Temporary files

Folks: I am using Windows XP and am getting all kinds of messages about my temporary files. I tried Disk Cleanup but it doesn't work as it just hangs up when I try to run it. I tried going to "Search" and typed *.tmp and a bunch of files showed up. Is it OK if I went ahead and deleted all these files? Would I harm my computer in any way? Are there any .tmp files that XP needs that shouldn't be deleted at all? Thanks for any help.

 

Can you be more specific about what kind of messages?

 

You can and should delete those temp files occasionally,and no,you won't harm your computer in any way.

It would help,as GRudger asked,if you could give the exact error messages as they could be a sign of something more serious that you need to address.

As a part of good housekeeping it is a good Idea to clean the junk out of your system on a regular basis.
Clear out your TIF and other temp files.
In Internet Options, under the General tab click the Delete temporary internet files, choose to delete all Offline content.
Also, go to Start - Search - Files or folders - in the "All or part of the file name" box, type: *.tmp and choose Edit - select all - File - delete.
Do the same for "Cookies"

Empty the contents of the C:\Windows\temp folder and C:\temp folder, if you have one.
Empty Recycle bin.