Do Temp files slow XP down ??

Old XP with SP1 is getting a bit slow on a few things - like loading Word etc.

I like to keep my History section of IE going as long as I can as I use the Search facility to find stuff that I have surfed before by typing in keywords - it is currently on 62 weeks of History.

Question - If I empty the Temporary Files folder in IE, will I lose this search facility ?

I have recently defragmented.....

What else slows it down ?
Thanks

Mike
Devon UK

 

Adware may be the largest contributor to slowing down systems as well as the startup folder: We can have a look..

Download 'Hijack This!'. http://www.tomcoyote.org/hjt/
Unzip, doubleclick HijackThis.exe, and hit "Scan".

When the scan is finished, the "Scan" button will change into a "Save Log" button.
Press that, save the log, load it in Notepad, and copy its contents here. Most of what it lists will be harmless or even essential, don't fix anything yet.

 

Thanks

Here is the stuff you wanted

Hope you can help

Mike

============

D:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
D:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
D:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
D:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
D:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
D:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
D:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
D:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccEvtMgr.exe
D:\Program Files\BT Digital Access USB\vstartx.exe
D:\PROGRA~1\NORTON~1\NORTON~2\GHOSTS~2.EXE
D:\Program Files\BT Digital Access USB\gisdnlog.exe
D:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Norton AntiVirus\navapsvc.exe
D:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Norton Utilities\NPROTECT.EXE
D:\PROGRA~1\NORTON~1\SPEEDD~1\nopdb.exe
D:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
D:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
D:\Program Files\BT Digital Access USB\gsyno.exe
D:\Program Files\Logitech\iTouch\iTouch.exe
D:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Norton Ghost\GhostStartTrayApp.exe
D:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccApp.exe
D:\WINDOWS\System32\ctfmon.exe
D:\Program Files\Compuserve\CS3\CS3.EXE
D:\Program Files\Compuserve\WBIN\FCSERV32.EXE
D:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE
D:\WINDOWS\System32\dllhost.exe
D:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE
C:\PROGRA~1\WinZip\winzip32.exe
D:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\HijackThis.exe

R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch = http://www.compuserve.co.uk/search
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant = http://www.compuserve.co.uk/search
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - D:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 5.0\Reader\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.ocx
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {BDF3E430-B101-42AD-A544-FADC6B084872} - D:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Norton AntiVirus\NavShExt.dll
O3 - Toolbar: &Radio - {8E718888-423F-11D2-876E-00A0C9082467} - D:\WINDOWS\System32\msdxm.ocx
O3 - Toolbar: Norton AntiVirus - {42CDD1BF-3FFB-4238-8AD1-7859DF00B1D6} - D:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Norton AntiVirus\NavShExt.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [GazelDisplay] "D:\Program Files\BT Digital Access USB\gsyno.exe" -h
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [zBrowser Launcher] D:\Program Files\Logitech\iTouch\iTouch.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [GhostStartTrayApp] D:\Program Files\Norton SystemWorks\Norton Ghost\GhostStartTrayApp.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ccRegVfy] "D:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccRegVfy.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ccApp] "D:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccApp.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [PinnacleDriverCheck] D:\WINDOWS\System32\PSDrvCheck.exe -CheckReg
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [CTFMON.EXE] D:\WINDOWS\System32\ctfmon.exe
O4 - Startup: CompuServe 4.0.2 UK.lnk = D:\Program Files\Compuserve\CS3\CS3.EXE
O4 - Global Startup: Adobe Gamma Loader.lnk = D:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Calibration\Adobe Gamma Loader.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Logitech Desktop Messenger.lnk = D:\Program Files\Logitech\Desktop Messenger\8876480\Program\LDMConf.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Microsoft Office.lnk = D:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\OSA9.EXE
O9 - Extra button: Real.com (HKLM)
O12 - Plugin for .spop: D:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\Plugins\NPDocBox.dll
O16 - DPF: {26CBF141-7D0F-46E1-AA06-718958B6E4D2} - http://download.ebay.com/turbo_lister/UK/install.cab
O16 - DPF: {50F65670-1729-11D2-A51F-0020AFE5D502} (ForumChat) - http://objects.compuserve.com/chat/RTCChat.cab
O16 - DPF: {9F1C11AA-197B-4942-BA54-47A8489BB47F} (Update Class) - http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/CAB/x86/unicode/iuctl.CAB?37973.6124884259
O16 - DPF: {A4639D2F-774E-11D3-A490-00C04F6843FB} - http://download.microsoft.com/download/vizact2000/Install/10/WIN98Me/EN-US/msorun.cab
O16 - DPF: {C2FCEF52-ACE9-11D3-BEBD-00105AA9B6AE} (Symantec RuFSI Registry Information Class) - http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/SharedContent/common/bin/cabsa.cab
O16 - DPF: {D27CDB6E-AE6D-11CF-96B8-444553540000} (Shockwave Flash Object) - http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab
O16 - DPF: {E77C0D62-882A-456F-AD8F-7C6C9569B8C7} (ActiveDataObj Class) - https://www-secure.symantec.com/region/reg_eu/techsupp/activedata/ActiveData.cab
O16 - DPF: {F3F193CC-8D90-4BEB-8EDA-3EA69BB624F0} (Downloader Class) - http://a2044.g.akamai.net/7/2044/7189/20030512151604/www.douwantit.com:80/web/download/dwnldr.cab
O17 - HKLM\System\CCS\Services\Tcpip\..\{9A4E0CFF-93DF-4DBE-9524-3C0C05736DB1}: NameServer = 213.1.119.100 213.1.119.99

