Temporary files directory

This article describes how to permanently remove the contents of the Temporary Internet Files folder from your computer. Watch a video about how to delete the contents of the Temporary Internet Files folder yourself. Select the General tab, and then select Delete under Browsing history. In the Delete Files dialog box, click to select the Delete all offline content check box. Note: If the Temporary Internet Files folder contains a large amount of webpage content, this process may take several minutes to complete.

This cache lets Internet Explorer or MSN Explorer download only the content that has changed since you last viewed a webpage, instead of downloading all the content every time that the page is displayed. An administrator might have customized the settings for your Temporary Internet Files folder to prevent you from changing the settings.

For example, the administrator can remove the General tab from the interface in the Internet Options dialog box. If you cannot access the Internet Options dialog box or the General tab, contact your administrator for more information. Files that start with the word "Cookie" may remain in your Temporary Internet Files folder after you follow these steps. These files are pointers to the actual cookie files that are located in your Cookies folder. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:.

In some cases, files that are downloaded from websites may remain in your Temporary Internet Files folder but will not be visible in Windows Explorer after you follow these steps.

For more information about the Temporary Internet Files folder, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:. Windows 8. Exit Internet Explorer. Exit any instances of Windows Explorer. Select OK two times. Need more help? Expand your skills. Most Windows temporary files are stored in a Temp folder. The Windows Temp folder location may be different for different computers and users. You can click Continue to access the Temp folder and view the temporary files in Windows You can show hidden files in Windows 10 to reveal them.

If you want to delete unnecessary temporary files to free up disk space on Windows 10, you can use the 3 ways below. This will force delete the Temp folder with all subfolders and files. It may cause problems if you delete a temporary file that is in use by a program. You can close all programs and delete the unneeded temporary files safely in Windows If the temporary file is needed, it can be created again when you open the program again.