can i just delete index.dat? or use one of the tools offered on the net to get rid of it?

when i went to ms support to see what it is, it said it contained the history of everywhere i'd been. and that was about it. i think- that was actually days ago that i checked.

then i Googled it and found multiple sites to tell me how and why i should get rid of it.

~~~~~~~~~

when i run Adaware and Spybot, i see these names flash that they are checking, places i myself have never been , and no one else has used this computer for quite a while. also, names like comet cursors and bonzai buddy flash there.

i am thinking if i get rid of index.dat, these sites will be gone.

~~~~~~~~~

index.dat file: 3,520 kb.

(i know i don't have to worry about my system resources getting too low with Windows XP, but i would just like to get rid of it if it can go. i've been cleaning up around here. )

thanks!

sophie

Sophie,

In Windows 98 you could delete it from DOS but not so easy with Windows XP,
There are many utilities available for free and payware.

Here's one:

http://www.softcows.com/windows_washer_function.htm

I haven't used it but maybe someone else can comment or mention one they have used.

>Sophie,
>
>In Windows 98 you could delete it from DOS but not so easy
>with Windows XP,
>There are many utilities available for free and payware.
>
>Here's one:
>
>http://www.softcows.com/windows_washer_function.htm
>
>I haven't used it but maybe someone else can comment or
>mention one they have used.

I use Window Washer and it does in fact delete the Index.dat file if you set it up to do so when you do a wash. The program does a lot of other functions in addition to deleting the index.dat file but it is not free. It is a Windows cleaning utility that will allow you to clean your cookies but keep selected cookies and to cleanup various other files in Windows. One feature that I really like is that it can retain it's statics so you can keep a record of how much space you have recovered. I have recovered over 2 gig's of space since September.

If you would like to use a free utility to delete the index.dat here is a link to the direct download for MoveOnBoot. After you download the program execute it and it will put a new option on your Right click in Windows Explorer which will allow you to select files that you wish to be deleted at bootup.

http://www.gibinsoft.net/gipoutils/bin/moveonb.exe




Click here to visit My PC Clinic

Here's something from a post of Grogan's I had saved;

"Nothing can delete the index.dat files from within Windows, while they are in use. Any utility that does that for you, usually schedules it to happen on a reboot, by whatever mechanism.
The only way I know of, to deal with that in Windows, is to first clear the Temporary Internet Files normally, then on the same tab in Internet Options, click the settings button and Move the folder to another location. Windows will not copy over all the disconnected files from the cache, and it will build new index.dat files. Check the old location, and if the old Temporary Internet Files directory is still there, delete it. After that, you can move your Temporary Internet Files back to the original location.

On Win9x systems I just boot to DOS (or WinME startup disk in WinME) and deltree the Temporary Internet Files directory. cd \windows and deltree /y tempor~1

In Windows 2000/XP, you can log on as a different user with administrative rights (e.g. 'Administrator') and delete the Temporary Internet Files directories of other users. When those users log on again, it gets recreated."

thanks, guys! i have been itching to do this! hee hee hee!

sophie

ok, The Window Washer (30 day free trial) cleaned out my cookies and my Tempory Internet Files. a big plus is that it was very easy to use.

however, when i go to:

RUN:
C:\DOCUME~1\CAROLK~1\LOCALS~1\Temp
Temporary Internet Files

the only file there is Content:IE5. opened, this has seven meaningless-to-me folders and index.dat. date modified: 10/15/03

IE5???

~~~~~~~~~

i shall try MoveOnBoot next.

if i try Grogan's method, i will have an empty index.dat file that will begin to fill up again, am i reading that right? that's ok, too, since i know would now about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~

i can't wait to defrag again after all this routing out of the old stuff. when i started this project, i was running at 43%.

sophie

>ok, The Window Washer (30 day free trial) cleaned out my
>cookies and my Tempory Internet Files. a big plus is that it
>was very easy to use.
>
>however, when i go to:
>
>RUN:
>C:\DOCUME~1\CAROLK~1\LOCALS~1\Temp
>Temporary Internet Files
>
>the only file there is Content:IE5. opened, this has seven
>meaningless-to-me folders and index.dat. date modified:
>10/15/03
>
>IE5???
>
>~~~~~~~~~
>
>i shall try MoveOnBoot next.
>
>if i try Grogan's method, i will have an empty index.dat file
>that will begin to fill up again, am i reading that right?
>that's ok, too, since i know would now about it.
>
>~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>i can't wait to defrag again after all this routing out of
>the old stuff. when i started this project, i was running at
>43%.
>
>sophie

Did you click on the Options button in Window Washer and select the items you want to wash? Click on the Browser tab to select the items you want to clean in the Temporary Internet Files including Index.dat. It is called Bleach Index.dat on Startup.




Click here to visit My PC Clinic

Window Washer by WebRoot costs money but it is highly customizable and user-friendly. I have the latest version 5. There are many such programs that clean the cache, history, etc. As others' indicated, the index.dat files are system files held open by windows at all time windows GUI is running, thus you have to delete them outside of the windows GUI.

hi, bob,

i just went back and did it again, this time the only thing i checked to be washed was index.dat. i went under browser/IE and did the same thing. checked, and it is still there. i didn't see any sign about Bleach, tho.

do i need to re-boot? i haven't done that for a few hours, for a change. tho as i said the other files were cleared.

