Comments for How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Comment from Justine on 2012-01-12

2012-01-13T05:20:07Z

Thanks, Leo!

Is it okay if I use an External Drive for the temporary files, instead of the Internal one?

You can, but it will likely slow down your system, potentially a lot, as external drives are often much slower than interal.

13-Jan-2012

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Slamazzar on 2011-11-20

2011-11-21T02:55:08Z

Wielkie dzieki from Poland, Leo!
At last, I'll be able to get the whole 9-hours-long parliament session downloaded :)
If only I could know why the IE chooses once "Temporary Internet Files", once "Temp"...

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Mark J on 2011-10-29

2011-10-29T23:56:48Z

@Tim
It's fine to have your Temp folder on the C or D or wherever space allows. The E drive was just a hypothetical example of where the Temp folder could be moved in case the C and D drives were too small to hold it.

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Tim on 2011-10-29

2011-10-29T17:04:33Z

I only have C and D partitions on my hard drive. Can I do the same to move the temp folder to D or do I need a third location?

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Michael on 2011-08-12

2011-08-12T19:26:46Z

Using cmd/command prompt to change these variables is not effective. It will only change them for that cmd session.
You must use the GUI if you want the changes to stick.

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Frank on 2011-03-14

2011-03-15T06:07:53Z

Great post, I'm running out of space and now I can free some - THX !
And to give something back - Start, Run = WindowsKey+r

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from ernie on 2010-07-21

2010-07-22T06:37:35Z

Very useful, except I cannot find the command prompt command, it's not where Windows says it should be (in the start/accessories section). Do you have an idea where it might be hiding pease ?

Dank u wel

ernie

Just click on Start, Run and then type in "cmd" as the command to run. That's the Windows Command Prompt.

22-Jul-2010

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from kean on 2010-07-16

2010-07-16T16:35:11Z

I've been having this issue the past two days since I did the same thing! I only gave xp about 9 gigs of space and now it's freaking out..can't download anything..i moved my internet temp folders but couldn't figure out how to move the windows temp files. Thanks so much!

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Ethan on 2010-07-06

2010-07-06T08:13:34Z

great post. Have been looking for how to do this forever as my main drive is a ssd to its not the biggest, now i can work with large files without getting errors.

Thanks alot

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Rolando Lopez on 2010-03-15

2010-03-16T01:13:51Z

Instead of using the GUI is easier to just use the command prompt as:
SET TEMP=F:\Temp (replace with desired location)
SET TMP=%TEMP%

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Carl on 2010-03-09

2010-03-09T21:31:05Z

Does this move the files, or just change the pointer for any new entries? I want to actually MOVE the filter in my current TMP and TEMP folders. I have used the above operations, and it works for any new entries. But, I am afraid that, if I move the current info to the new locations, it will screw up any previous file installations and/or registry entries.

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Mohammed Khawaja on 2010-01-26

2010-01-26T16:22:51Z

Thanks for the article. However, if I would like to have temp environment changed for all my users who logon to a Terminal Service, how do I do that. Is there a registry entry which I could change? I need to change it for all my users do to an application which does not like long paths for TEMP.

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from tmrbtr on 2010-01-10

2010-01-10T10:55:09Z

Solved:
User accounts | Change my environment variables

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from tmrbtr on 2010-01-07

2010-01-08T06:13:17Z

Hello!
Usually I have 2 accounts (admin and user) in my WinXP and I use this method to keep temp files in one location. I.e. both account's temp folder and the system temp are same. Also this needs some security tip. Because all accounts (admin, user and any built-in ones ) and the system access same folder, I change the folder's permission as "Everyone | Full access". And my question: recently I moved to Win7 and found that I can use this method only for admin account. When I'm trying to access "Computer | Advanced system settings" (where Environment var-s located) from a standard user account, I have to switch to the admin acccount, so I get env var-s of the admin. In WinXP there was no problem. Any help?

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Sam on 2009-11-30

2009-11-30T10:07:15Z

In Windows 7, under User variable for the value for TEMP and TMP is %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Lacal\Temp, and under System variables the value for TEMP and TMP is %SystemRoot%\TEMP. How do I change it to another drive? Thanks.

Just set it to the explicit path, like "D:\MyTempFolder"

01-Dec-2009

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Deion on 2009-11-29

2009-11-30T07:20:51Z

Thanks Leo. I have another question. What happen if I also edit the TMP and TEMP under User Variable for ?

