Can I delete this file???

[bcarl314]

Ok, so I'm going through my C: drive trying to clean it up and I come across this system file named acr_dv0.dat which is 260MB. Yes, that's megabytes. And I want to know, can I delete it? Seems to be awful big for a system file. My guess is that it's a log file.

Anyone know? I've been told it's a really bad idea to delete system files, but this one looks too big to be important.

[sage45]

Try right clicking on it and checking the properties... You might be able to find the program it is associated with... Another thing you can do is open it in a text editor (like notepad) to see if you can, again, find what it is associated with... Other than that I can find no references to this file... Most likely it is a data file (DAT) for a program you use... By the size of it, maybe a download that is currently being processed or a failed cd-rom burn...

-saige-

[Borgtex]

What I do in that situations is: rename the file, and if everything works one or two weeks later, delete it

[scroots]

good idea borgtex just hope that bcarl can remember how to rename in dos.
that is just incase it is important.

scroots

[bcarl314]

Yep, I'll try that. I think I'll do it in dos just to make sure.

Thanks for the input.

[bcarl314]

Well, I renamed the file and then rebooted my compter. Now I've got the renamed file and the original sitting on my C:\ drive taking a total of 520MB. I can delete the renamed file and it doesn't come back but when I delete, rename, or move the original, it pops up again on reboot. Any ideas?

TIA

[Borgtex]

Strange, sounds like some kind of swap file or quick restart... I don't know.
Does it happen restarting in safe mode? have you tried to see contents with an hexeditor or something like that?

[bcarl314]

Well, I found out what the file was for. It's related to my sleep program on my computer, which is a laptop. Appearently, I holds an image of everything running on the system, so in the event of a power failure, nothing is lost. Well, for a file consuming 15% of my HD, I decided to take the risk and get rid of that feature. Now I can install more stuff. :)