Clear windows temporary files

Windows temp files, as the name implies, are temporary files created by certain programs when in use on your Windows 10 device. These files can quickly add up and consume valuable storage space , so you may want to delete them. Disk Cleanup is a program in Windows 10 that lets you quickly delete files that are no longer necessary, including temp files.

The Disk Cleanup for Windows C: window will open. A pop-up message will appear asking you to confirm that you want to delete the selected files. You can also delete temp files from the Settings app. First, open Settings by clicking the Windows icon in the bottom-left corner of the desktop to open the Start menu, and then clicking the gear icon.

A list of what your system considers temporary files will appear. If you like doing things the old-fashioned way, you can also delete the temp files yourself in File Explorer. But instead of digging around through multiple layers of folders trying to locate the Temp folder, you can use a shortcut. The Temp folder will open in File Explorer. Select the files that you want to delete.

Selected files are highlighted in blue. Next, right-click on any of the selected files. Use Google Fonts in Word. Use FaceTime on Android Signal vs.

Customize the Taskbar in Windows Temp files or temporary files in Windows 11 are essentially data stored by apps and the operating system to provide you with a seamless experience. For example, when you download a file using IDM — a popular download manager for Windows , it stores the file chunks in the Windows Temp folder.

And when the download is complete, these file chunks are collated and moved to the Downloads folders. Similarly, when you have not saved a Word or TXT document, those files are temporarily saved in the Temp folder. In essence, Temp files are not bad per se for the smooth functioning of your system.

It includes logs, system cache, and other disposable items. However, after prolonged usage of the PC, temporary files start gathering in huge numbers and data size. A third-party app you no longer use may have kept GBs of data in the Temp folder. Or, a program might not be cleaning up the Windows Temp folder after the job is done.

In such cases, it becomes important to remove the Temp files from Windows And in this tutorial, we will show you exactly how to do that. You can simply select the different temp files listed above in Windows 11 settings and delete them as per your convenience. Click to open it. Your Windows 11 PC will now scan for all the temporary files and display the removable files. This will remove a significant amount of temporary update files. Almost all the temporary files will be removed from your Windows 11 PC with this process.

Method 2: Use Disk Cleanup in Windows 11 While Windows 11 has integrated most of the Disk Cleanup options into Windows Settings, in case you are old school and want to remove all the temporary files from Control Panel, here is how to do it. Next, type cleanmgr and hit Enter or click OK.

In some cases, files that are downloaded from websites may remain in your Temporary Internet Files folder but will not be visible in Windows Explorer after you follow these steps.

For more information about the Temporary Internet Files folder, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:. Windows 8. Exit Internet Explorer. Exit any instances of Windows Explorer. Select OK two times. Need more help? Expand your skills. Get new features first. Was this information helpful? Quick access. Search related threads. Remove From My Forums.

Asked by:. Archived Forums. Windows SteadyState. Sign in to vote. I am using Windows 10 and cannot delete some temporary files. Disk cleanup and deleting Internet History do not touch them. What can I do. Thursday, September 24, AM. Have you tried using disk cleanup but with the system files option? As far as I can tell Windows 10 does not allow disk cleanup with System Files option. If it does I cannot find it.