I have found that most Portable Applications save their temporary files in
%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\temp and %USERPROFILE%\Application Data. I have also found that not all applications completely remove their data from these folders when done. I work as a Technician III at work and often use applications to clean up unused/invalid registry keys and temporary files. I also use applications to recover files, and scan for spyware/viruses, etc. Even though I have removed the applications when I got done, my employer insists that no applications should be installed outside of the ones they certify. The problem is their antivirus and antispyware stink, computers get infected and other applications must be used to clean them. Also, with our heavy work flow, Applications such as ccleaner are a lot more complete and quicker at cleaning a pc than I would be doing it manually. I then started using Portable applications such as portable ccleaner to work on pcs, but networking have been blocking through policy portable applications using %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\temp as a temporary storage area. I have tried changing the registry entries to %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\temp to point to another area,, but the portable applications must be hard coded to %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\temp so this doesn't work.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Are you using XP or Vista?
I'm useing XP
Which PortableApps apps do you find using the Windows Profile folder?
Apps that other sites create and classify as portable may use that folder but I'm not aware of any PortableApps ones that do. That doesn't mean there aren't any just none that I am aware of.
U3 apps write files to the Windows Profile folder but they don't install anything to the hd. Just like IE writes files to the hd, it doesn't install them.
In looking at the PortableApps app page, https://portableapps.com/apps, I don't see Portable CCleaner listed. What am I missing?
Ed
In looking at the PortableApps app page, https://portableapps.com/apps, I don't see Portable CCleaner listed. What am I missing?
There is no official release of CCleaner by us,
but I don't think that's what he's talking about.
I think he's talking about the regular one.
Tim
Things have got to get better, they can't get worse, or can they?
I then started using Portable applications such as portable ccleaner
That doesn't sound like the regular one to me, or a PortableApp app.
Simply putting an app on a USB stick doesn't make it truly portable like a PortableApp app and I think he is lumping all USB apps as PortableApps.
Ed
https://portableapps.com/about/what_is_a_portable_app
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_application
http://portablefreeware.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3613
Educate yourself before posting such nonsense.
"Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do." Asimov
If you don't know the difference between a PortableApp.com app and a PortableFreeware.com app why are you posting?
The only example PortableFreeware.com has of an app they don't consider to be portable is the Portable Windows Media Player Center mmh300 developed. http://portablefreeware.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=880
Do you consider Portable Windows Media Player Center to be a portable app? It has "portable" in it's title and runs from a USB stick.
Ed
I say again, educate yourself before rushing into such discussions.
First, read this site's address again, you regularly mistype it.
Second, in your previous post you were not refering to "PortableApp.com app" but to "PortableApp" or "PortableApp app". And when we're at the topic, PA.com is not a definite source of definitions regarding portability. Such source does not exist and that's why I posted 3 different links.
Based on your PA.com centrism, you're clearly disregarding portable apps from other places..in aggressive way (I would be more polite, if you were so).
Finally, portability does not mean USB, so "USB apps" term is meaningless.
"Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do." Asimov
By "regular" one I meant "their" portable version, as opposed to the dev one on this site.
Sorry if I wasn't clear enough,
Sheesh,
Tim
Things have got to get better, they can't get worse, or can they?
Which PortableApps apps do you find using the Windows Profile folder?
FFP for example:
C:\Documents and Settings\Tim\Local Settings\Temp\nst1D.tmp
This is where FFP keeps somethings while running,
It will be deleted when FFP is closed
ThunderbirdPortable and ClamWinPortable do the same thing.
In fact I thought most did.
Tim
Things have got to get better, they can't get worse, or can they?
Yes but those are tmp files not exes which is what the OP expressed concern about.
Ed
You're wrong, these are usual dlls with .tmp extension.
And dlls are executables.
"Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do." Asimov
Dbl click on one and see what comes up. In fact dbl click on many of them and .tmp files too. Without an .exe they are as threatening as cookies.
Ed
Please Read His post again Ed, You are missing the point.
His concern is that the apps are writing to an area that is off limits on his machines.
He wants to know if it is possible to get them to write themselves, their data, their temp files, WhatEver!, someplace else.
Tim
Things have got to get better, they can't get worse, or can they?
I understand what he wants, he wants certain apps to use a different Windows variable. But that has to be at the app level not the system level. You can't have a Windows' system variable changed without effecting everything on the host.
