Windows 7 compression bug fills up hard drive in Windows temp space

A couple times, I've seen a Windows 7 computer with no free hard drive space and tons of space used in c:\windows\temp.  The answer is in this article:
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3112358/microsoft-windows/windows-7-log-file-compression-bug-can-fill-up-your-hard-drive.html

It's some sort of bug in Windows.  The fix is:

1) stop the Windows Module Installer service
2) move all the files out of c:\windows\logs\cbs (I typically move them to c:\windows\logs\cbs.old)
3) delete all the files in c:\windows\temp
4) reboot

finding Outlook attachments if you hit save on a file without moving it to a new location

Every now and then, a user will open an attachment in Outlook and hit save and close then close the file - and then not be able to find the file. That's because Outlook saved the file where it found the file - which is a hidden location that's not obvious to the user.

For intermediate users and above, try this:

If you're using Windows 7/8/10 or Vista, hold down the Windows key and press R (to open the Run prompt). Then in the location bar, put this:

C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Outlook

You'll find one or more folders in there, and one of them is typically the place where Outlook attachments are saved.


If you're using Windows XP, click on Start -> Run and put this into the RUN box and hit OK:

C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Outlook\

You'll find one or more folders in there, and one of them is typically the place where Outlook attachments are saved.



This web page talks about how to find the folder - which isn't something I'd recommend for anyone but the most advanced users (it involves going into the registry editor):

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/817878

The registry entry for the Outlook secure temp folder will guide you to the exact location where you can find Outlook attachments.

checking hardware problems

On a computer I built, I was getting freezes and the ocassioanl blue screen that gave various memory issues.  My first course of troubleshooting was running memtest86:

http://www.memtest.org/

After that came up clean, I tried this overclocking testing tool:

http://www.ocbase.com/perestroika_en/index.php?Download

That test told me my processor was running so hot that I couldn't complete the test.  After that, I downloaded and ran CoreTemp to continuously check my processor temperature:

http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

In the end, I added an aftermarket heatsink - but I thought it would be worth documenting what I used to troubleshoot what seemed like nonsensical problems.

Dealing with a corrupt local XP profile

If you find that a local profile is corrupt when trying to open it and it opens a temp profile, try this.

Log in as an administrator (not the user with the problem). Go to My Computer Properties -> Advanced -> User Profile Settings and copy the profile to some folder somewhere on the computer. Then delete the corrupt profile from c:\docs and settings (including the temp profile) and then re-log on as the user with the corrupt profile. Restart the computer. Log in as an administrator and copy the copied profile to the newly created profile in c:\docs and settings.