Why do I have TMP files in my \DOS directory? 
 
If you look in your \DOS directory, you may notice that a series of files 
with an extension of TMP or ~TM may appear in the list. These are temporary 
files, created by various programs as temporary storage areas. When the 
program completes, the file is normally be deleted. However, if the system 
fails for some reason, such as a program or screen lockup, or power is 
dropped while the system is running, some of these temporary files may 
remain on the hard drive \DOS directory. This takes up space and serves no 
useful purpose. 
 
To get rid of these temporary files, it is a simple matter to just erase 
them. However, it is not always a simple matter to determine whether the 
file is temporary or not. 
 
The reason these files are in the \DOS directory is that the installation 
of DOS set up a system variable named TEMP that indicated that the \DOS 
directory was to hold these temporary files. The primary reason for 
designating the \DOS directory to hold these files was that it was the one 
directory that the DOS installation program could guarantee would be on the 
hard drive. 
 
There is no need, however, for the \DOS directory to be the default 
temporary directory. It is desirable to change this designation to make the 
task of deleting old temporary files that much easier. 
 
To make the change so that \DOS is no longer the default temporary 
directory, do the following: 
 
1. Go to a DOS prompt, either from within Windows or exit Windows and 
select the DOS prompt item from the PS/1 or Aptiva menu. 
 
2. Enter the command: 
 
        MKDIR C:\TEMP 
 
This creates a directory called \TEMP, which is easily recognized in a list 
of files and directories in the C:\ root directory. 
 
3. Now edit the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and locate the SET TEMP=C:\DOS line in 
that file. Change the line to read: 
 
        SET TEMP=C:\TEMP 
 
Save the change and go back to DOS or Windows to resume your normal 
activities.  
 
4. The next time you reboot the system, the \TEMP directory will now be the 
default temporary directory. Any temporary files will now be in this 
directory, and you can make it a practice to delete all files that might be 
in this directory about once a month. 
 
5. It is always a good idea to completely exit from Windows prior to 
erasing any files from the \TEMP directory. Windows may often use files in 
this directory for its own purposes and you may cause a problem if you 
erased them before Windows could complete its work. Once you have exited 
from Windows, however, you can safely delete the files, whatever the names 
are. 
 
6. If you wish to feel more secure about erasing files in this temporary 
directory, check the dates on the files. If they have a date within the 
past two days, you might want to wait for the next periodic check of \TEMP 
to delete these files. Otherwise, if a file has a date that is several 
months old, you can safely delete it in just about any circumstance. 
 
Note that finding and disposing of old temporary files is easier by having 
the files created in a special directory, such as \TEMP, rather than in the 
\DOS directory. You also avoid the risk of deleting a DOS file by mistake 
when the temporary files are in a separate directory. 
 
If you have any questions about this procedure, please post a note in the 
appropriate topic or forum area. Be sure to include your DOS version and 
your model number (i.e., 2155-G82).