TIF index.dat files

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KB - 28 Jun 2005 23:43 GMT

I've been getting up to 12 TIF, Content.IEF subfolders with the usual random
names. They each contain a single file named, index.dat, which resist
manual deletion. I get a warning asking if I should delete the 'system
files' and when I do delete them, Windows Explorer hangs for a couple
minutes and then will close normally.

Is this normal? I'm running IE6SP1 with broadband. All critical updates
installed, malware highly unlikely.

Any replies would be greatly appreciated.

KB

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Mike M - 28 Jun 2005 23:53 GMT

You should only have one index.dat file in your Temporary Internet Files
folder located in the folder Content.IE5. Content.IE5 also contains a
number of randomly named folders, usually created four at a time, with
four created for roughly each 50MB of Temporary Internet Files. How are
you seeing this file? If by using Windows Explorer it is quite possibly
an illusion, just as each of the randomly named folders appears to contain
the same files. They don't, what happens is that Explorer aggregates the
contents of all the folders making them all appear to have the same
contents. In a similar fashion some files are hidden by Windows Explorer
as can again be established by looking at the contents of the various
folders from a DOS prompt. For example Outlook Express puts files in TIF
for each message viewed and these cannot normally be see using Windows
Explorer.

Index.dat, being an index, is in continual use whilst the operating system
is running and can only be deleted, if this is felt to be necessary, from
DOS after booting from a boot floppy. A number of third party utilities
also exist that can be used to delete index.dat as part of the bootup
sequence.

Signature

Mike Maltby MS-MVP
mike.maltby@gmail.com

> I've been getting up to 12 TIF, Content.IEF subfolders with the usual
> random names. They each contain a single file named, index.dat,
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> KB

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KB - 29 Jun 2005 00:31 GMT

Mike:
Yes, I am using Windows Explorer to see this. I failed to mention that the
file desktop.ini is also seen in the TIF subfolders. I don't think any
subfolder ever hits 50MB in file content.

So, is it possible that my deleting of the desktop.ini and index.dat
'illusions' is causing Windows Explorer to hang for a couple minutes? I had
an illusion I knew I what I was doing the other day <g>.

Oh, wait a minute, when I delete the TIF folders and files I also delete the
Content.IE5 folder. Suppose this could be an incorrect execution on my
part.

Thanks, Mike.

KB

> You should only have one index.dat file in your Temporary Internet Files
> folder located in the folder Content.IE5. Content.IE5 also contains a
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> >
> > KB

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Mike M - 29 Jun 2005 01:24 GMT

KB,

No sub-folder should normally exceed 12 or 13 MB. As I said previously,
they are created in sets of four for roughly each 50MB of files in the
TIF.

If you re-read my previous post you will see that I explained that it is
impossible to delete the file index.dat whilst Win Me is running. To do
this requires booting to DOS from a floppy or using the wininit system as
Win Me boots. Deleting the desktop.ini files achieves little, they will
just be automatically recreated by the operating system as also will
happen if you delete the folder Content.IE5 and/or the file index.dat.
The randomly named folders will also be recreated, with new random 8
character alphanumeric names, in sets of four as the TIF becomes
populated.

Signature

Mike Maltby MS-MVP
mike.maltby@gmail.com

> Mike:
> Yes, I am using Windows Explorer to see this. I failed to mention
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> delete the Content.IE5 folder. Suppose this could be an incorrect
> execution on my part.

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KB - 29 Jun 2005 01:55 GMT

Read your post several times, Mike.

But I did delete the index.dat files from all IE5 subfolders and IE5 itself.
Really, they're deleted when looking through Windows Explorer. Possibly an
illusion but possibly a reason that Windows Explorer hangs. Maybe the hang
is waiting for the recreation of the IE5 folder.

My question is:
Is deleting the IE5 folder itself a bad practice.

I do appreciate your feedback and would like to know the answer to 'My
question is'.

If I'm 'offline', just let me know and I'll move on. But, please don't
'dismiss' my question as "User doesn't know what he's talking about" as I've
experienced this in numerous occassions.

The system's clean and quite fast, other than the slow boot which I can
accept. Win XP'ers who've seen it run are quite impressed with the speed.
It's also quite stable, thanks to the newsgroup's help. When I ask my wife,
who's the most frequent user, "Has it locked lately", the answer is (after
thinking for a while) No, to which I reply "Great" and in an attempt for
appretiation, "You're welcome".

I'm happy with it other than the question at hand which I'd really
appreciate guidance with. I try to not post questions as I've grown
educated with WinME, thanks to this forum's help. As I've grown to
appreciate, you're the guy who would know.

Thanks again, Mike.

KB

> KB,
>
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]
> > delete the Content.IE5 folder. Suppose this could be an incorrect
> > execution on my part.

Reply to this Message

Mike M - 29 Jun 2005 03:05 GMT

Let's me repeat once again, it is impossible, yes impossible, to delete
index.dat whilst Windows is running. That's correct, impossible. If you
think that you have deleted an index.dat file in a Temporary Internet
Folder whilst Win Me was running then the folder concerned was either not
the Temporary Internet Files folder being used by the system or
alternatively the file you deleted was a file of the same name that you
just happened to have downloaded when browsing.

> My question is:
> Is deleting the IE5 folder itself a bad practice.

Not bad practice but instead somewhat pointless and also impossible whilst
Win Me is running although you can delete each of the individual
sub-folders. It is however good practice to a) set the size of the folder
to a low size (I use 25-30MB), and b) clear it regularly, The easiest way
to clear the TIF, although this does not delete index.dat, is to use the
GUI provided. Control Panel | Internet Options | General and click
"Delete Files" and then check the box to also "delete all offline content"
when prompted.

Please also note that as I explained in a previous post but again one you
may have missed, is that Windows Explorer does not show you all of the
content of the Temporary Internet Files but rather only some of them. It
also shows files that are not actually stored in any of the folders of
your TIF, namely your cookies which are actually stored in another folder,
by default on a single user system, in windows\cookies.

Signature

Mike Maltby MS-MVP
mike.maltby@gmail.com

> Read your post several times, Mike.
>
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
> educated with WinME, thanks to this forum's help. As I've grown to
> appreciate, you're the guy who would know.

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KB - 29 Jun 2005 03:36 GMT

Have a good day, Mike.

> Let's me repeat once again, it is impossible, yes impossible, to delete
> index.dat whilst Windows is running. That's correct, impossible. If you
[quoted text clipped - 52 lines]
> > educated with WinME, thanks to this forum's help. As I've grown to
> > appreciate, you're the guy who would know.

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