If you want to find and delete temporary files in Vista, put aside all notions of searching your drive for *.tmp files.
Vista will find and delete temporary files for you, with a built-in utility. Just type DISK CLEANUP into the search bar of the Start Menu to call it up.
Open the program.
Disk Cleanup will offer you two options:
1) To clean up only your files
2) To clean up the files for all users on the computer. This option requires administrator rights.
Whichever option you choose, Vista's Disk Cleanup will then ask you which drive you want to find and delete temporary files on.
Select the drive you want to clean up from the drop-down menu.
Next you will get a message which says
"Disk Cleanup is calculating how much space you will be able to free on [name of disk] [drive letter].
Once it has finished scanning, you will see a little report telling you how much space you can save.
The files are divided into a number of categories. Each category has a check-box so that you can select or de-select it, as well as a numeric value for the space you will save by deleting files in that category. If you select a category, Disk Cleanup will show you a brief description of what sort of files it looks for, and gives you an opportunity to view them before you decide whether to keep or delete them. The view option allows you to select particular files in that category for deletion, and keep others.
DOWNLOADED PROGRAM FILES are ActiveX controls and Java applets which you download automatically when viewing certain Internet pages. This is checked for deletion by default.
TEMPORARY INTERNET FILES are web pages stored on your computer for quick viewing. Deleting these stored pages will not affect your personalised settings for those web pages. This is checked for deletion by default.
OFFLINE WEB PAGES are pages that are stored on your computer so that you can view them without being connected to the Internet. By default, this is not checked.
HIBERNATION FILE CLEANER is a file that contains information about your computer as it enters hibernation. Removing the file will disable hibernation, so by default, this is not checked.
RECYCLE BIN contains the files you have deleted. They are not permanently removed until you empty the recycle bin, so you have the option to recover an accidental deletion. By default, Disk Cleanup will permanently delete these files.
SETUP LOG FILES are files created by windows when you install a program. Disk Cleanup defaults to keeping these files.
TEMPORARY FILES are those created by a program to store temporary information. By default, these are checked for deletion.
THUMBNAILS are copies of your pictures, videos, and documents so they can be displayed quickly when you open a folder. If you delete them, Vista will recreate them automatically as you need them. By default, these are checked for deletion.
PER USER ARCHIVED WINDOWS ERROR REPORTING
SYSTEM ARCHIVED WINDOWS ERROR REPORTING
SYSTEM QUEUED WINDOWS ERROR REPORTING
These are all files used by Windows for reporting errors and checking for solutions. Disk Cleanup does not mark them for deletion.
Unless you have good reasons to change the Vista Disk Cleanup defaults, you can simply click OK. You will get an "Are you sure?" screen before the program deletes all the files.
If you choose to delete temporary files for all users of the computer, you see a second tab in the report called "More Options".
You have two options here. The first allows you to remove programs that you do not use. Clicking the "Clean Up" button calls up a window showing you the programs Disk Cleaner wants to remove. The second option allows you to remove all but the most recent system restore point. Clicking the "Clean Up" button brings up the "Are you sure?" screen.
Once you are done, click OK and the program will end.