I don't know if this is normal...

[Jake Green]

The other day, my laptop warned me that I only had roughly 150 MB of free space left on the hard drive... well, turns out that there is a file named "Photoshop Temp99825" that is taking up 19 GIGS!! Is that supposed to happen? Would it hurt if I deleted it? Any feedback would be great.

[ProfClayton]

From Adobe docs: http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/knowled....cfm?id=318243

Operating system software

By customizing your operating system so it runs efficiently, you not only increase the amount of system resources available to applications, but also ensure that your applications run efficiently. Optimizing your hard drive and virtual memory, organizing or removing temporary files, and disabling unnecessary applications running in the background improves performance.

Note: Photoshop CS can only operate on computers running Windows 2000 or Windows XP.

Temporary files

When you work in an application, a copy of your data file is stored temporarily on the hard drive. Many applications create .tmp files and then delete them when you quit the application. Crashes or system errors, however, may prevent an application from deleting these files. These files can build up over time, taking up disk space and causing problems. From time to time, you should quit all programs and remove all temporary files.

To delete temporary files:

1. Choose one of the following:

-- (Windows XP) Start > Search > All Files and Folders

-- (Windows 2000 or Me) Start > Search > For Files and Folders

-- (Windows NT or 98) Start > Find > Files or Folders

2. In the Named text box, *.tmp.

3. Choose Local Hard Drives from the Look In pop-up menu.

4. Click Find Now or Search Now.

5. When the search results appear, choose Edit > Select All.

6. Choose File > Delete. Click Yes to send the files to the Recycle Bin.

7. Empty the Recycle Bin.

The first time you delete temporary files, you should also make sure that adequate free space is available on the hard disk to which applications write temporary files. Quit all applications and then do one of the following:

-- In Windows Me or 98, edit the "Set Temp=" line in the Autoexec.bat file to specify a folder on an uncompressed hard disk that has sufficient free space:

1. Make a backup copy of the Autoexec.bat file.

2. Open the original Autoexec.bat file in a text-editing application that can save in text-only format (for example, Windows Write or Notepad.

3. Locate the line that begins:

Set temp=

The folder designated on the right of the equal sign is where Windows stores most of its temporary files.

4. Note the drive letter and folder name (for example, C:/Temp). If this line doesn't exist, you'll create it in step 7.

5. In Windows Explorer, verify that the drive and folder exist. If the drive doesn't exist, choose another drive. If the folder doesn't exist, create it by clicking the drive, then choosing File > New > Folder, then naming the folder Temp.

6. Make sure the drive has at least 20 MB of free space by right-clicking it, then choosing Properties from the pop-up menu and noting the Free Space field. If the drive doesn't have enough space, either remove unnecessary files from it or edit the line in the Autoexec.bat file to specify a drive that does have enough space.

7. In the Autoexec.bat file, if this line doesn't exist, add it using the following format:

Set temp=C:\Temp

where "C" is a drive with enough free space and "Temp" is the folder you verified or created.

8. Save the Autoexec.bat file in text-only format.

9. Restart Windows.

-- In Windows XP, 2000, or NT, edit or add the TEMP user variable in the System Control Panel to specify a folder on an uncompressed hard disk that has sufficient free space:

1. Do either of the following:

-- (Windows XP) Choose Start > Control Panel, double-click System, click the Advanced tab, and then select Environment Variables.

-- (Windows 2000) Choose Start > Settings > Control Panel, double-click System, click the Advanced tab, and then click Environment Variables.

-- (Windows NT) Choose Start > Settings > Control Panel, double-click System, and then click the Environment tab.

2. In the User Variables section, locate TEMP in the Variable column. The folder designated in the Value column is the folder where Windows stores most of its temporary files.

Note: This section may also list a TMP variable. Some applications use the TMP variable to determine where to write their temporary files, while others (including Photoshop) refer to the TEMP variable. Although you can assign different drives and folders to either variable, you'll have an easier time removing temporary files if Windows stores them in one place.

3. Note the drive letter and folder name, for example, C:/Temp, in the Value column. If the drive is designated as "%SystemDrive%," this is the drive on which the Winnt folder resides. If this value doesn't exist, you will create it in step 6.

4. In Windows Explorer, verify that the drive and folder exist. If the drive doesn't exist, choose another drive. If the folder doesn't exist, create it by selecting the drive, then choosing File > New > Folder and naming the folder Temp.

5. Check the amount of free space on the drive: Right-click it, choose Properties from the pop-up menu, and on the General tab, note the value in the Free Space field. If the drive has less than 20 MB of free space, either remove unnecessary files from it or edit the value of the TEMP variable to specify a drive that has enough free space.

Note: Check with your system administrator before editing or adding a variable; you may need to have administrator access.

6. If the TEMP variable doesn't exist in the User Variables section, type TEMP in the Variable text box. If the TEMP variable exists, select the variable name. Then, type the following in the Value text box:

C:\Temp

where "C" is a drive with enough free space and "Temp" is the folder you verified or created.

7. Click Set and then click OK.

8. Restart Windows.

[industrial_baby]

I pretty much always have flash, photoshop, and dreamweaver running at the same time. Quite often my temp folder grows to around 30-40 gigs while im working on stuff.

[Jake Green]

Wow

30-40 Gigs?! that's insane.

Thank you Clayton, that is exactly what I needed to know, and now I can set that quarter of my hard drive free.