Index??

[Paul sw6]

It's in my temp internet files and in my cookies folder. i try and delete it, but it wont let me, keeps saying it's in use. So i try and open it and a box comes up (it keeps flashing), and in the title bar it says download, but once it starts to flash that's it i cant stop it,i cant do anyting with the computer at all, i have to reboot it to get rid of it, Anyone know what it is? or how i can get rid of it?
Name=Index
Type=Date file
Size=160KB

[mike breck]

Hi Paul sw6,

What Windows version do you have?

Index.dat is a file that records your Internet activity. You can't delete it while Windows is running. You have to do it in DOS.

Press the Ctrl key while booting. At the DOS Bootmenu choose "Command Prompt".

At the C:\> prompt type (without the commas):

"deltree c:/windows/tempor~1/content.ie5" ( or 6 )

and press Enter.

A new index.dat file will be created again when Windows starts, so you just need to run the DOS command every so often to delete it and start fresh.

You can't boot to the Command Prompt in Windows Me (unless you have a DOS patch). However, you can boot from a Win98 Startup disk, change from the A:\> prompt to the C:\> prompt by typing "C:" and typing the DOS command.

Or I believe you can use Me Startup Disk and at the Startup menu, choose the Minimal Boot option, and press Enter.
At the Command prompt, type "C:", and then press Enter.
Then carry on as above.

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong on that.

HTH

[Paul sw6]

I have windows 98. I will delete it as you say, but it will come back again?. How can you open it.

[mike breck]

Yes, a new, fresh file will be rebuilt when. However, if you're worried about security you can just delete it periodically.

To be quite honest, I just leave it and delete the cookies and temp files.

Sometimes you can open it in Notepad or Wordpad - but sometimes it won't let you.

HTH

[Paul sw6]

I tryed to delete it like you said, but i couldn't do it, i couldn't work out when to press ctrl. I would just leave it alone, but it's just anoying to think, when i try to open it, it flashes and wont stop untill i reboot.

[glc]

You are not supposed to try to open it. It's a database type index for your cookies, offline content, and temporary internet files. If you delete it, it's just going to recreate itself anyway.

[Paul sw6]

If your not supposed to open it thats fine, but, if i click on it in WE or my cookies, it flashes a download box, it wont stop, i cant do anything with my computer untill i reboot. What's the point in it being there if you cant open it. Still i'm new to all this computer stuff, only had one for 6 months, it will be fun learning.

[Iman74]

Just because something is there doesn't mean you have to open it. If you keep that way of thinking then you are going to drive yourself crazy. There will be tons of files that you shouldn't or won't know how to open. Start getting used to it. Otherwise you will be in a hospital drooling and mumbling incoherent sentences :)

[mike breck]

Hi again Paul sw6,

Let me just clarify what I said above.

Index.dat is meant to be there by Microsoft design and will not be deleted when you clear out your Temporary Internet Folder. You cannot delete it this way.

Every URL, Web page, or emails that has been sent or received through Outlook or Outlook Express are logged there.

According to Microsoft, it is used to cache visited Web sites to help speed up the loading of Web pages in Internet Explorer.

So most people, myself included, just leave it alone and forget about it.

However some users (for reasons of privacy, security, or on principle) do not like this file gathering info on their Internet habits and will delete the file periodically to wipe out this data.

They may use a DOS method similar to the one above, a simple batch file, or a clean-up program to do it.

When you delete the file, as I've shown you above, the file will be rebuilt from scratch when IE starts again; however, all the previous information it held will gone.


The file can be opened and the contents read. Some have been able to open it in Notepad in Win98 (although I have not been able to do this) and others use third-party cleaning or viewing programs to do it.

So now you know what is is and what it does, you can decide to leave it alone or delete it regularly.

The choice is yours.

[Paul sw6]

As i say i'm new to all this, but i'm a good learner. DOS, Batch files etc, are all new to me, i dont really know what your on about. But thanks to you, at least i know what the "INDEX. DAT" is for :)