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I see people asking question about the Temp and Tmp directories under GAC.
Delete C Windows Assembly Temp Folder Average ratng: 3,8/5 2056 reviews I have a machine running Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard with SP1. The%windir% assembly temp directory on the machine currently has 6GB of files in it, even after a restart of the machine, and I'm not sure how to find what's still retaining the files in that directory. This rule detects files that have CLR code (DOTNet) and have been installed into the global. Assembly cache folders. The files are present on multiple machines within the enterprise, indicating they are not just-in-time compiled assemblies. Default State: Mandatory. Changes in this release.
Yes they are temporary directory fusion uses during GAC Assembly installation and uninstallation. Tmp is used for installation, and Temp is used for uninstallation.
The use of them is described in my article GAC Assemblies: Install and Uninstall.
The reason that fusion needs two temporary folders, is that fusion will always try to clean up the Temp directory used for uninstallation at the end of each installation/uninstallation. If fusion were to use the same temporary directory for installation and uninstallation, fusion may accidentally remove temporary files used by another assembly installation in progress.
Fusion does not clean up Tmp directory (used for installation). When an installation failed, fusion tries to remove the temporary directory it created during the installation. It does not touch anything else, for the same reason above.
Usually you should not see anything in Tmp unless during assembly installation. You may see things under Temp. When fusion is asked to uninstall an assembly, if the assembly is in use, fusion will be able to move the assembly to the Temp directory, but won't be able to delete it. That is OK though. Next time when get a chance, fusion will try to clean up that directory.
How-To Geek Forums / Windows 7
(Solved) - Safe to delete files in C:WindowswinsxsBackup ?
(5 posts)Is it safe to delete files in: C:WindowswinsxsBackup (~542 MB)?
Nope. Those files are used for running programs with different levels of system compatibility. The winsxs directory stores copies of system files, including ones that are downlevel but are still use by some applications or parts of the operating system. These are system files, which are considered to be part of the OS so deleting those files is like deleting files in C:Windowssystem32 -- not safe, and eventually disastrous. Here is some further reading but it's pretty dry stuff! The last one shows what can happen if you do delete from there.
http://blogs.technet.com/askcore/archive/2008/09/17/what-is-the-winsxs-directory-in-windows-2008-and-windows-vista-and-why-is-it-so-large.aspx
http://blog.tiensivu.com/aaron/archives/1306-Demystifying-the-WinSxS-directory-in-Windows-XP,-Vista-and-Server-20032008.html
http://blogs.msdn.com/jmanning/archive/2007/01/03/do-not-manually-delete-things-from-windir-winsxs.aspx
http://blog.tiensivu.com/aaron/archives/1306-Demystifying-the-WinSxS-directory-in-Windows-XP,-Vista-and-Server-20032008.html
http://blogs.msdn.com/jmanning/archive/2007/01/03/do-not-manually-delete-things-from-windir-winsxs.aspx
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-hardware/windows-7-how-do-i-cleanup-winsxs-folder-to-free/450e0396-6ba6-4078-8ca0-b16bf4e22ccf
'In Vista, 'Windows File Protection' has been replaced with 'Windows Resource Protection' which, essentially performs the same function. The 'dllcache' folder no longer exists in Vista, it has been replaced with the
%systemroot%WinsxsBackup folder. This folder is NOT 'a backup of a backup', it exists only to make sure that files required for Vista to boot and operate are protected.'
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