~~~~~~~

randy, thanks. it's starting to make sense now.

sophie

The index.dat file will be recreated after it is deleted. The new file size will be 32KB...almost empty. Here is how I delete it in Windows XP...
Make sure all windows are close and you are at your desktop.
Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc together to bring up Windows Task Manager. On the Processes tab, Highlight EXPLORER.EXE and click the End Process button. Don't panic...you will have nothing but your desktop background when you do this. Click on the Applications tab and click the New Task button. Type CMD in the box and press OK. You will be at a command prompt. Close Window Task Manager. Type CD C:\Documents and Settings\YOURUSERNAME\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5 (YOURUSERNAME should be replaced with your actual username). Press enter and you should be in the Content.IE5 directory. Type Del INDEX.DAT and press enter. The file will be deleted. Close the Command Prompt box. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to bring Windows Task Manager back up. On the Application tab, press the New Task button. Type EXPLORER.EXE in the box and press OK.
Done.

Note: Make sure there is a space between CD and C:\Documents and Settings...
Also, there is a space between DEL and Index.dat

I realize I'm responding to an old post but I am trying to delete my index.dat file. When I followed this method Darren I came up with "this process can't access the file because it is being used by another process" I printed out your instructions and followed them precisely.(at least I think I did)

So I have given up on this method and have installed "moveonboot" from snapfiles. I now think I have removed the index.dat file but the path that I found it in was C:\documents and settings\myusername\cookies\index.dat. ( I went into WinExplore to find it) My question is: is this the index.dat file everyone is referring to? Why is the path different for me? I have WinXP.

Thanks,

Adirondack Girl

There are a myriad number of index.dat files on your computer.
I happen to have 27 of them.

You need to figure out which one(s) you're interested in.
You picked one from your /cookies/ & you probably are more interested in \local settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\.

A search should find them.

Since this whole thread is six months old, I suspect she has long ago done whatever she wanted to

Shelly

therube, yes I am interested in the one in \Content.IE5. When I did a search I got C:\documents and settings\"defaultuser"\local settings\temporary internet files\content.IE5 The "default user" part confused me as I was looking for my specific username. This was the only file out of 70 that even looked close, so is that the one and only one that stores the infamous index.dat file for IE?(does it have to say my specific username?)

Shelly, sorry to bring up an old thread but I'm just getting around to it; as it doesn't seem as easy as I'd like it. Let me know if I should have started a new thread.

Thanks for the help!!

Adirondack Girl

If you are logged in as your usual User you wont see your users index.dat file in explorer. It's only visible from another User account (with Admin privileges) such as the Admin account.
In XP Pro you can log off, hold CTRL + ALT and press DEL twice to bring up the log in box - log on as Administrator (leaving the password blank if you didn't use one, using the correct password if you did and assuming you aren't using the Admin account for your usual user) and navigate to the local settings folder for your usual user. If you access the IE5.Content folder you should see an index.dat file and some folders with alphanumeric names. You can delete them whilst you are there if you wish. If you log back on to your usual user again and view this folder you see a list of objects again and not the index.dat files and folders (if you deleted the contents you'll probably just see a list of cookies).
For XP Pro users this is probably the easiest way to clean out the index.dat file.

In XP Home you have to restart in safemode to log on as admin.

The TIF folder is a special folder - if you the TIF folder of the user you are logged in as Explorer reads the index.dat file and displays the contents of the various folders as a objects as if you are looking in a single folder. You'll notice your cookies are displayed too even though they are contained in another folder (they are mearly links to the cookies).

