index.dat - can it be cleared?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Babel17delany
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Babel17delany

Is there an easy way to clear the content of Index.dat in Windows XP?
Are there downloadable programs to do this for XP?
 
You may find third party applications that clear index.dat (or claim to).
But the truth is: There is no need to clear the indexes. This is one of the
most enduring myths on the Internet.

Ted Zieglar
 
Thank you very much for your reply.

If you don't mind, might I ask two more related questions:

1. This may sound silly, but is the program truly SAFE to use with XP?
I ask this because I once used with XP two cleaning programs that I used
without difficulty in Windows 98. I ended up with a system crash ("NTLDR
Is Missing" ) that was very difficult to recover from (and required much
phone time with manufacturer's technical support). Is this program truly
made for XP?

2. I'm not sure I understand the need for ".NET Framework". If I
remember correctly, ".Net" is a Microsoft program that has something to
do with "Passport" and is used to enter passwords and such. Please
correct me if I am wrong about this. If this is what ".Net" refers to,
I elected to not install it. Why is ".Net" required for CleanCache to
work? Is ".Net" a safe program to install?

Thank you very much for your time and expertise.
 
But what if I want to remove information about how I used a computer
from a machine that others may have access to?
 
Thank you very much for your reply.

If you don't mind, might I ask two more related questions:

1. This may sound silly, but is the program truly SAFE to use with XP? I
ask this because I once used with XP two cleaning programs that I used
without difficulty in Windows 98. I ended up with a system crash ("NTLDR
Is Missing" ) that was very difficult to recover from (and required much
phone time with manufacturer's technical support). Is this program truly
made for XP?

2. I'm not sure I understand the need for ".NET Framework". If I
remember correctly, ".Net" is a Microsoft program that has something to
do with "Passport" and is used to enter passwords and such. Please
correct me if I am wrong about this. If this is what ".Net" refers to,
I elected to not install it. Why is ".Net" required for CleanCache to
work? Is ".Net" a safe program to install?

Thank you very much for your time and expertise.
Yes use Cleancache from www.buttuglysoftware.com (it is free) You can
Click to expand...
see my review of the product either by clicking on the review link on
the buttugly software website or visiting my web site at:
 
Babel17delany said:
2. I'm not sure I understand the need for ".NET Framework". If I
remember correctly, ".Net" is a Microsoft program that has something
to do with "Passport" and is used to enter passwords and such. Please
correct me if I am wrong about this. If this is what ".Net" refers
to, I elected to not install it. Why is ".Net" required for
CleanCache to work? Is ".Net" a safe program to install?

Thank you very much for your time and expertise.
Click to expand...

..NET Framework is needed to run programs written with the .NET tools like
DBXpress (www.oehelp.com).

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP, IE/OE
Please respond in Newsgroup only. Do not send email
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/
 
I, too, am not keen on downloading software to do such things. When I do
this, I log on as Administrator and then delete the index.dat from the
relevant <username>. Ideally, I'd like to do this automatically (perhaps
via a script which runs at logon or shutdown) every 2 - 4 weeks. I've
searched for this (and seen postings on scripting NGs) but to no avail. I
think I'll have to continue doing it manually.
 
Were you aware that Windows XP clears the index when you remove Temporary
Internet Files?

Ted Zieglar
 
..Net sounds harmless enough. I may have mistaken is for something else,
like "Passport".
 
Can I do any unintentional damage by simply deleting the entire
index.dat file? Can it even be done? I was under the impression that
since the file is always in use, it cannot be deleted.
 
I was not aware of this. Does this mean that when I clear usage tracks
with Spybot or with AdAware, the Index.dat is removed also?
 
hi i too have some problems relating to this index.dat files. Even after
clearing the temp internet files, index.dat exists in some folders which cant
be deleted.
Any help is highly appreciated
 
No - I moved from 98SE recently and couldn't delete the index.dat easily in
98SE. I recall that I had to delete it by using some script in the
autoexec.bat file (I think that's how it was done!). I was under the
impression that it couldn't be deleted in XP Pro when logged in as the user
who's index.dat I was trying to delete. I've never tried it though, as I
assumed that XP wouldn't allow me to do that.
 
CleanCache is perfectly safe to use on XP I use it daily.
Your second question has been answered elsewhere. .NET framework is needed
because CleanCache is written using >NET framework.
As for index.dat files they hold all the information contained in temporary
internet files/history etc. Simply deleting the contents of the temporary
internet files etc does *not* delete the relevant index.dat. I suggest you
try it. On a newly installed copy of xp the index.dat files register 16k.
when empty. As they are utilised the space increases. you may find that
yours are 32 or 64k. On deleting the temporary internet files from your pc
the files does not go back to 16k and is therefore not cleansed. Index dat
files can be deleted using dos commands which is basically what cleancache
does. This is done as your pc restarts, by using cleancache regularly you
always start with a 'clean' index dat file.
As I stated in my earlier post cleancache is free so why bother with scripts
when this application will do 'exactly what it says on the tin'
As a journalist it takes a lot to impress me where software is concerned and
I certainly don't recommend software lightly. I have tried dozens of so
called 'cleaners' and each time I come back to cleancache.
 
I don't know what "usage tracks" means, and I don't consider myself
qualified to answer questions about "Spybot" or Ad-Aware.

The indexes are cleared when your clear TIF either manually or automatically
with the close of each browser session. Both can be done through Internet
Explorer > Tools > Internet Options or Control Panel > Internet Options.

In the 9x versions of Windows, the indexes were not always completely
cleared when TIF was cleared, and so index.dat used to grow and grow,
sometimes to several MB in size. Thus, people used to include commands in
autoexec to delete index.dat during startup, before Windows loaded.

The index.dat problem has been fixed in Windows XP, but apparently old
habits die hard. Windows XP also incorporates NT-style user accounts. When
these are setup correctly, users cannot see each others documents, among
them the indexes.

Ted Zieglar
 
"On deleting the temporary internet files from your pc the files does not go
back to 16k and is therefore not cleansed."

As one who used to delete the indexes during my Windows 9x days, I was
interested to see if this was still needed in XP. After 2.5 years of using
XP, I have never noticed the indexes increasing in size beyond the default.

Ted Zieglar
 
Where do I download ".Net" from, which the CleanCache site says I need
to be able to operate their software?
 
I was able to delete index.dat from 98SE with a downloaded program - it
cost me about $20 and worked well. Unfortunately, I believe that when I
transferred the program to XP it may have been the cause of a major crash.
 
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