm starting a full scan with Symantec Endpoint Protection and going to bed. I'll try again tomorrow.

can you boot from a DVD?

I have zero experience with a MAC.

Just a though. The methods that have been posted I have and do use all of them like many of us and they have always worked. . Things I'm thinking on.
1. Some how, some way could these files be set at read only?
2. Could these files be picked up through a network and then admin. permission not correct?
3. Could these files be located on another drive/partition (hard drive, flash drive, ect) that isn't C/Windows 7, again permission not granted?
4. Could these files be included in a back up where again permission not correct and or read only or protected in some fashion.
5. Can these files be on your Mac. I don't even know if that can be done. All the Mac's I know are trucks or have the word Big in front of them.
The five things I'm thinking on, Network, proper permission, write protected, location and more than one copy of the temp files.
Crazy thoughts and ideas but this is a crazy problem.

Try this:

Press winlogo+r key to bring the Run command dialog box.

In the open field type %temp% and click OM

That should show you all the temp files and folders in your User directory.

Select all and delete. Some files yhat are currently in use cannot be deleted. Leave them alone.

Whether this resolves your current problem or not, it is good to know that you can cleanup temp files/folders this way.