I have WinXP Home. I'm not sure about logging in as Administrator etc., as I have never done it. This is my PC and I am the only user. I'm not sure even how to go about logging in as user or Admin. since I never have had to do it that I recall, other than probably when I first got this PC a couple years ago. Gosh, I feel so behind everyone here! Are there easy steps to do this? Seems like one issue always leads me to learn something else first, but that's good in the long run as I want to learn.

Adirondack Girl

It's all in my post
In XP Home you just boot to safe mode by restarting, holding down F8 when the Bios summary screen appears and keeping it held til you see a boot menu - choose safe mode. You'll then see the welcome screen with the choice of Administrator and the other users on your machine. Log in as Administrator leaving the password blank if you didn't use one.

Once at the desktop if you go to C:\Documents and Settings\*YOUR USUAL USER*\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5 in Explorer you'll see the index.dat file and the object folders.

Thanks Steve for the clarification, think I can do that
Thanks to Togg too, looks like a neat lil' program that I may try as well. I'll post back and let ya know if I've succeeded, some days my brain functions better than others

Adirondack Girl

Well, I've just gone into safe mode then into Explore and followed the path given as I have done before but the only sub folders under my "usal username" are .java and cookies. I still can't find the \local settings\temporary internet files\& hence, can't see/find Content.IE.5 I just don't see them in there. Something seems to be missing and this just doesn't add up. Any suggestions now? I am frustrated because this should be very simple.

Adirondack Girl

Log into your usual user, open IE, Tools, Internet Options, General Tab, Temporary Internet Files 'Settings' button - Where does 'Current Location' point to?

The 'Local Settings' folder is a hidden folder so you'll have to go to Folder Options in Control Panel, View Tab, check 'show hidden files and folders' under 'Hidden files and folders'.

If you still can't see it you are either looking in the wrong place or not logged on as another user (ie you didn't select 'Administrator' from the safe mode log in screen)

The current location points to c:\documents and settings\my username\local settings\temporary internet files\ . So that is correct. I went into control panel and made sure "show hidden files and folders" was checked and it is. When I booted into safe mode I had the choice to log in as my usual user or Administrator and I picked Administrator. After logging in as Admin I then went into Explorer to look for the rest but couldn't find it. I am either doing something wrong or overlooking something but I just can't figure out what

Adirondack Girl

If you have 'Show Hidden Files and Folders' checked then I have no idea why the Local Settings folder is not visible - it should be.

You should see this -



In Folder options don't forget to hit 'Apply' after changing the setting - if you just hit OK it will close without making the change. Open it up again and see if it's set to hide - if it is, set it to show and hit Apply before you press OK.



EDIT - just tried it just pressing OK and it does change so dunno

Steve, OMG I have finally accomplished my mission! Thank you so very very much for sticking to it and following thru every step of the way!

I think what I was doing wrong was going into Control Panel, Tools, View, and I could see that show "hidden files and folders was indeed checked. What I did not realize was that I should have been doing that "while in safemode" As they were checked under my usual user, they were NOT checked in the Administrator account, duh!!!!!!! I knew I was overlooking some important detail. The size of my index.dat file for Content IE.5 now reads 32kb rather than 2100 something!

Now I will try this on my old PC with WinME but that's probably a whole different set of steps!? Will see.

Thanks again for making me understand, that last post with the screenshots must have triggered something in my brain!

EDIT: should I go back and change the settings back to "don't show hidden files under the Administrator acct. in safemode or just leave it, or doesn't it matter?

Adirondack Girl

Cool - Thats why I post screenshots sometimes, a picture paints.....

Like I said in my original post, using XP Pro this is, for me, the easiest way to clear the index.dat as you only have to log off, boogie with CTRL+ALT+DEL and login as Admin. If I had to boot to safe mode to do it I probably wouldn't bother. I'm not that paranoid about the index.dat file but I like to spring clean occasionally.

Dont worry about the hidden folders setting in the Admin profile

You can see what I mean now about the different way Explorer represents the TIF folder when logged in as the same and a different user now

yes, a picture paints a.....................
And I do see the light now, I love it when I learn and understand something new!, Thanks Steve!

Adirondack Girl

>hi, bob,
>
>i just went back and did it again, this time the only thing i
>checked to be washed was index.dat. i went under browser/IE
>and did the same thing. checked, and it is still there. i
>didn't see any sign about Bleach, tho.
>
>do i need to re-boot? i haven't done that for a few hours,
>for a change. tho as i said the other files were
>cleared.
>
>~~~~~~~
>
>randy, thanks. it's starting to make sense now.
>
>sophie

Yes you have to reboot so the index.dat file will be deleted and recreated. I would also wash the Temporary Internet Files as well.




