non-existent folder !

J

Jeff

This is a weird one. XP Home SP-2

Searching for tmp files (using Agent Ransack) I found some in a directory
named

c:\Documents and Setting
\username\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5

Using Agent Ransack I can by double clicking go to that folder which
contains a number of other folders, some of which contain a large number of
files with 0 size. What is weird is that if I click on the up button, it
takes me up one level which contains 2 folders:
Content.MSO and Content.IE5, and if I click up again, it takes me to the
c:\Documents and Setting\username\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files
folder. But if I open the
c:\Documents and Setting\username\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files
folder, it no longer shows that it contains Content.MSO and Content.IE5 !!

I do have the settings to show hidden files, and this is AFTER I used "Disk
Cleanup" to delete all "temporary files" and all "Temporary Internet Files",
so this is really peculiar. Also means that Disk Cleanup is far from really
cleaning up.

Can I safely delete the large number of 0 size files name "file"?
 
M

Mikhail Zhilin

CONTENT.IE5 is the specific folder: it organizes Temporary Internet
Files logical folder (IE cache), and in Explorer it is shown as the
single folder, but not as the directory and subdirectories.

It is the main difference between terms "folder" and "directory": while
directory is the well-ordered files structure on the drive -- folder is
the logical structure that can consist either (in the most cases) of the
single directory, or of the several ones -- which can be even at the
several drives (like Recycle Bin folder).

And -- yes, you can delete all these 0-bytes files manually -- but you
can also use from time to time the native IE tool: Internet Options --
General tab -- Temporary Internet Files: Delete Files. Then all the
files in these subdirectories will be deleted: usually no need to keep
too old files in OE cache.

--
Mikhail Zhilin
http://www.aha.ru/~mwz
Sorry, no technical support by e-mail.
Please reply to the newsgroups only.
======
 
M

Mikhail Zhilin

Then all the
files in these subdirectories will be deleted: usually no need to keep
too old files in OE cache.
Click to expand...

Sorry, in IE cache, of course.

--
Mikhail Zhilin
http://www.aha.ru/~mwz
Sorry, no technical support by e-mail.
Please reply to the newsgroups only.
======
 
W

Wesley Vogel

In addition to what Mikhail posted.

Smoke and mirrors.

Anything in Content.IE5 or Content.MSO can safely be deleted.

Zero byte files in TIF

[[Note: when viewing Newsgroup messages Outlook Express dumps a series of
zero-byte files into the TIF. When Outlook Express is closed it fails to
cleanup these files. To delete these zero-byte files you must select the
option "Delete all offline files".]]

From...
Internet Explorer Tips and Tricks
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/ietips.htm

[[Outlook Express 5.5 and 6 place a zero byte file in TIF for every message
that you read. These files are only visible from Start | Find | Files or
Folders, not from Windows Explorer. ]]

[[The easy way to get rid of them if you use OE 5.5 or 6 is to open Internet
Explorer and go to Tools | Internet Options. In the Temporary Internet Files
Section choose "Delete files". In the next dialogue check the box for
"Delete all offline content" and click "OK".]]

From...
CA* files in TIF
http://www.fjsmjs.com/OE/CA.htm

-----

I do know that there are people with Content.IE5 folders that never get
emptied. Before I started deleting index.dats, they would grow so large
that Notepad would puke before opening them.

You ever see what kind of crap is in the "cache"? I clean mine out daily,
if not more often. I use OE for newsgroups. OE creates a zero byte file
for every message read. Plus wbkXYZ.tmp files when you Save a message your
working on, every time you hit Save. Yes some of this gets emptied when you
close IE & OE, but not all.
-----

You do not have to *see* the Content.IE5 folder to delete its contents.

To delete *all* Temporary Internet Files...

1) Start | Run | Type: inetcpl.cpl | OK
Or right click the Internet Explorer icon on your Desktop.
Or: Start | Settings | Control Panel | Internet Options.
Best to do this with all instances of Internet Explorer closed. Especially
if there are a large number of files.
2) On the General Tab, in the middle of the screen, click on Delete Files
3) Check the box Delete all offline content {This cleans >> C:\Documents
and Settings\YourNameHere\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files AND
C:\Documents and Settings\YourNameHere\Local Settings\Temporary Internet
Files\Content.IE5 and \Content.MSO (Created by an MS Office program)
4) Click on OK and wait for the hourglass icon to stop after it deletes the
temporary internet files
5) You can now click on Delete Cookies and click OK to delete cookies that
websites have placed on your hard drive.
-----

If you want, try this: Open IE | Tools | Internet Options | Advanced tab |
scroll down to the bottom | check: Empty Temporary Internet Files folder
when browser is closed | click Apply | OK. Entirely up to you, but if you
want to be rid of this, it is done automatically. Deletes the content of
C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name Here\Local Settings\Temporary Internet
Files but not the Content.IE5 or Content.MSO folders.

Also: Start IE | Tools | Internet Options | General tab | Days to keep
pages in history: 0 | Apply | OK.
-----

To view:
C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name Here\Local Settings\Temporary Internet
Files

Start | Run | Type: inetcpl.cpl | OK
Or right click the Internet Explorer icon on your Desktop.
Or: Start | Settings | Control Panel | Internet Options.
General tab | Settings button | View Files button

To view:
C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name Here\Local Settings\Temporary Internet
Files\Content.IE5 AND \Content.MSO

Start | Run | Type: cleanmgr | OK | Highlight Temporary Internet Files |
View Files button

Or...

Start | Run | Type: %tmp% | OK |

You will probably have to click the Folders button on the Tool Bar.
Click: [+] Temporary Internet Files
Click: [+] Content.IE5
Click: Random named folders
View
You can also view Content.MSO

Or...

Start | Run | Paste this in the box:

%homepath%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5

Click OK.
You can also view Content.MSO

Note: Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe) will *not* clean:
C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name Here\Local Settings\Temporary Internet
Files\Content.IE5

I don't know why you can view the Content.IE5 folder with Disk Cleanup but
it won't clean the folder.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
 
W

Wesley Vogel

You betcha. Keep having fun. :)

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
 

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