The file extension TMP
represents a temporary
file or folder. Files
with the file extension
TMP almost always
indicated a temporary
file. TMP files are used
by numerous software
applications and
operating systems. In
most cases, they are
automatically deleted
once the program or
system no longer needs
them.
Most users will never
need to open a TMP file.
These are used by the
applications and systems
and are not designed for
users to work with. If
you see TMP files in a
folder, avoid the
temptation of opening
them as they will be
meaningless. Besides,
they will probably
disappear once your
current session is
complete. Occasionally,
an application doesn’t
automatically delete its
.tmp files automatically
such as if the
application was shutdown
unexpectedly. In this
case, you may want to
delete the file
yourself.
TMP files and folders
sometimes grow quite
large and end up
affecting your
computer’s performance.
TMP folders store all
kinds of .tmp files that
you really don’t need.
For example, did you
know that all the images
that you see on various
Web pages are stored in
your TMP folders? You
can imagine how fast
your folder can grow
when they contain this
much information. The
reason images are
downloaded to your hard
drive is to speed up
their loading on
subsequent visits.
However, you may never
visit those websites
ever again, so why give
up so much of your hard
drive’s space storing
their images?
To delete .tmp files and
clean out your TMP
folders requires several
different steps. First,
do manually delete files
with the .tmp file
extension, you can go
into Windows Explorer,
select the drive in
question, and type “*.tmp”
in the Search box. This
will search the drive
for all files ending
with the file extension
TMP. A list of all files
ending with .tmp will be
displayed. From there,
you can pick and choose
the files to delete.
To delete your temporary
Internet files, open
Internet Explorer,
choose Tools, and then
choose Internet Options.
On the General tab, go
to the Browsing history
section and click on the
Delete button. Click the
“Delete Files” button
that matches “Temporary
Internet Files.”
To delete other
temporary files on your
computer, go into
Windows Explorer once
again. This time,
right-click the drive
and choose Properties.
Click the Disk Cleanup
button. The Disk Cleanup
wizard will analyze your
disk for files that can
be safely deleted
including Recycle Bin
files, downloaded
program files, Internet
files, and many more.
Keep scrolling down the
list until you find
Temporary files. Make
sure that a check mark
is in this box and then
click OK.
Cleaning out the
temporary files that are
clogging your hard drive
periodically will vastly
increase your system’s
performance. In fact, if
you are having memory
issues or disk space
issues, these steps are
some of the first steps
that you should take to
speed up your computer.
Once .tmp files have
served their purpose,
they need to go away,
not take up your
system’s resources.
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