Click here to visit My PC Clinic

okay, i had to come back to update and confess...

first- i re-booted and the dang thing is still there. Bob, do you have the paid-for version? do you think that is the difference? am i being a pain in the heinie?

second- i wonder why it says IE5 when i am running IE6?

third- Darren, i tried your method, and i got as far as EXPL.EXE and end process, when it gave me a very scary message, and i did panic.

how can i be sure the task manager will still be there? because it is a windows process and not an IE process?

sophie

>okay, i had to come back to update and confess...
>
>first- i re-booted and the dang thing is still there. Bob,
>do you have the paid-for version? do you think that is the
>difference? am i being a pain in the heinie?
>
>second- i wonder why it says IE5 when i am running IE6?
>
>third- Darren, i tried your method, and i got as far as
>EXPL.EXE and end process, when it gave me a very scary
>message, and i did panic.
>
> how can i be sure the task manager will still be there?
>because it is a windows process and not an IE process?
>
>sophie

Yes I have the paid version. I never tried the trail version so I don't don't know if that is what is giving you a problem or not. Why don't you just install MoveOnBoot from the link I provided above and right click on the index.dat file in Windows Explorer and reboot. It will delete it and Windows will rebuild it.




Click here to visit My PC Clinic

>second- i wonder why it says IE5 when i am running IE6?

Cus when M$ updated IE they didn't change the name of the folder it uses for TIF. Everyone's says Content.IE5 - don't worry about it .

Sofie ,I just came across this . Maybe it would be of some interest

System Security Suite

Jane

Follow my directions...print them. Don't be afraid. The warning is normal.

>third- Darren, i tried your method, and i got as far as
>EXPL.EXE and end process, when it gave me a very scary
>message, and i did panic.
>
>how can i be sure the task manager will still be there?
>because it is a windows process and not an IE process?
>
>sophie

yes, that's the message that scared me.

but i did it anyway.

once, twice, and now i fly back and forth.

>>>Press enter and you should be in the Content.IE5 directory

is this still in the command promt window?

Yes. If you type DIR and press enter while in there, you should see the index.dat file. Make sure the command prompt window is the only thing open (close Task manager too) when you do the DEL index.dat command.

>is this still in the command promt window?

The index.dat file that collects URLs can be cleared of URLs and reset to 32 KBs by checking the box to Delete all offline content after you choose Delete Files in Intenet Options.

i have spent an hour or two on this every nite.

just so you know, i didn't give up.

i have continued going thru the command prompt window, thinking i was just one step away. i had copied and pasted the path, so i was sure it was right. however, setting me in the Command Promt window is like hansel and gretel in the Black Forest. (have been thru books, MS knowledge base, etc. to see where i was incorrect.) i finally got to the point where it asked me 'are you sure?' i typed Y and hit enter.

it's still there.

telo, i will use your method next time, but right now, it's too easy. i'm bound and determined to figure this out. BTW, if i delete all off-line content, would that be only index.dat?

jane, thanks for adding that link. it looks handy, and i now want to investigate those "BHO's", too.

thank you very much.

sophie

i have spent an hour or two on this every nite.
It takes about 10 seconds my way.

if i delete all off-line content, would that be only index.dat?
It doesn't delete index.dat, it empties it. It's the same result as deleting it and having Windows create a new one. Yes, it deletes offline content, such as content you told IE to make available offline as in the Favorites Wizard.

>i have spent an hour or two on this
>every nite.
>It takes about 10 seconds my way.
>
>if i delete all off-line content, would
>that be only index.dat?
>It doesn't delete index.dat, it empties it. It's the same
>result as deleting it and having Windows create a new one.
>Yes, it deletes offline content, such as content you told IE
>to make available offline as in the Favorites Wizard.
>
>
>
>

It does not resize the index.dat file like a delete does. At least on my system that is the way it works.




Click here to visit My PC Clinic

Mine usually shows 32 KB from habitual cleaning. It definitely clears URLs. ????

Telo, if i knew what i was doing, it wouldn't take this long!!!

and as Ranger Bob says, i want to make the file smaller.

