To fill in some blanks regarding the hex named Zero-byte AppData/Local/ e.g.
{2F4F9A60-....} folders
WL Essentials:
WL Essentials will create these folders (when in use) since it has the
ability to do at least three 'phone-home' type hard coded 'features'
- Technically a bug in the program (unresolved at least through 2011 QFE2)
since the files should be placed in the AppData/Local/Temp folder for
Windows to cleanup (but they're not).
- The suite is version aware and has the ability to determine if an update
is available (i.e. a current version request), if available the program(s)
are capable of displaying an 'Update' prompt (outside of Windows/Microsoft
Update)
- The mail client will auto-poll (regardless of user configuration settings
disabled - Send immediately/Send every x minutes). I.e. It's 'Live' and by
design intended for use with Live services (i.e. Hotmail type accounts to
ensure mail, contacts, calendar are in sync)...the use or not use of a Live
ID to sign on to Live services is not relevant to the polling and likewise
it does not matter if present mail accounts are pop3/IMAP/HTTP...it
auto-polls regardless approx. every hour (afaics about 71 min)
- The Messenger client (since it requires a Live ID signon) when in use, is
always communicating back and forth to ensure that contacts and social
connected services data is current.
While very little info is publicly available on exactly what in WLE creates
them, they are created...one may also notice that sometimes they are in
groups of two (with similar time stamps).
WLE QFE3 was released a few days ago and I don't know (haven't really looked
either) if the annoyance is still present. Like everyone else, I delete
them if I happen to open that folder, if not I just ignore them (zero byte
folders from WLE while a nuisance have yet to be proven to create problems).
Other application software:
- Other programs (install/uninstall etc.) may also incorrectly place
folders in the same location instead of the AppData/Local/Temp folder
(sometimes due to not being coded to accommodate the differences between XP
and Vista/Win7).
The registry:
Attempting to find those {DCBC2A71..} like folder name values in the
registry may be fruitless (they just don't exist)..since not being written
to the *.dat file
I.e. If zero bytes, delete them to the Recycle bin, then empty at a later
time. If one of those is in use (unlikely) Windows will usually complaint
with a message (e.g. Access Denied, Try Again, etc.)
--
....winston
msft mvp mail
"Don B" wrote in message
You're lucky, I don't have any of those in my AppData\Local directory.
Are they enclosed in parentheses "()" or in curly braces "{}"? If the
latter, they are most likely GUIDs left over from some installation or
uninstallation process, and are harmless, AFAIK. Especially since they
are empty.
GUIDs (Globally Unique IDentifiers) are supposed to be random
hexadecimal values grouped with hyphens, and they look like this made-up
example:
{01234567-89ab-cdef-0123-456789012345}
They are sometimes randomly generated. They have many characters to
minimize the possibility of coincidences. Thirty-two hex digits
corresponds to 128 bits, hence can take on around 3e38, or 3 times 10 to
the 38th, different values.
There are probably hundreds in the Registry. You could copy the value
from one of your folders and search within the registry for entries
containing that value. That might give you a clue, but there are no
guarantees, unfortunately.
Or just ignore the above & follow ...winston's advice
Actually yes, upon looking again, the are enclosed in curley brackets,
and certainly look like the GUID's you mention...
I have installed a few programs of late, probably explains them.
Thanks ,
