Strange Folders

rikishi19 · 31. Dec 2011, 08:29 AM

I accessed my App Data folder on my Win 7 machine the other day to check for leftovers after a software removal. I noticed that there is around 30 folders that have been created over the past couple of months in the location D:\Users\username\AppData\Local that look something like the following:

{0A084BC3-1DA9-43BA-9A71-71695F4914A0}

This is one of them, all the others are named in the same format except a different bunch of random letters/numbers.

None of the folders have anything in them and a size of 0 bytes.

I've noticed the odd one or two of these folders popping up in my past systems but never thought anything of it as it was just the one or two, never this many.

Where do these come from and are they safe to just delete?

George · 31. Dec 2011, 03:28 PM

Here are two links giving some more info on those system folders...

http://www.sevenforums.com/performan...ata-local.html

http://www.techimo.com/forum/applica...tion-data.html

rikishi19 · 31. Dec 2011, 06:16 PM

Ok thanks. Still seems a little strange that there are so many. Could it be one program in particular that created so many of these as I recently did a complete re-install of this PC and have almost exactly the same software installed as before the re-install and I have never noticed any of these folders on this system before, let alone so many.

I take they are best left alone, or can they be removed?

ghiebert · 03. Jan 2012, 02:10 PM

I know this is an older post, but it is worth mentioning that even an empty folder takes up a block of space. A few, not a problem, but a batch of them to me is worth deleting. I also manually annihilate everything in any temp folder I can find, a few times a year, usually a few gigabytes. That includes my browsers and installation leftovers. Why programs can't clean up after themselves is just nuts. I wonder if Apple has this issue?
One reason I like to do this, besides drive space conservation, is to help prevent fragmentation of more important files and programs. The less junk you have spread all around, the less fragmentation you are going to get.

kendall.a · 03. Jan 2012, 06:48 PM

One neat little-known "trick" is to go to "run" and then type in %temp% and hit enter. This brings up all temporary files on your computer. I delete everything older than 2 or 3 days old.

rikishi19 · 03. Jan 2012, 07:33 PM

Are these folders temp files created by installers and are therefore safe to delete then?

Yes I feel the same that although they don't take up any sapce at all, they are an obstacle to other files disc organisation.

I also clear my temp folder like that Kendall.

31. Dec 2011, 08:29 AM	#1 (permalink)
rikishi19 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 107	Strange Folders I accessed my App Data folder on my Win 7 machine the other day to check for leftovers after a software removal. I noticed that there is around 30 folders that have been created over the past couple of months in the location D:\Users\username\AppData\Local that look something like the following: {0A084BC3-1DA9-43BA-9A71-71695F4914A0} This is one of them, all the others are named in the same format except a different bunch of random letters/numbers. None of the folders have anything in them and a size of 0 bytes. I've noticed the odd one or two of these folders popping up in my past systems but never thought anything of it as it was just the one or two, never this many. Where do these come from and are they safe to just delete?

31. Dec 2011, 03:28 PM	#2 (permalink)
George Progradminstrateditor Join Date: May 2008 Location: Frankfurt, GER Posts: 1,253	Here are two links giving some more info on those system folders... http://www.sevenforums.com/performan...ata-local.html http://www.techimo.com/forum/applica...tion-data.html __________________ Best regards, George

03. Jan 2012, 02:10 PM	#4 (permalink)
ghiebert Editor Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Red Deer, Alberta, Canada Posts: 10	I know this is an older post, but it is worth mentioning that even an empty folder takes up a block of space. A few, not a problem, but a batch of them to me is worth deleting. I also manually annihilate everything in any temp folder I can find, a few times a year, usually a few gigabytes. That includes my browsers and installation leftovers. Why programs can't clean up after themselves is just nuts. I wonder if Apple has this issue? One reason I like to do this, besides drive space conservation, is to help prevent fragmentation of more important files and programs. The less junk you have spread all around, the less fragmentation you are going to get. __________________ He who finds wisdom finds a good thing.

03. Jan 2012, 06:48 PM	#5 (permalink)
kendall.a Foundation Editor/Forum Manager Intern Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 1,814	One neat little-known "trick" is to go to "run" and then type in %temp% and hit enter. This brings up all temporary files on your computer. I delete everything older than 2 or 3 days old. __________________ <-------Is looking for his brain....

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31. Dec 2011, 06:16 PM	#3 (permalink)
rikishi19 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 107	Ok thanks. Still seems a little strange that there are so many. Could it be one program in particular that created so many of these as I recently did a complete re-install of this PC and have almost exactly the same software installed as before the re-install and I have never noticed any of these folders on this system before, let alone so many. I take they are best left alone, or can they be removed?

03. Jan 2012, 07:33 PM	#6 (permalink)
rikishi19 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 107	Are these folders temp files created by installers and are therefore safe to delete then? Yes I feel the same that although they don't take up any sapce at all, they are an obstacle to other files disc organisation. I also clear my temp folder like that Kendall.