>Telo, if i knew what i was doing, it wouldn't take this
>long!!!
>
>and as Ranger Bob says, i want to make the file smaller.
>
>
>
>

You are going to have to delete it to do that. I recommend you download the MoveOnBoot program from the link I provided above and install it. It gives you a new option in Windows Explorer that will allow you to select a file to be deleted on your next boot. A new empty index.dat file will be built when you bootup in Windows.




Click here to visit My PC Clinic

no sh_t, you will never believe this.

used Moveon.

re-booted.

opened temp files\IE5 etc.- gone! (YAHOO!!! HUGE sigh of relief!)

used idex.dat viewer- they were still there!!!

AAARGH!!!

sophie

>no sh_t, you will never believe this.
>
>used Moveon.
>
>re-booted.
>
>opened temp files\IE5 etc.- gone! (YAHOO!!! HUGE sigh of
>relief!)
>
>used idex.dat viewer- they were still there!!!
>
>AAARGH!!!
>
>sophie

What is still there? Isn't the size now 32k? If you are running Windows XP the path to the index.dat is:

C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\index.dat

Is this the file you are looking at?





Click here to visit My PC Clinic

yes, that is the path i am taking, Bob. Index.dat is no longer there.

>>>the only file there is Content:IE5. opened, this has seven meaningless-to-me folders and index.dat. date modified: 10/15/03

there are now eight folders in the list. none modified this year, nor are any the same size that index.dat was.

what is still there is that the index.dat viewer still lists all the url's.

gotta go for a while- haircut. thanks for the help- i KNOW it's frustrating!

sophie

>yes, that is the path i am taking, Bob. Index.dat is no
>longer there.
>
>>>>the only file there is Content:IE5. opened, this has
>seven meaningless-to-me folders and index.dat. date
>modified: 10/15/03
>
>there are now eight folders in the list. none
>modified this year, nor are any the same size that index.dat
>was.
>
>what is still there is that the index.dat viewer still lists
>all the url's.
>
>gotta go for a while- haircut. thanks for the help- i KNOW
>it's frustrating!
>
>sophie
>

Ok when you right click on the Index.dat file and tell it to be deleted on the next boot doesn't the size and date change?

I had never used index.dat viewer before so I downloaded it to see what it did, I have always used Spider. It looks like what you may be seeing is your IE History and any Cookies you have saved. At least that is what I see in my Index.dat.




Click here to visit My PC Clinic

Hi all: Hope somebody still here to read this. Sophie, I was just wondering if you were using "INDEX.DAT VIEWER V2.1" from http://www.exits.ro/index-dat-viewer.html . If it's the same program, I just Installed it and SpyBOT S&D Flagged 5 or 6 "CoolWWWSearch" Entries. With that being said, I promptly Uninstalled it and Trashed the leftover entries. If it isn't the same program, Which would be a good "Free" program to View the "index.dat" file? Also, Ranger Bob, you mentioned a Program call "Spider". What is it and what does it do. Is it Free? I also want to get rid of my "index.dat" File every so often. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

Ken:

>Hi all: Hope somebody still here to read this. Sophie, I was
>just wondering if you were using "INDEX.DAT VIEWER V2.1" from
> http://www.exits.ro/index-dat-viewer.html . If it's the same
>program, I just Installed it and SpyBOT S&D Flagged 5 or 6
>"CoolWWWSearch" Entries. With that being said, I promptly
>Uninstalled it and Trashed the leftover entries. If it isn't
>the same program, Which would be a good "Free" program to View
>the "index.dat" file? Also, Ranger Bob, you mentioned a
>Program call "Spider". What is it and what does it do. Is it
>Free? I also want to get rid of my "index.dat" File every so
>often. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
>
>Ken:

I just checked and yes I had it also. I cleared it with CWShredder and then check with SpyBot to see if anything was still picked up and it was clear. I had downloaded the program from the same location as you.

You can download Spider from here:

http://www.fsm.nl/ward/




Click here to visit My PC Clinic

hi, Ken,

yes, i had used that viewer. thanks, i didn't catch those.

