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Thread ID: 44576	2004-04-23 09:29:00	Index.dat files	Rogerwilco (4455)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
231577	2004-04-24 11:45:00	Thank you all for your contris. A friend with the same prob as me was sent off to : www.techtv.com Which gives much the same advice as Terry's reply. I've made a simple .bat file cls del index.dat /s shutdown -r which works like a charm. Thanks again, 4Mb disk space recovered. RW	Rogerwilco (4455)
231578	2004-04-25 00:03:00	I have been using a program called the Index Dat Suite to deal with index.dat files for quite some time now. It scans for all the index.dats on your system then writes a .bat file and shoves a key in the Runonce registry entry which enables the machine to delete all the index.dats at boot. Its the most efficient and simple tool for this I have found. It also cleans out other unwanted files if required. I highly recommend this tool for its ease of use and is efficiency in dealing with the problem of index.dats. It can be obtained for free at the following address. www.it-mate.co.uk There are comprehensive instructions at the linked site for its use.	John Grieve (367)
231579	2004-04-25 01:24:00	While we are on this subject, since index.dat files are written for temporary internet files, cookies and several other records, I have always followed a policy of deleting the folder of files first, then disposing of the associated index.dat file. I have been doing this with a batch file as mentioned earlier in this thread. My reasoning was this: If the index file diappears first, then the contents of some of these files could lose their referencing data (their index) and in the absence of any authoritative information to the contrary, I assumed that orphaned files/fragments might be left behind. Alternatively, if the folder data was not deleted at all, then the freshly created index.dat files might siphon up the existing data in the associated folders and I'd be pretty much back where I started. For example, if I deleted the index.dat files associated with temporary internet files, would Windows be able to clear them properly if I then used the "delete all temporary internet files" function in IE>Tools>Internet Options etc? There seems little purpose in building huge index files if they do not link to the original data for some purpose or other conspiracy theorists and Evil Empire opponents need not post responses to this observation or any questions that follow. I have suffered absolutely no adverse consequences from following this course as all index.dat files are automatically recreated, but is there any point in doing it? Does anybody know the actual technical purpose of these files? Cheers Billy 8-{)	Billy T (70)
231580	2004-04-25 06:55:00	I dont think anybody really knows what index.dat are really used for, except those in the inner sanctum of Microsoft, and that is why the conspiracy theorists have a field day..... Maybe they are right :)	Terry Porritt (14)
231581	2004-04-25 07:59:00	Hi Terry In Safe Mode I went to C:\ and typed delindex and it said it did not know the file. I then typed dir and sure enough the file is there. Thought then that maybe I should type "run delindex" but that was no good. Cannot remember seeing > after the C:\ thought it might have well been there, or perhaps I should be entering that symbol ? The little bit of DOS knowledge I had is a bit rusty, though I have now decided against throwing out my MS DOS 5.0 Users Manual. Misty ?:|	Misty (368)
231582	2004-04-25 09:14:00	Terry: Thanks for that second .bat file, it cleared out the remaining index.dat files bar the Cookie one. Bit of a mystery why that got left behind but it is no big deal. :-) Rogerwilco: The webpage you have given a link to appears to be out of date now. :-( John: The Index Dat Suite is a beaut, thanks for putting us onto that one. It is a modern version of Spider only much better. Another one for the toolbox. ;-) :-) > I have suffered absolutely no adverse consequences from following this course as all index.dat files are automatically recreated, but is there any point in doing it? Any point in deleting the index.dat files? Yes, I think so. I heard today that one of the computers I cleaned last week now runs as though it has a rocket on its back after I deleted the 120MB index.dat file. It was quite satisfying to hear that. :-) > In Safe Mode I went to C:\ and typed delindex and it said it did not know the file. That is strange, Misty. That is all I did in my Win XP and it worked for me. Are you using Windows ME?	Susan B (19)
231583	2004-04-25 09:14:00	> I dont think anybody really knows what > index.dat are really used for, except those in > the inner sanctum of Microsoft, and that is why the > conspiracy theorists have a field day..... Maybe they > are right :) This could also be true Terry :| Trouble is, every time I try to reason my way through it all, my brain implodes and I have to have a few drams of the well known restorative substances and a good lie down before I am much use for anything again. Cheers Billy 8-{) :D	Billy T (70)
231584	2004-04-25 20:40:00	Misty make sure the file is saved as delindex.bat, otherwise Notepad or other text editor will save it as delindex.txt, and that will not run. Maybe also you need to enable seeing file extensions in Folder Options otherwisw by default Microsoft tries to prevent people from seeing what sort of files they have on their computer, :)	Terry Porritt (14)
231585	2004-04-26 08:53:00	Susan. TechTV link works ok but not from PF1 post when it's copied & pasted. Here it is again by hand but I've omitted the http www to get it all on one line techtv.com/screensavers/windowstips/story/0,24330,3668551,00.html I've copied/pasted the above into Google & it works ok without the http/www Thanks for your interest (and I don't know why this post goes into emphasised state) RW	Rogerwilco (4455)
231586	2004-04-26 22:44:00	Thanks Roger, I have got there now. :-)	Susan B (19)
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