Ever stumbled upon a file ending in '.TMP' and wondered what digital gremlin left it there? Fear not, it's likely a temporary file, aptly named! Your computer, or a program running on it, creates these files to temporarily hold data while performing a task. Think of it as a digital scratchpad.
Why are they created? Often, it's for data recovery in case of a crash or to manage large files efficiently. For instance, a word processor might create a .TMP file while you're editing a document. If the program crashes, this temporary file can help recover some of your unsaved work.
Should you worry about them? Generally, no. Most programs automatically delete their .TMP files when they're no longer needed. However, sometimes they linger, cluttering your hard drive. While a few small .TMP files aren't a problem, excessive amounts can indicate an issue, like a program not closing correctly. Periodically cleaning up your temporary files is a good habit to keep your system running smoothly. Disk Cleanup utility can help with this.
