Videos copied to my computer when opened from camera

[jmt356]

Yesterday, I opened some videos from a digital camera to my computer. One of the files was quite large (~242 mb) and while it was opening, I noticed a window pop up stating "Copying to C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Temp\WPDNSE" or something similar. I later navigated to that folder and actually found the video there.

I am now concerned that whenever I open a video from my digital camera, even when I do not intend to copy it to my hard drive, it is being automatically copied, thus taking up significant hard drive space without my intent.

Is my concern justified and if so, how can I prevent this automatic copying?

[Leif]

Yesterday, I opened some videos from a digital camera to my computer. One of the files was quite large (~242 mb) and while it was opening, I noticed a window pop up stating "Copying to C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Temp\WPDNSE" or something similar. I later navigated to that folder and actually found the video there.

I am now concerned that whenever I open a video from my digital camera, even when I do not intend to copy it to my hard drive, it is being automatically copied, thus taking up significant hard drive space without my intent.

Is my concern justified and if so, how can I prevent this automatic copying?

I take it you mean opened "... with my computer."?

How are you viewing the files on your camera? With Windows Explorer, or proprietary software?

(You can probably use [url=http://www.eileenslounge.com/viewtopic.php?p=80984#p80984]CCleaner[/url] to remove Temp files.)

[HansV]

If you view the videos directly from your camera, you probably can't prevent it being copied to your Temp folder. But you can run the Disk Cleanup accessory that comes with Windows from time to time, or a utility such as CCleaner (mentioned by Leif) to clear the Temp folder.

[Roderunner]

My digital camera has software that can be installed on my pc but I don't install it. Everything is put on an SD card which when put into my pc gives me access to everything without copying to my pc unless I want it to.

[jmt356]

Yes, I meant “with” my computer, and I am viewing the files in Windows Explorer.

Roderunner, my set up is similar to yours, which is why I was surprised when I saw the file being copied to my Temp folder.

The temp folder has the possibility of piling up with a lot of unnecessary files that can quickly eat up hard drive space. I would think that because it’s call “Temp,” the files would be meant to be temporary and thus cleared up automatically by Windows from time to time. Is this not the case?

My Temp folder has 489 GB worth of files and folders in it. Can I safely delete them through Windows Explorer or do I need to go through Disk Cleanup or CCleanerr?

[HansV]

Many programs omit to delete temporary files they create.
To clear the Temp folder manually:
- Quit all running programs.
- Start Windows Explorer and navigate to the Temp folder.
- Click in the folder, then press Ctrl+A to select everything.
- Press Shift+Delete to delete everything, bypassing the Recycle Bin.
- If Windows tells you that it can't complete the operation because a file is in use, tick the check box to do the same for all similar cases and tell it to skip the file.

With 489 GB of temporary files, it may take some time to delete them all.

[Roderunner]

Yes, I meant “with” my computer, and I am viewing the files in Windows Explorer.

Roderunner, my set up is similar to yours, which is why I was surprised when I saw the file being copied to my Temp folder.

The temp folder has the possibility of piling up with a lot of unnecessary files that can quickly eat up hard drive space. I would think that because it’s call “Temp,” the files would be meant to be temporary and thus cleared up automatically by Windows from time to time. Is this not the case?

My Temp folder has 489 GB worth of files and folders in it. Can I safely delete them through Windows Explorer or do I need to go through Disk Cleanup or CCleanerr?

I have no idea why your files from your camera are being auto saved on your pc.
I would access your files directly to delete or move what items you want to keep. It may take longer but its safer.

[Leif]

My digital camera has software that can be installed on my pc but I don't install it. Everything is put on an SD card which when put into my pc gives me access to everything without copying to my pc unless I want it to.

I don't install camera software either. But these days, if you plug in the camera with a USB cable and switch it on, it should show up as a drive:

x.png

[Roderunner]

I don't install camera software either. But these days, if you plug in the camera with a USB cable and switch it on, it should show up as a drive:
[/attachment]

That's true, I used to do it that way before getting an SD card.

[jmt356]

I believe what happens is that, when you need to load a large file from a digital camera, such as a ~242 mb video file, even though you are viewing the file through IE from the camera's own memory card, the file needs to get copied over to the computer's C drive's Temp folder in order to have enough memory to load it. I'm not sure if this makes much sense but perhaps there is a variant explanation that does.

[Roderunner]

JMT, I don't think thats the case, if the file was copied from SD to a partition on your pc and you checked it was not anywhere on C:Drive, it would be viewable without being copied to C: drive.