Change Location of the Temp Folder in Windows 7

In Windows 7 you might want to change the location of the System Temporary folder. It stores temporary internet files, setup files, windows explorer files & history and program files. It is very easy to change it's location for easier accessibility.

Steps

  1. Create a System Restore point.
  2. Open the Start Menu.
  3. Search for "Environment Variables".
  4. Click on "Edit Environment Variables for your Account".
  5. Create a folder named "Temp" where you want the new folder to be located,(if you haven't already done so).
  6. Click on "Temp" Variable and click "Edit...".
  7. Enter new Variable Value (the location of your new folder; e.g "C:\Temp") and Click OK.
  8. Select "TMP" Variable and change it's value to the same folder).
  9. Click OK and Restart your Computer.
  10. Verify if the change has been correctly applied. Open Start Menu and type "%Temp%" without the quotation marks.
  11. Open the "Temp" folder which results.
  12. Check the address bar.

Tips

  • If simply changing the options mentioned above do not work (though they should) then try also changing System Variables, by scrolling down in "System Variables" to TMP and TEMP.
  • You can also open "Environment Variables" by going to System Properties (right-click "My Computer"), click "Advanced System Settings" and click "Environment Variables".
  • You need to update the images for the two environmental variables TEMP and TMP so it shows the corrected c:\Temp in the graphic images/slides for steps 7,8 and 9.

Warnings

  • You must be logged in as Admin and have Admin Privileges.
  • Always create a restore point. You will regret your decision if you didn't. If after restart for some reason you can't log in or receive an error about "Interactive logon process failure" - your restore point is your only hope.
  • Do not attempt to install anything after the change without restarting.
  • Its best to close ALL programs and terminate relevant processes BEFORE this change.
  • You can choose a name other than "Temp" for the Temporary folder, but that is not recommended as most applications store Temporary files in "Temp" folder not the %Temp% folder (if ya know what that means!).

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