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df TMP File

Discussion in 'Windows XP' started by Barry, 2003/09/08.

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  1. 2003/09/08
    Barry

    Barry Geek Member Thread Starter

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    I recently upgraded from WIN98 to XP. I'm curious about these 1,507,328 byte temporary files that are produced every time I log on. Unless you use a program to delete them, they just keep piling up. It seems like quite a large temporary file, to start with, but what is the reason it isn't overwritten rather than duplicated? They all start with ~df . Thanks for educating me.
     
  2. 2003/09/08
    Sembee

    Sembee Inactive

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    You should be able to delete them, as anything with ~ indicates a temp file. I would suspect that there is an application that starts when the machine does that is creating them.
    Try using MSCONFIG to turn all startup programs off, reboot and see if they are still being created. If not, turn each program back on until you track which one it is.

    Once you know that, you might be closer to knowing "why? "

    Simon.
     
    Last edited: 2003/09/08

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  4. 2003/09/08
    Barry

    Barry Geek Member Thread Starter

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    Simon,
    I agree that temp files can easily be removed, but what about people who don't regularly remove them? Their hard drive would fill up very fast. Something is causing it, but going to MSCONFIG is not the answer. Read these links for more information on that:

    http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

    http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm

    http://www.softnews.ro/public/cat/10/17/10-17-4.shtml

    There must be someone who knows what this large file is that won't overwrite itself and keeps on multiplying.
     
  5. 2003/09/09
    Newt

    Newt Inactive

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    Barry - the way I read Simon's suggestion about msconfig is as a troubleshooting/diagnostic tool rather than any sort of "fix ".

    Use it to stop everything that is loading at boot time. Then if no ~df file appears, you'll know that something listed with msconfig is creating the file.

    You can then pinpoint which app is doing the deed and stand a much better chance of figuring out what is happening.

    If turning off all the startup stuff doesn't stop the file from being created, you have still greatly narrowed the list of possible sources.
     
    Newt,
    #4
  6. 2003/09/11
    Barry

    Barry Geek Member Thread Starter

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    I made the following changes to my BIOS settings. I’m not sure which one did the trick, but I no longer have the large ~df files being recorded on my hard drive. Now the ~df files are a reasonable 512 bytes.
    SDRAM Burst Length ------ from 4QW to 8QW
    AGP Aperture Size ------ From 128MB to 256MB
    AGP Master 1 W/S Write ------ From Disabled to Enabled
    AGP Master 1 W/S Read ------ From Disabled to Enabled
    PCI Delay Transaction ------ From Disabled to Enabled
    USB Wakeup From S3 ------ From Disabled to Enabled
    CPU Critical temperature ------ From Disabled to 85 degrees C
    CPU HALT Command Detection ------ From Enabled to Disabled
    Serial Port 1 ------ From Auto to Disabled
    Serial Port 2 ------ From Auto to Disabled
     
  7. 2003/09/11
    Newt

    Newt Inactive

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    Interesting. Glad you got it stopped.

    If you ever figure out exactly what did the trick, please post that information.
     
    Newt,
    #6
  8. 2003/09/18
    Barry

    Barry Geek Member Thread Starter

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    Apparently, what I did was only a temporary fix, and the problem returned. Microsoft sent me the following explanation, but I don't understand their explanation. Is there anyone more computer savvy than me, who could explain their explanation? I always shut down my computer using "start - turn off," never using the power button on the computer. I do not exit all running programs in my task bar before doing this.

    "Based on my research, Microsoft's implementation of structured storage uses the prefix "~DF" for its temporary files. There are actually two scenarios where these files will be created:
    1.) Opening a compound file in STGM_TRANSACTED mode.
    2.) Creating a temporary file by passing NULL for the first parameter to StgCreateDocfile.
    In the second scenario, the flag STGM_DELETEONRELEASE must be specified or the temporary file created will not be deleted. Also, even if this flag is specified, the file will not be deleted unless the IStorage pointer to the root storage is explicitly released. For example if the application abruptly terminated, then the file created in this fashion will not be released.
    Files with the name Perflib_Perfdata<xxx>.dat may accumulate under the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder, where <xxx> is a random number.

    These files are generated by processes in the normal course of operation; however, files are orphaned when you do not shut down a computer properly, such as by pressing the power button on a computer.

    These files are memory-mapped (shared memory) files created, and they are opened with FILE_FLAG_DELETE_ON_CLOSE. The shared memory contains various internal diagnostic counters to keep track of errors, and memory that is used. The <xxx> that is appended to the end of the file name comes from the PI
    D. With the FILE_FLAG_DELETE_ON_CLOSE flag set, the operating system becomes responsible for closing the file when all handles to the file are closed, regardless of whether the process ends normally or abnormally. (Note: For testing, if you have one of these files open and in use, you can stop the
    service, and then kill it. In both instances, the file gets deleted.) Thus, the only reason these files are orphaned is due to an improper shut down. Due to the fact that this takes place in a DLL, there is not really an option to code the DLL to check, and clean up these orphaned files upon boot.

    When the system starts, these files exists till the system or some programs terminate normally. We can just manually delete it or use disk cleanup. "
     
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