Installed applications or programs on your Windows 7 computer can store temporary files or folders. Apparently, they don’t affect your computer’s performance. However, these Windows 7 temporary folders can take up a lot of space on your hard drive.
So, cleaning these files and folders can help you optimise your hard disk space. Additionally, you can reclaim the required space by deleting these temp files. Now, deleting such temporary files can be a hassle since they are mostly hidden. On the other hand, you might be sceptical about getting rid of these temporary folders on your Windows 7 computer.
Well, these tiny temporary files keep miscellaneous settings. And, removing them doesn’t affect the program’s functionality. On top of that, your computer programs can’t delete them automatically. So, you have to delete the. And, this guide will show you how to access Windows 7 temp files location and safely delete them. Let’s start with where to find temp files and how to erase them.
Where are Windows 7 Temporary Folders Saved?
Different programs can access temporary files or folders and read, edit, or overwrite them accordingly. Usually, Windows 7 temporary folders hold information like quick settings along with cache files used by the program. Now, the question arrives: Where can you find the temporary files?
By default, Windows 7 saves temporary files or folders inside the directory under C:\Windows\. Now, the actual location of the respective temporary folder might vary from one Windows computer to another. Reportedly, Windows 7 users can sneak into the %USER_PROFILE%\AppSata\Local\ under the above-mentioned directory.
If this seems difficult, you can try the following trick to discover the Windows 7 temporary folder. Here’s what you have to follow:
- Open a Run dialogue box. Just press the Windows and R keys simultaneously to access a Run box.
- Next, type in ‘%TEMP%’ or only ‘TEMP’ in the textbox of the Run dialogue box.
- Hit the Enter key to execute the command.
This will reveal all your Windows 7 temp files. On the other hand, you can make all hidden temp files show up on your Windows 7 computer by following the steps below:
- First, close all the programs on your computer.
- Next, hit the Windows icon from the bottom-left corner of the Taskbar. Now, click on the text or search box.
- Enter Windows Explorer there and click on Windows Explorer from the search result.
- Then, click on Organize from the upper left side of the opened window. Select ‘Folder and search options’ from the drop-down menu.
- Now, navigate to the View tab and check the box next to ‘Show hidden files, folders, and drivers’.
Now, you can opt for Apply and look for Windows 7 temporary folder.
Methods to Delete Windows 7 Temporary Folder
Since you know where to locate your system’s temporary files, you can head towards them and delete them. However, you must be cautious about whether you want to clear them selectively or get rid of them immediately. Now, check out how to delete temporary files in Windows 7 shortcut.
Use the Run Dialogue Box
This particular method requires you to open up a Run dialogue box. So, launch a Run dialogue box by using the keyboard shortcut of Windows + R. Next, go through the following instructions:
- Enter ‘%TEMP%’ in the textbox and click OK.
- This should automatically redirect you to the temporary folder on your Windows 7 device. Now, you can select all and delete them at once. Otherwise, you can selectively delete them.
- If you want to delete them, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl +A. And, this should select every file inside the Windows 7 temporary folder. Right-click on any of them and hit the Delete option. Or, you can hit the delete or Backspace key from the keyboard.
- Otherwise, you can double-click on these temporary files one by one to check if there’s any significant information. You can select the non-necessary ones and delete them. Select the file by clicking it once and then press the Delete key. Repeat the same process to erase such temporary files one by one.
This procedure should make your computer quite lightweight in terms of storage.
Try Command Prompt
How to delete temporary files in Windows 7 using CMD? If you are stuck on this question, we got the answer. Check out how you can erase Windows 7 temporary folder with Command Prompt.
- Hit the Start menu or Windows icon from the left corner of the Taskbar.
- Now, type ‘cmd’ in the search box.
- Click on Command Prompt from the appearing result.
- Once a Command Prompt window appears, enter the following command: rd %temp% /s /q.
This command should work fine. If you want to be more specific with the location of the temporary folder, you can try another command. That is ‘rd C:\Path\to\temp\folder /s/q. Just replace the segment ‘Path\to\temp\folder’ with the path to the temporary folder or file.
As an alternative, try this more convenient process to delete your Windows 7 temporary folder. Here’s what you have to do:
- Open the Notepad or any other text editor on your computer.
- Next, type any of the above-mentioned commands.
- Save this text file as a .bat extension instead of a classic .txt extension. It’s better if you save the file on your desktop screen.
- Then, double-click on the file to run the program.
This will eliminate your Windows temp files whenever you run the file.
Go for Disk Cleanup Utility
You can try a built-in Windows tool to delete Windows 7 temporary folders and make some extra space. For a shortcut, you can use a Command Prompt window and execute a specific command to eliminate the temporary file a lot quicker.
So, here’s what you should follow to open Disk Cleanup Tool via Command Prompt:
- Open a Command Prompt window by searching for ‘cmd’ using the Start menu.
- Next, type ‘cleanmgr’ in the Command Prompt window.
- To execute the command, hit the Enter key from the keyboard.
Search for .tmp Files and Delete Them
Windows Vista and later versions hold up the Advanced Query Syntax so that you can conduct a search based on file extensions. Since most temporary files have the .tmp extension, you can locate them using the syntax. Let’s check out how you can delete the Windows 7 temporary folder using the .tmp extension:
- Initiate a Windows search by hitting the Start menu.
- Now, type ‘ext::tmp’ in the search box and press the Enter key.
- A list of all .tmp files should show up. Now, you can delete them one by one or select them together and delete them.
Alternatively, to ‘ext::tmp’, you can simply type in ‘*tmp’ and search for Windows 7 temporary folder or files.
Can You Change the Location of the Temporary Folder?
Yes, it’s possible to save Windows 7 temporary folders somewhere preferable you want. Go to Control Panel and enter the System Properties tab. Next, navigate to the Advanced tab, followed by Environment Variables. Click on the ‘Edit the System’ button and set User variables.
However, ensure that you should not combine user profiles with temporary directories. Hopefully, the guide helps you to delete the temporary folder on your Windows 7 PC.
