Digital Payag

Have you ever whish you can delete all those junk files safely without worrying that you might accidentally delete legit file/s? Bold Fortune of Neowin.net compiled a great guide for us to learn and fully understand what are those files we are about to delete. Some of them are safe and some may vary from one user to another user. What I’m going to show you here is a summary of junk files I prepared taken from the original article of Bold Fortune. This list of junk files is compatible and recommended for most users with Windows XP.

PART 1: Junk Files We Can Safely Delete

*.bak Files…Backup Files
*.chk Files…Lost Cluster Log Files
*.old Files….Backup Files
*.query Files
*.sav Files….Backup Files (you should skip this file if you have games installed)

*.~* ……Temporary Files
*.~mp……
*.^* ……Temporary Files
*.^……..Temporary Files
*.—……Setup Temporary Files
*.__…….Temporary Files
*__ofidx*.*…Microsoft Find Fast Indexer File
*._dd……Lost Cluster Files
*._detmp…Temporary Files
*.&db……Temporary Files (dBASE IV)
*.?$?…..Temporary Files(st Reader)
*.?~?……Temporary Files
*.??$……Temporary Files
*.$$$……MS-DOS Temporary Files
*.!!!……

*.000……sequential file in split Zip archive?
*.001……sequential file in split Zip archive?
*.002……sequential file in split Zip archive?
*.1st……(system.1st is a Windows diagnostic file)

*.b~k……Backup File, some text editors
*.bak……Backup Files
*.bk…….Backup File
*.bk?……Potential junk
*.bmk……

*.cam……
*.cb…….
*.chk……Lost Cluster Log Files
*.cln……
*.cnt……
*.cpy……Backup Files

*.da1……
*.da2……
*.diz……
*.dmp……Potential junk
*.doc……
*.err……Error File
*.fic……Potential junk
*.fix……
*.fnd……Find Result Files
*.ftg……Word List File of *.HLP
*.fts……Word List File of *.HLP
*.gid……Windows Help Index Files
*.ign……
*.ink……
*.lgc……
*.lge……
*.lhx……
*.lic……
*.license.txt…Potential junk
*.log……
*.log.txt…Log Files Windows diagnostic files
*.mp…….Temporary Files
*.nav……Backup Files
*.new……
*.old……Backup Files
*.out……
*.par……
*.pvt……
*.prv……Backup Files (bootlog.prv: Windows diagnostic file)
*.query….
*.sav……Backup File
*.sdi……Archive Content File
*.sik……Potential junk
*.syd……Backup Files
*.tds……Borland Temporary File
*.temp…..Temporary Files
*.tmp……Temporary Files
*.txt Files
*.umb……
*.wbk……Word Backup Files
*modemlog.txt…Windows Modem Log File
*install*.txt…Potential junk
*order*.txt…Potential junk
*whatsnew*.txt…Potential junk
0*.nch….Temporary Files created by MS Outlook Express
chklist.*…Lost Cluster Files
eula.txt…Microsoft end-user license agreement
file_id.diz…Description of Shareware
iebak.dat…Internet Explorer Junk File
modemdet.txt…Windows Diagnostic File
mscreate.dir…Setup Temporary File
msoe.txt…Readme for Microsoft Outlook™ Express
mssecure.xml…Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer File
readme.txt…Potential junksuhdlog.dat…Windows diagnostic File
system.st…Windows diagnostic File
twain???.mtx…TWAIN Temporary File
ws_ftp.log…WS_FTP Temporary File

PART 2: Make Your Own Junk Cleaner

Written by Bold Fortune

In Notepad, make a list of TEMP and Junk File extensions you would like to remove.

example:

*.bak, *.chk, *.cnt, *.diz, *.doc, *.edb, *.gid, *.lic, *.gid, *.log, *.old, *.query, *.sav, *.txt

Copy and Paste your list into the search box of Search Assistant.

Be sure that under Search Options you have checked “Advanced Options.” Under Advanced Options check “Search system folders,” “Search hidden files and folders,” and, “Search Subfolders.” Now run your search by clicking on Search Now. Now, at the top of the Search Assistant, select File then Save Search. Next time you want to search for those particular TEMP and Junk files, just click on your new search file. Search Assistant will automatically popup, and you’re ready. Just click Search Now.