Member Avatar for hobbs

Hello all,

I have been surfing all over the web to try to find the answer to this question but cant seem to find it:

Does Norton's cleansweep delete all the temporary files and recycle bin for all users on an XP/win2k machine or only the user that is logged in at the time?

IF not does anyone know which tools out there automatically clean all the temporary files for all users?

Thanks for the help in advance!

REgards,
Loren

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Catweazle

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Generated

Short answer: tools like Norton CleanSweep and the built-in Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr) typically operate on the account that runs them. As observed, CleanSweep will usually empty the logged-in user's Recycle Bin; 's Disk Cleanup tip is valid for that session but does not automatically iterate every profile. For a true “push‑button” clean of every user on an XP/2000 box, an admin must run a system‑level cleanup or run a script that targets every profile.

Practical approaches:

  • Run Disk Cleanup or CleanSweep under the SYSTEM account (for example, using Sysinternals PsExec) so the cleanup runs outside a single user context.
  • Use a scheduled administrative script that deletes per‑user temp folders and the per‑drive RECYCLER folders.
  • In a domain, use Group Policy/logon or scheduled tasks to centralize cleanup across workstations.

Example batch (run as Administrator; test on a spare machine first):

@echo off
rem Test and run only as Administrator

rem Empty RECYCLER on C: (Windows 2000/XP)
if exist "C:\RECYCLER" (
  for /d %%R in ("C:\RECYCLER\*") do rd /s /q "%%R"
)

rem Remove per-profile Temp and Temporary Internet Files
for /d %%U in ("C:\Documents and Settings\*") do (
  if exist "%%U\Local Settings\Temp" del /f /s /q "%%U\Local Settings\Temp\*.*"
  if exist "%%U\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files" rd /s /q "%%U\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files"
)

Cautions and tips: run the script when users are logged off (files in use will fail to delete), back up anything important first, and test on one profile. Temporary Internet Files and some system folders are protected or have special ACLs; elevated permissions or running as SYSTEM may be required. If managing many machines, a centrally deployed scheduled task or Group Policy script is usually safer and easier than manual per‑account cleaning.

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Member Avatar for Danniboy

well wen i used it it only cleared the recycle bin of the user logged in, but it erased everything else like temp internet files, wots stopping u from clearning the recycle bin in other accounts? also try looking at configuratiojn in norton cleansweep to fix this?

Member Avatar for hobbs

Hi Thanks for your comments, I suppose I could go to each users desktop (when logged in with admin priveledges) and empty the bin. But what I had in mind was a quick and easy solution. If there are many users you can see how that would get old after a while.

I was hoping for a push button fix. I looked in the configuration and manuals and can not figure out if it is possible.


well wen i used it it only cleared the recycle bin of the user logged in, but it erased everything else like temp internet files, wots stopping u from clearning the recycle bin in other accounts? also try looking at configuratiojn in norton cleansweep to fix this?

Member Avatar for Catweazle

Why not just use 'Disk Cleanup' from Accessories -> System in the programs menu? It does the same job, and will work on all drives that you tell it to clean.

Member Avatar for hobbs

Does it really clean out all the users on the computer? It seems to me that it is only cleaning the user that is logged in, and not all the temp files from all accounts.

Why not just use 'Disk Cleanup' from Accessories -> System in the programs menu? It does the same job, and will work on all drives that you tell it to clean.

Member Avatar for Danniboy

i think catweazel is right (as usual) lol
disk cleanup is a much better tool me thinks

Member Avatar for Catweazle

Actually I think Catweazle is wrong! I've just checked Disk Cleanup on a multi-user machine and it most certainly detects different things for different user accounts.

I was merely suggesting it because I can't see the point in using an additional tool when you already have a perfectly good one!

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