Same thing. Those are user-specific settings, and apply to you when you're logged in. You can delete them and the system settings will take over, or you can set them to whatever you like.

02-Dec-2009

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Deion on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T08:37:02Z

I tried to do this in Windows 7 (change the variable value to D:\TEMP) but I don't see TEMP folder in the D drive.

You have to create the folder first before it can be used. Setting the TMP variable only tells Windows what folder to use, it will not create that folder.

29-Nov-2009

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Yonathan Zarkovian on 2009-09-04

2009-09-04T14:51:25Z

Now I can finally use 7-Zip as it uses a temp folder for file extraction, and I ran out of space on C.

Thanks.

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Diana on 2009-09-03

2009-09-03T20:17:40Z

How can I install Adobe reader to my E drive?
Dear Leo,Thanks so much for the help. I have a new problem: according to your instruction, I changed TEMP and TMP to E:?TEMP,but the Adobe is a;ways installed to C drive not E drive, very anoying. Please help me to install all temperary file to E drive because my C drive only has less then 15% mem left. Thank you.

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Artak on 2009-05-05

2009-05-06T05:48:29Z

You may also consider deleting any *.TMP and TEMP folder files with professional software (something like History Killer Pro) on Windows start-up.

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Colin on 2009-04-03

2009-04-03T10:47:07Z

Thank you - you saved me! I have Windows XP on a partition, and I tried copying a batch of files from an external drive to another partition, next thing you know Windows has spat its dummy because the C: drive is full (to the brim!). I was dreading the prospect of having to reboot from scratch, but now I've changed the location of the Windows temp folder - so big thanks!

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Raptor007 on 2009-02-24

2009-02-24T11:27:05Z

Nice little guide! It might also be beneficial for this person to put their swap file on E: if that's a fast drive.

One thing I can't figure out though: How do you tell Windows XP where to put its Windows Update temporary files? It seems to just pick the drive with the most free space, which is not what I want it to do.

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Richard on 2008-12-19

2008-12-19T12:00:16Z

I have made the changes above because I had the same problem with a small partition as system disk which kept filling up. I've also moved the location of IE temp files. I now have programmes that won't start - I use Adobe CS3 and non of the programmes will start. I tried uninstall to reinstall and the system said that critical files are missing. When inserting the disc to reinstall CS3, it gets as far as Adobe set up window, then it goes off the screen without continuing set up. Please help - what have I done????? FYI I have renamed temp files G:\Local Settings\Temp. Many thanks

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from hountsi on 2008-04-06

2008-04-07T00:54:08Z

At the plcae of C letter , I have %system%
How to make wih this expression ?
Thanks

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from �.Sp!d�r on 2007-07-28

2007-07-28T21:00:54Z

Thanks for the info. Much appreciate it !!

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Aalok on 2007-04-08

2007-04-09T02:25:15Z

Is there anyway I can change my default location of my music and my pictures folder?

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2007-04-08

2007-04-08T19:10:21Z

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Apeke: drives should be listed in Windows Explorer.

You might also try disk manager: Right click on "My Computer", click on
"Manage", click on "Disk Management" and that should show you what you have.

Leo
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (MingW32)

iD8DBQFGGT4jCMEe9B/8oqERAm4lAJ43CkIh6zs18A/jO6MsTryn+Bb9iwCfR3GX
PaNs22kmVZoWlknDWdukaZc=
=vnem
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2007-04-08

2007-04-08T18:38:13Z

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

wlc network: Typically, yes. New article on that:
http://ask-leo.com/can_i_delete_the_contents_of_my_tmp_folder.html

Leo
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (MingW32)

iD8DBQFGGTbECMEe9B/8oqERAscGAJwJ8G0T4CxkWYyxV4swHPg6sy8i9QCgjCIw
cr3OZd9Xcxy7Mgz4mS7udNI=
=Fwk7
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from apeke on 2007-04-07

2007-04-07T16:02:05Z

How do I know if I have more than one hard drive?
I know I have C:, however, when I had to reformat and install windows XP clean, it deleted and re-created a new C: drive...
I am not sure if I have a D: or E: drive....
If so, how do I find out if I have one or the other?

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from wlc network on 2007-04-07

2007-04-07T07:19:29Z

Apart from the temp files created, or used, by Internet Explorer, is it safe to delete any other temp files?

]]>

A comment on: How do I change the location of Windows temporary files?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.