Oh my..What is the appdata folder for?

PHub88

New Member
Messages
11
Bear with me as this is something I have never experienced being around computers for about 17 years. I am not a professional just a casual user who has learned a thing or two along the way.

I have a 2TB HDD (1.79TB). Last night or so I just happened to be in Windows Explorer and I noticed the amount of space it said I used and immediately I knew something had to be wrong....it was claiming I was using more than 800GB of space when in reality I am not even using 200GBwith anything I have installed or downloaded with the computer. With some basic research into the drive I noticed it said my users folder....then MY name in particular...was using 780GB of space. Now a little more info before I proceed on that...

About a week ago and more I started having trouble with Tuneup Utilities 2014 as it would crash when I tried to update it and then I could no longer even open the program. There would be times when I would come back to my PC after a long period of time several hours or so....and there would LITERALLY be HUNDREDS of boxes open on my screen saying error with tuneup utilities. I still thought nothing of it again and simply planned to uninstall it and mess with it later. Now...while I am trying to figure out why my PC Is showing me as using so much space when I am not I obviously think there is some hidden folders so I right click and highlight the hidden box...this option once applied actually seemed to do the opposite of what it used to do for me years back whenever I would be using it for whatever reason...instead of showing hidden files it actually hid ALL OF MY FILES and made it look like I never used the PC before. I freaked out for a second and simply clicked the box to undo it which scared the heck out of me. But while it was unhiding and hiding the files I noticed it blazing through file names so quickly that you can't read any of them. Yet both times I noticed it seemed to be just BLAZING through Tuneup Utility files that looked awfully familiar to the error I had been getting so many times. Immediately I make a connection.

So finally when I go into the Appdata folder. To my untrained eye...it appears this folder exists to somehow log anytime a program messes up? I clicked a folder called "roaming" which I also have a question for....why is there a roaming folder? I am using a desktop and it never moves....either way in this roaming folder was a tuneup utility folder with 800gb of crash files!!!! For WEEKS...every minute my PC was running...tuneup utilities would make 3 files...1 file 1KB... 1 file 111KB...1 file 96MB. YES, 3 files per minute...EVERY MINUTE the pc is running.

TL DR. Is there a reason to to believe I have a virus? Why is there a roaming folder for SOME programs inside of appdata yet other programs folders are shown in two other folders called Local and Local Low?

What is the purpose of the appdata folder and whats the benefit of using it? Assuming I could turn it off that is.

Can I safely delete the files in there taking up ridiculous amounts of space and more importantly somehow change it so it would no longer make a save and document every time i crashed? Back before I uninstalled tuneup...I was getting sometimes 5 error messages in 10 seconds....turns out every SINGLE time it did that it created some kind of log about it and a HUGE One at that. How do you turn that off? There has to be a way to turn it off as I dont see any benefit as to saving to my HD a strange file each time something crashes.

I have never had anything like this ever happen in my life...and I have dealt with some pretty weird PC issues I was able to fix going blind.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
If you mess around with junk like Tune-up utilities, you should expect trouble. Delete all those files in Roaming. And next time you want to know exactly what's on your C partition, use this program: WinDirStat - Windows Directory Statistics
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Believe me, the AppData folder is very necessary! It's where Windows keeps all its records of what goes on in your computer. If you were going to delete that folder, you'd have no computer left, because the System couldn't run. For example:
"AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch"
....................is your Quick Launch toolbar.
"AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar"
....................is your pinned Taskbar icons.
"AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs"
....................is the links to all your Desktop apps and their data.
"AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Application Shortcuts"
....................is your Metro apps and their data.
"AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\appsFolder.itemdata-ms"
....................is your Start Screen.
AppData is a "System Folder" maintained by Windows for its own use. Don't ever alter or delete the contents of anything in it. And the same goes for everything that's outside your user folder, such as C:\ProgramData, C:\ProgramFiles, and C:\Windows.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP 23-D030
i have to at least be able to delete the 800 freaking gigs it put in for a program I no longer have right?

http://oi42.tinypic.com/66xheg.jpg

It literally was creating 3 files per minute of 97 MB every single minute my PC was running. Its gotta be safe to delete those? Also....theres no way to prevent programs from recording crashes as files?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
I would delete them and uninstall tuneup.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
Uninstall that software FIRST. Then, if any files that it created for its own purposes are still there afterwards, I guess you could safely delete those. But only if you're SURE that the files you're deleting have to do ONLY with the tuneup utility and not with anything ELSE. Don't just see a lot of files and ASSUME that they shouldn't be there just because you don't know what they are. Back when I first installed Windows, I looked through all of its system folders and I immediately noticed that the AppData folder was very large. Don't worry about it. A Windows system is enormously complex. Mine contains over 140,000 files, including about 3,000 in the Appdata folder. And I have no errors, crashes, or problems of any kind.

