Volumes/folders for temporary files

Question

Hello everybody. Can anyone explain how I can choose not only a volume for PS-temp-files but also a certain folder where PS should place it's tmp-files?
Our problem is that C:\ is full, and our admin is not amused to allow writing in the root of E:. Changing the system variable "temp" from "C:\temp" to "e:\temp" is "only a workaround and no solution" in his words. Any other ideas?
Win XP, PS 12.03, x32

Answer 1

Your admin thinks that you writing files to other disks in your system is something he doesn't want to allow you to do, and he doesn't offer any help in cleaning up your C: drive (or getting you a bigger one or another one)?
Assuming you're telling the whole story, it sounds like you may need a new admin!  I'd suggest taking your inability to work this way up with your supervisor.
Here are observations about how Photoshop works:
Photoshop needs to write scratch files to the root folder of a drive letter on your system.
Photoshop writes some temporary files to the folder identified by your TEMP environment variable.
Photoshop may also, under some conditions, choose another (unspecified) folder, most likely a root folder of a drive letter on your system, to use for certain temporary files (e.g., those with _MVM_ in the name).
You can change the drive used for the scratch files using the Edit - Preference - Performance dialog, but Photoshop MUST have full permission to access the root folder of the drive.  That's just the way it's designed.
You can change your TEMP environment variable as you mentioned, and that can be effective for moving temporary file access off your burdened C: drive for not only Photoshop but a lot of other apps as well.
No one has been able to discover a reliable method of ensuring the _MVM_ temporary files are written to a specific place, though some have observed that if the TEMP drive has plenty of space then it tends to use the TEMP folder.  Last we heard from Adobe here on the forum on this subject, they were looking into where the Mondo Virtual Memory manager subsystem was programmed to write files.
-Noel
P.S., While you're at it, you might inquire what plans your system administration people have for moving you off your obsolete operating system.  XP is getting awfully long in the tooth.  Maybe you can get a nice new computer out of the deal.