Disappearing temp files in Windows

[Divingduck]

Not to mention AV/FW Software packages have often these kind of cleanups as service too.

[deback]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Actually, the best time to clean out the temp directory is right after a system boot. Say you are using the Calibre editor and you delete the temp directory, you screw up the eBook you are editing. Also, you don't know what ever program you might mess up.

I believe access is denied to any temp files that are being used, so those files won't get deleted when manually deleting all temp files. That's the way it is whenever I've manually tried to delete the entire TEMP folder(s).

[VirgoGirl]

Originally Posted by theducks

Why would you +assume+ it was a W10 update when many Thousands of other Calibre W10 users have no issues?
OTOH a 3rd party utility, as Kovid suggested, IS. Why? Because we all use different combinations of them.

Because if I don't, I'm going to spend all my time freaking out about something I can't appear to control. Many people have issues with their USBs not working after this update, I don't have that, along with the other listed issues people report with the latest update. If it's not the update, then I have no idea what occurred as I can't figure out what 3rd party program I would have that would do it.

From what I read on this thread, and other places on the web, this issue comes and goes with some users. Which leads me to believe that it's not something I did to the program or to my computer. I've only started exclusively using Calibre's editor since I switched to my Win10 laptop in July and my chosen Sigil version is unstable. Also, I've had problems with VLC player working properly after a Windows update that only a few people also had, something the update "broke". So, I can assume that Windows messed something up and live happily (after several malware/antivirus scans came back clean and there is nothing weird in my task manager), or I can spend a long time worrying about it.

[BetterRed]

The easiest way to clean up a Windows system is to use the MS provided Disk Cleanup utility, which can be found in Start Menu->Windows Administrative tools.

Oops. I see theducks already mentioned this.

BTW - the 'AV Scanning' etc in my earlier post were generic names not product specific names.

BR

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by VirgoGirl

What may be a stupid question: can I put it anywhere but in my appdata folders?

Not sure if this got answered.

Via the environment variable, you can have calibre use any folder you choose for temporary storage, I have mine at C:\_Calibre\Temporary.

BR

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by deback

I believe access is denied to any temp files that are being used, so those files won't get deleted when manually deleting all temp files. That's the way it is whenever I've manually tried to delete the entire TEMP folder(s).

I did a test once with Calibre's editor. You can delete the temp file it is using and this screw up your eBook that's currently being edited.

[deback]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I did a test once with Calibre's editor. You can delete the temp file it is using and this screw up your eBook that's currently being edited.

Calibre should not allow its temp files to be deleted while the files are in use. This is a Calibre problem then (which should be fixed), since other programs will deny access to delete temp files when they are in use. Perhaps someone could report this bug to the author of the software...

[Divingduck]

Originally Posted by deback

This is a Calibre problem then (which should be fixed), since other programs will deny access to delete temp files when they are in use. Perhaps someone could report this bug to the author of the software...

I don't think so. It is a temporary location and it is by default not a system or in other way's restricted place. The only way you can't delete a file in this area is because the file is in use at the moment where you try to delete files from this directory.

This behavior happen with all programs where a clean-up tool try delete temp folders. That's why most cleaners have a option to define exceptions in this cleaning process. The problem is more, that most people do not take care about setups and as more programs doing this stupid cleanups (delete anything what is called, mention or smelling like temp) it became more possible to delete what have to be never cleaned. The point is, that a program have to take care to cleanup his own mess (what calibre as most other programs theses days do; it is best practice for a serious programmer) - but cleaning tools with a "one click care" give the responsibility of using this tools to the user and you as an user have to remember it and use them the right way (even too if you don't know that there are running in background). That is in the end the story behind.

When Kovid and all other programmers do what you want, where will this end? The next specialist come in the moment you implement this and will blame a programmer again because of not deleting temp files and the discussion start again as a never ending story. And in the end we start again to have thousands of places where programs leave temp files (we had this situation already in the past, if you are old enough I am sure you can remember this times...) Cleanup tools are both, good and bad and you as user need to take the responsibility about what they are doing all the time you are using them. That's the problem with illusionary one-click care and healthiness w/o the need to understand what a tool is doing ...

By the way, what I described above is already happening. Cleanup tools became more and more a status of useless / anachronism and systems are growing within short time with huge useless data match.

[JSWolf]

I think that a program that cleans the temp directory should run once on system start, delete what it can, and stop running. That would solve the problem.

Calibre has since been fixed so this problem won't happen to eBooks being edited. But, for all we know, there could be other programs that use the temp directory that does not always lock the file(s) used.

[kovidgoyal]

Not to mention that keeping files open uses resources (a file handle in the kernel) and the number of files a process can keep open at a time is limited.

[VirgoGirl]

Thank you everyone for the help, I very much appreciate it. Kovid, thanks so much for changing where the files go, I won't worry (so much, lol) about it happening again. If it does, the advice here is helpful.

Have a great day!

[deback]

Originally Posted by VirgoGirl

Further edit: I checked out GodMode (Google is my friend), there is some resistance in my house to doing anything in GodMode as "I can really mess up my computer - live with it."

God Mode is just a window that includes a list of all or most of the settings for Windows the way they used to be -- all in one screen for easier access (instead of wasting time trying to find certain settings in the newest version of Windows). You can't mess up (using God Mode) any more than you used to be able to mess up when using the old style of Windows settings. Using God Mode is not like editing the registry. If you make notes of the things you change, then you will know what to change back if something gets messed up.

[deback]

Originally Posted by VirgoGirl

Kovid, thanks so much for changing where the files go

As I said in an earlier response, the TEMP files are still being placed in the Windows TEMP folder (in v.3.18). I had to manually change the environment variable to change the TEMP folder to a simple folder called c:\calibre.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by deback

Using God Mode is not like editing the registry. If you make notes of the things you change, then you will know what to change back if something gets messed up.

Regedit allows you to export the current selected 'Keys'. (creates a .reg file)
That allows that file to be used to fix unintended results, with a single click. These are simple TXT files, so you can edit them together for a single solution (or duplicate changes on multiple systems using the same OS)

[deback]

Originally Posted by theducks

Regedit allows you to export the current selected 'Keys'. (creates a .reg file)
That allows that file to be used to fix unintended results, with a single click. These are simple TXT files, so you can edit them together for a single solution (or duplicate changes on multiple systems using the same OS)

That's true, but I only mentioned editing the registry because VirgoGirl said she wasn't comfortable changing any of the regular settings in Windows. I was trying to explain that changing a Windows setting is no big deal and is not like editing the registry, which can mess up things if one doesn't know what they're doing. There are people out there that don't know about exporting the registry settings to .reg files (before they make any changes), and that the .reg file(s) can be clicked on once to get those registry settings back.