Move Temporary Files (TEMP) Folder on Windows 11

Hello,

 In this tutorial, I show you how to move the Temporary Files (TEMP) folder in Windows 11 .

What are temporary files?

Temporary files are generated by the operation of the system, browsers, application installations that we do and by updates. It is advisable to always delete them periodically to save space on the hard disk and have the system a little more optimized.

Where are temporary files stored in Windows 11?

By default, temporary files are stored in two locations:

% systemdrive% \ Windows \ Temp
% userprofile% \ AppData \ Local \ Temp

When you go to the temporary files folder at C: \ Windows \ Temp , a warning message will appear: ” You do not have the required permissions to access this folder  “.

You can ignore this message, and click ” Continue ” to view the contents of the folder.

You will notice that the temporary files folder contains folders and files with extensions to .tmp, .temp, or .log. And if you open a few files, you can quickly realize that they are absolutely useless, since they are totally empty …

On the other hand, you also have the C: \ Users \ Username \ AppData \ Local \ Temp folder which is created for each user. The latter also contains all kinds of temporary files created by applications used by the user.

How do I move the temporary files folder to another drive?

If you have a small size SSD as the primary drive, it is recommended that you move the temporary files folder. On the one hand, this avoids unnecessary writes to the disk, even if today their lifespan has been significantly extended. And on the other hand, you will save space on your disk.

1. First, start by creating a new folder that will house future temporary files. To do this, go to File Explorer.

2. In the left sidebar, click “ This PC ”.

3.  Double-click on the disk that will host the future temporary files.

4. Then create a new folder. To do this, right click, then select ” New “, and ” Folder “.

5. Name your new folder, for example ” TEMP “.

6. Next, press the Windows+ keys simultaneously Rto open the Run dialog box, then type the following command, and click “ OK ” or press Entrée.

systempropertiesadvanced

7. From the “ System Properties ” window , click on “ Environment Variables ”.

8. Under ” User variables “, select the TEMP variable and click on the ” Modify ” button .

9. Enter the path to the folder to use on the hard drive for temporary files and click “ OK ”.

10. Repeat the operation for the TMP variable .

11. Now, under “ System Variables ”, select the TEMP variable and click on the “ Modify ” button .

12. Enter the new path to the folder that will contain the temporary files and click “ OK ”.

13. Repeat the operation for the TMP variable , still under ” System variables “.

Now ! Temporary files will now be stored in the location you defined.

I hope you enjoyed this article

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