i had uninstalled SpybotSD sometime during this whole process (that was another thread! ) and not got around to re-installing yet. the original plan is to run adaware, spybot, spywareblaster, then defrag, after i delete index.dat, and see if i can get rid of some of those URL's like Bonzai Buddy and see how much space i can re-claim.

~~~~~~~~~

when i go to Windows Explore and check out the cookies, there are presently 22 plus one Index.dat file that is now 800 KB. created 2-13-04. so i don't know if index.dat split and became index.dat plus the new 8th file in the IE5. the 8th file doesn't say the size. the index.dat viewer, run one last time before it's uninstallation, still has many.

Bob, i will run Spider next time.

sophie

>when i go to Windows Explore and check out the cookies, there
>are presently 22 plus one Index.dat file that is now 800 KB.
>created 2-13-04. so i don't know if index.dat split and
>became index.dat plus the new 8th file in the IE5. the 8th
>file doesn't say the size. the index.dat viewer, run one last
>time before it's uninstallation, still has many.
>
>Bob, i will run Spider next time.
>
>sophie

Sophie these are not the index.dat's that you really need to worry about. I believe these are from your IE History. The one that is going to really grow on you is the index.dat in C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5. I found the only way I could navigate to this file in Windows XP was to create a shortcut.




Click here to visit My PC Clinic

>>Hi all: Hope somebody still here to read this. Sophie, I
>was
>>just wondering if you were using "INDEX.DAT VIEWER V2.1"
>from
>> http://www.exits.ro/index-dat-viewer.html . If it's the
>same
>>program, I just Installed it and SpyBOT S&D Flagged 5 or 6
>>"CoolWWWSearch" Entries. With that being said, I promptly
>>Uninstalled it and Trashed the leftover entries. If it
>isn't
>>the same program, Which would be a good "Free" program to
>View
>>the "index.dat" file? Also, Ranger Bob, you mentioned a
>>Program call "Spider". What is it and what does it do. Is
>it
>>Free? I also want to get rid of my "index.dat" File every
>so
>>often. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
>>
>>Ken:
>
>I just checked and yes I had it also. I cleared it with
>CWShredder and then check with SpyBot to see if anything was
>still picked up and it was clear. I had downloaded the program
>from the same location as you.
>
>You can download Spider from here:
>
>http://www.fsm.nl/ward/
>
>
>
>
>Click here to visit My PC Clinic


Thanks Ranger Bob: I did a Google Search earlier for "Spider" and about a hundred different variables to no avail, but thats OK. Now I'm an Expert on just about every type of Spider - "Arachnoid".

Ken:

A small, free, utility (among others).

EHistoryView v1.20
<http://nirsoft.cjb.net/>
<http://freehost14.websamba.com/nirsoft/utils/iehv.html>

Each time that you type a URL in the address bar or click on a link in Internet Explorer browser, the URL address is automatically added to the history index file. When you type a sequence of characters in the address bar, Internet Explorer automatically suggests you all URLs that begins with characters sequence that you typed (unless AutoComplete feature for Web addresses is turned off). However, Internet Explorer doesn't allow you to view and edit the entire URL list that it stores inside the history file.

This utility reads all information from the history file on your computer, and displays the list of all URLs that you have visited in the last few days. It also allows you to select one or more URL addresses, and then remove them from the history file or save them into text, HTML or XML file. In addition, you are allowed to view the visited URL list of other user profiles on your computer, and even access the visited URL list on a remote computer, as long as you have permission to access the history folder.



Index.dat has been discussed many times here. A couple prior threads (among others).

items appearing in IE History
<http://www.pcqanda.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=2&topic_id=259165>

Still in the dark re IE History items
<http://www.pcqanda.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=2&topic_id=263198>

Try getting to a DOS prompt with a bootdisk, then change to the C: drive and type: attrib /s index.dat , just to see how many of these suckers there really are.

The way with '98 & ME is to use Delindex.bat from www.burzurq.com which takes the index.dat files out on reboot by firing up in DOS.

Now all you need is someone to write the same program for XP which you can run off of a bootdiskette.

Maybe CCleaner will take them all out on XP.

I'm trying to use the "moveonboot" program as stated earlier but I'm just having trouble actually finding that folder to paste into "moveonboot" C:\documents and settings\myusername\local settings\temporary internet files\content.IE5, even after doing a search, see above where I did find a file that I am confused as to whether it is the one I should be using.

Adirondack Girl

Have you tried unhiding the hidden files and folders so you can see the index.dat files?

Your ATTRIB method for finding files, will find them regardless of their attributes (ie: hidden).

From the update details on the website;http://www.ccleaner.com/ it appears that CCleaner does work with XP as well.

I've used it to see what Window Washer was doing on my 98 box and, when they're done, both leave a selection of 1 and 32KB index.dat files with no readable content.

Just have to be careful with the Registry cleaning part of CCleaner because it won't backup automatically, you have to choose to do it each time.