In any event, don't get any ideas about deleting the whole AppData folder, or the whole Roaming folder, because they also contain other things that are needed by other apps and by the Windows system itself. A folder doesn't do anything; it just sits there. Programs may cause crashes, but folders don't. That tuneup utility may be a problem, but the AppData folder is not a problem. It's supposed to be there. It's part of the Windows system, and it's always been there. Every Windows user has an AppData folder. There are many programs running on your computer all the time, and they all use the AppData folder to store everything they need to store. That's why it's so big.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP 23-D030
Yeah I got rid of Tuneup and all those files...I still can't believe an error like that exists. Easily the weirdest thing I have encountered in the history of me being around computers.

Tuneup creating 3 files per minute...every SINGLE minute that my PC was running for approx 3 weeks. 24,000 files taking up 800 gigabytes. Just...wow...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Thats bad software, take those guys - and MY word for it.

Just by cCleaner Pro for 25 bucks, it's worth it. Or use the free version, which does not have the automatic cleaner so you have to manually run it once a week.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center/Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus § DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+ § Corsair Value Select
    CPU
    AMD 4400+/4200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus/Asus A8M2N-LA (NodusM)
    Memory
    2 GB/3GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8400 GS/GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    nVIDIA GT218 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Hitachi 40" LCD HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    "1842 x 1036"
    Hard Drives
    WDC WD50 00AAKS-007AA SCSI Disk Device
    ST1000DL 002-9TT153 SCSI Disk Device
    WDC WD3200AAJB-00J3A0 ATA Device
    WDC WD32 WD-WCAPZ2942630 USB Device
    WD My Book 1140 USB Device
    PSU
    Works 550w
    Case
    MSI "M-Box"
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Dell Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Intellimouse
    Internet Speed
    Cable Medium Speed
    Browser
    Chrome/IE 10
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32 6.x/Win Defend
    Other Info
    Recently lost my Windows 8 on my main PC, had to go back to Windows 7.
Tell me like im 5 years old.

Why is Tuneup bad? I used it YEARS ago and only just recently got it again. I did notice it wanted me to delete some things that seemed like it would be a stupid idea...backups etc.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Tell me like im 5 years old.

Why is Tuneup bad? I used it YEARS ago and only just recently got it again. I did notice it wanted me to delete some things that seemed like it would be a stupid idea...backups etc.
Too many reports about problems. Any tune up program can make damage in your system. Why take the risk. Just do it the traditional way. Then you know what you have done and can always backpaddle.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
I can't explain why a Virus is Virus or a Malware Program is a Malware Program, it just is. Because shortly after you install it, or maybe immediately, you start finding all kinds of new Babylon Search engines installed that you never asked for. TunePoop Pro was like this, it is fake Utility software with JUST enough actual usability to trick you into using it.

The safest "Tune Up" program I got is cCleaner which is all I need.

Any program that reads through your reg, and ends up deleting system files while making a HUGE backup of nothing, well I dont know what the hell it is doing, but it is bad.



Actually I just checked this out, AVG makes it. Well, that ALMOST gives it a stamp of authentication, but it is just unnecessary software. I would stick with AVG AV and leave it at that.

Maybe tunepoop pro had some kind of AV program built into it, or some kind of active scanning engine, but if it was creating 800 GB of Data, it's no good.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center/Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus § DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+ § Corsair Value Select
    CPU
    AMD 4400+/4200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus/Asus A8M2N-LA (NodusM)
    Memory
    2 GB/3GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8400 GS/GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    nVIDIA GT218 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Hitachi 40" LCD HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    "1842 x 1036"
    Hard Drives
    WDC WD50 00AAKS-007AA SCSI Disk Device
    ST1000DL 002-9TT153 SCSI Disk Device
    WDC WD3200AAJB-00J3A0 ATA Device
    WDC WD32 WD-WCAPZ2942630 USB Device
    WD My Book 1140 USB Device
    PSU
    Works 550w
    Case
    MSI "M-Box"
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Dell Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Intellimouse
    Internet Speed
    Cable Medium Speed
    Browser
    Chrome/IE 10
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32 6.x/Win Defend
    Other Info
    Recently lost my Windows 8 on my main PC, had to go back to Windows 7.
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