Ed
All of the portable apps I use, run from a single exe file, including Ccleaner. There is a portable version of Ccleaner on their site http://www.ccleaner.com/download/builds. I need to redirect %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\temp to say c:\temp so network policy doesn't stop it from running. All of the Portable apps that I have come across sotre temp files in %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\temp until you exit them (some leave files behind).
But I think to best find out how to change a vendor's app it's best to post to the vendor's site, in this case http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?showforum=4. Your portable ccleaner, similar to portable apps found on http://portablefreeware.com/ are not PortableApp.com apps.
Single exe files could well be self extracting zip files designed to expand to the hd before executing and the Windows' standard for temporary space is %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\temp.
If the machines in your location get turned off or users get signed off each day adding a simple script to purge the %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\temp folder when booting or signing on should reduce the problem.
Ed
I don't think you understand his problem Ed,
If the machines in your location get turned off or users get signed off each day adding a simple script to purge the %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\temp folder when booting or signing on should reduce the problem.
There is nothing to purge because the program Won't Run,
...say c:\temp so network policy doesn't stop it from running...
Tim
Things have got to get better, they can't get worse, or can they?
Why wouldn't the script run?? It wouldn't be in the temp folder.
I'm not suggesting a portable app put a script there, I'm suggesting his company/school/etc put a script on each machine to purge that folder when booting or signing on.
Ed
...say c:\temp so network policy doesn't stop it from running...
Because IT can't access the profile temp directory IT can't run.
The program being portable CCleaner if that's not clear,
not the script you suggested.
Tim
Things have got to get better, they can't get worse, or can they?
In my case a script wouldn't delete anything in the %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\temp directory because Network Policy blocks any portable app from writing to it in the first place. I think I need an application that resides in memory to redirect any reference to %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\temp to go to say c:\temp. I had a similar application for printing that would redirect printing from LPT1 to LPT2. Just chaning reference to %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\temp to c:\temp in the registry doesn't work because the portable app is hard coded to write temporary files to %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\temp. thanks
Please allow me to Clarify Mlhend,
You are seeking some assistance from this site, a launcher perhaps, that will enable you to run a portable app, CCleaner has been discussed, in such a way that instead of using the users/profile's temp directory it would use another location, because the user/profile's temp directory is unavailable or locked down.
This is actually a good question and should be of concern to us all.
If the situation is as you describe, and I understand it correctly, this would prevent apps from this site from running as well.
If many sites used this kind of behavior to lock down their machines we would need to see if there is a way to use an alternative temp location.
Of course if the owners of the machines are trying that hard to prevent the use of such softwares we probably should not be using it on their machines, but that's another topic.
Hopefully someone more knowledgeable then me can give you assistance, but hopefully I have clarified the question.
All relevant posts should probably continue from here down [i.e. as Comments to the original post] and by pass the confusions above ;-P ]
Tim
Things have got to get better, they can't get worse, or can they?
If I change all references to temp from %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\temp to c:\temp network Policy still blocks any portable app from running. It appears the policy looks at where the temp and tmp is pointing to in the registry and blocks any program from writing temporary files there. Unless I can find a program that resides in memory to redirect applications writing temporary files to a different location, I don't think I will be able to run portable apps.
I've not tested this in a Windoze domain but I start the PA Platform on my thumb drive with a batch file that changes the Temp environment to a directory on the thumb drive itself _before_ starting the Portable Apps. I created this so I wouldn't leave any temp files with sensitive information on public PCs in Internet cafés and such.
I've checked and the PA Platform app appears to pass these same environmental parameters to (at least some and presumably all) child processes/apps. I've tested this with the "set" command issued in Command Prompt Portable, as well as confirming where Firefox Portable was keeping its temp files. If it doesn't work for you, the change probably is being countermanded by your domain's GPOs.
With my method, you have to manually create the \Temp folder on the thumb drive (or anywhere you want, so long as you change the batch file to match). The batch file -- which needs to be on the thumb drive itself -- starts by deleting all the old temp stuff so your thumb drive doesn't get bloated, then it sets the Temp/Tmp parameters to the local drive and starts the PA Platform executable. This does not affect the system environment.
This is the "generic" version of the batch file I use to start the PA Platform:
@ECHO off
SETLOCAL enableextensions
FOR /F "Tokens=*" %%D In ('CD') Do Set CD=%%D
DEL /f /s /q %CD%Temp\*.*
SET TEMP=%CD%Temp
SET TMP=%CD%Temp
START %CD%"PortableApps"\"PortableApps.com"\PortableAppsPlatform.exe
ENDLOCAL
EXIT 0
I'm going to go out on a limb and guess this will be blocked by GPOs, too.