"krzywomordus" <> wrote...
> I've got a problem with directory
> C:\Users\account\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\T emporary Internet
> Files\Virtualized\C\...
> It occupies 21,226,479,273 bytes on my disk
This is a pretty confusing feature in Vista! It is intended to improve
security.
Internet Explorer is exposed to all the dangers of the open Internet, more
so than other applications you run. So in Vista, Internet Explorer runs in a
"low privilege" mode. This stops code from the Internet being executed on
your machine, causing viruses, trojans etc.
One aspect of low privilege is that downloaded plug-ins, applications, and
files, might not be written to the "real" file system. Instead, they are
placed in a "virtualised" file system, off to the side, where they cannot do
any damage. The location of this file system is:
C:\Users\account\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\T emporary Internet
Files\Virtualized\C<etc>
Normally, the contents of this directory will be stuff that you have
downloaded over time: java applets, EXE files, maybe PDF files, etc etc.
It's not possible to say "just delete it" or "just keep it". It depends on
what you need. Probably the best thing would be for you to go through the
directory and delete stuff in it that you know you don't want any more.
Leave the rest there. If there are data files like *.DOC or *.PDF, you can
move them to your normal documents folder, as long as you trust them.
If you really need the disk space in a hurry, you can just delete the whole
C subdirectory. But, be aware that some downloaded applications might not
work correctly any more.
For more background information on IE Protected Mode, see:
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2006/02/09/528963.aspx
or for a more technical view:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb250462.aspx
Hope it helps,
--
Andrew McLaren
amclar (at) optusnet dot com dot au