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View Full Version : Identifying "files in use"



ellenbehr
2013-11-28, 20:49
New to this forum and am not super savvy when it comes to SW like Spybot. I use it regularly and have noticed that when I fire it up I get a pop-up box that tells me I have X number of "files in use" -- the number keeps growing and is over 800 now. I did a search in this forum and found a discussion from 2008 about removing temp files, but I don't want to remove files that could harm the operation of the computer (!). I have a Toshiba Satellite laptop with Windows 7 OS and Intel Pentium. I run the Spybot update and scan about 99% of the time after being online.

When I do check my Task Manager, nothing appears when that "files in use" message is showing, except what appear to be files that allow the computer to function, but because the number of files in use keeps growing, I'm worried some folder somewhere is getting filled up with something I should clear out....

Or should I ignore that little message as I have been?

Thanks so much for any help!

Zenobia
2013-11-29, 00:03
Hello. :)
Sometimes before starting the Spybot scan it will pop up a message asking if you would like to remove temporary files,and then if you select yes,it will tell you that it could not delete X amount of files because they are in use.Is that what has been happening with you?

ellenbehr
2013-11-29, 18:17
Yes -- that's exactly what I'm experiencing. I did take a look at my temp files and deleted a bunch with the .temp extension, and that seemed to do the trick... but if you have suggestions on this process, I'd appreciate them as I don't like deleting files when I don't know what they might be for. Thanks so much!

Zenobia
2013-11-30, 01:22
but because the number of files in use keeps growing, I'm worried some folder somewhere is getting filled up with something I should clear out....
I believe the location of the temporary files that Spybot is removing on a Windows 7 computer is at C:\Users\*Username*\AppData\Local\Temp,where username is the name of the account.

Spybot offers to delete temporary files after a certain amount have accumulated because that sometimes helps to make the Spybot scan go quicker.
The temporary files it can't delete because they are in use could be because the files are being used by some other program at the time.In that case,you could just let Spybot delete whatever it is able to,and just ignore the ones that are in use,like you have been doing. :)


I did take a look at my temp files and deleted a bunch with the .temp extension, and that seemed to do the trick...
On the more experimental side of things:I'm not sure if it would be effective,if the files actually are in use by another program,but you could also try giving Spybot administrator privileges if you haven't been already,to see if it is better able to clear some of the temporary files the next time they accumulate,since you were able to delete a bunch of the temporary files manually without receiving an error.Try rightclicking the Spybot icon on your desktop and selecting Run As Administrator,and see if it makes any difference in being able to clear more of the temporary files.It's easier for Spybot to fix what it finds in a scan when it has administrator privileges,perhaps the same holds true for deleting temporary files,as well. :)

ellenbehr
2013-12-01, 03:28
Thanks!! I'll do that. So far so good :) :thanks:

Zenobia
2013-12-01, 06:07
Good,I'm glad.You're welcome. :)