============

 

The log looks pretty good with the exception of the startup folder..

You can go to start / run / msconfig / startup tab...and uncheck each of the following lines..

Adobe Gamma Loader
Office\Office\OSA9.EXE
NORTON~2\GHOSTS~2.EXE
NORTON~1\SPEEDD~1\nopdb.exe
GhostStartTrayApp.exe

Then click apply and reboot on request.

 

Aside from the spyware, and to answer the original question, the TEMP files do slow down the computer. But I'm not referring to the IE temp files but the ones in the C:\Documents and Settings\user_id\Local Settings\Temp. Seen many computers have a couple of thousand files and many megs of stuff here. Removing this much immediately caused an increase in performance.

 

Hi Mobo

I will give that a go - thanks

Would emptying Internet Temp Files speed up XP also - and would I therefore lose the ability to search the history folder back to 62 weeks, as I can now ?

Thanks

Mike

 

I haven't seen any increase in performance from deleting the IE cache files.

 

Hi Bob

I checked it out and I have 827 files totaling 237 MB

Is there an official way to delete these, and would I lose any important data ?

Cheers

Mike

 

That's kinda getting up there.

Unless you specifically saved anything there, I generally just delete everything. Usually it is all just leftover junk. Hence the name "temp".

 

OK I found I have 350 .TMP files comprising about 180 MB.

The rest is jpg files, text files, file folders, etc

s'pose I could delete the .tmp files only and see what happens

Cheers

Mike

 

You can always start with that.

You also might want to see what all the other files are. Likely you won't need them either.

 

It all depends. windows file systems have a tendancy to fragment over time, this fragmentation getting worse with the more files you have. A defragger would be a good addition (The windows built in one is anorexic, and needs some serious beefing)

 

You know, I've timed before and after results with defragmenting and have just never found it made as much difference as the manufacturers would have you believe. If you do the math, given the random access times of current hard drives, a single file would have to be extremely fragmented before you would even notice the slightest difference.

At least if you are going to defragment your hard drive, you might as well empty both the regular cache and IE cache first. Same with before doing a virus scan. No point in wasting all that time dealing with files that are typically not that important.

 

I use... perfect disk. I dont mind it as much, because it has this Optimization thing which does it by usage. Not oo much to notice, though it made a big diffrence when i first did it. (Forgot about fragmentation for over a year. 55+% fragmentation)

 

So for example, how long did some large program take to load before and after. Or the OS take to boot before and after. It's good to have quantitative information.