Clearing Temp Internet Files

I am at my in-laws computer and they have 33,000 TI Files!! So, I went to delete them and though the files cleared from view via MyComputer, Properties still shows that they are there.

So, I did my old trick and went to delete the folder from a dos prompt. No deal. It verified if I wanted to delete it, I said "y" and it proceeded to tell me "file not found ". Hmmmm. I checked properties again and the system box is checked. I seem to be at a dead end.

System details:

1. Compaq Presario 7360
2. They use AOL 7.0

I am not very well versed at AOL and evel less so at Compaq. So, please excuse any inherent stupidity with this inquiry.

Thanks,

Larry

 

Yours is not a stupid question. The path to Internet Explorer Temporary Internet files you are trying to delete depends on which OS and whether or not you have user profiles set up.

AOL is, well...different. And may track its TIF differently. I don't know. I've never used it. Hopefully an AOL user will read and have a suggestion for you.

 

There is a flaw in Internet Explorer. One of our work computers had a build up of 12,000 files using 968MB of space. Since the hard drive was only 3 gig, we had problems until we cleared the 968MB using the following. You may think the C:\WINDOWS\Temporary Internet Folder is empty if you use Norton System works, or windows Accessories, System tools, Disk Cleanup, or open the Temporary Internet Folder and manually delete the files. This is not the case, and that is the flaw.

To clear C:\WINDOWS\Temporary Internet Files in windows 95 or 98 of all files do the following.

Go to START, then Find,then Files and Folders.

In "Look in:" type the following: C:\WINDOWS\Temporary Internet Files

You will find folders and files, one folder is called:" Content.IE5" Note: if there are to many files you will get a massage that find file can not open. If this is the case go to Advanced and search only for "folders ". (If you have a different version of Internet Explorer, the folder name may be different)

Right click the Content.IE5 folder and go to Properties. You will see the number of files and the amount of space being used.

Delete the "Content.IE5" folder or any other folder that shows up . This will clear all files and folders in the Temporary Internet folder.

You will not be able to empty the following "index.dat" from the trash folder until you next restart your computer. All the other files and folders in the trash can be deleted at once. This will clean out the files and folders you deleted from the Temporary internet folder.

If you want more information and a different way to clear the Temporary Internet folder go to the Microsoft web site. http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q301057

Temporary Internet Files Use More Disk Space Than Specified (Q301057)
The information in this article applies to:

· Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 for Windows XP
· Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 for Windows 2000
· Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 5 , 5.01 , 5.01 Service Pack 1 , 5.01 Service Pack 2 , 5.5 , 5.5 Service Pack 1 , 5.5 Service Pack 2 , for Windows 2000
· Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 for Windows NT 4.0
· Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 5 , 5.01 , 5.01 Service Pack 1 , 5.01 Service Pack 2 , 5.5 , 5.5 Service Pack 1 , 5.5 Service Pack 2 , for Windows NT 4.0
· Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 for Windows Millennium Edition
· Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 5.5 , 5.5 Service Pack 1 , 5.5 Service Pack 2 , for Windows Millennium Edition
· Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 for Windows 98 Second Edition
· Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 5 , 5.01 , 5.01 Service Pack 1 , 5.01 Service Pack 2 , 5.5 , 5.5 Service Pack 1 , 5.5 Service Pack 2 , for Windows 98 Second Edition
· Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 for Windows 98
· Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 5 , 5.01 , 5.01 Service Pack 1 , 5.01 Service Pack 2 , 5.5 , 5.5 Service Pack 1 , 5.5 Service Pack 2 , for Windows 98
· Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 5 , 5.01 , 5.01 Service Pack 1 , 5.01 Service Pack 2 , 5.5 , 5.5 Service Pack 1 , 5.5 Service Pack 2 , for Windows 95
SYMPTOMS
You may experience either or both of the following symptoms:
· Your Temporary Internet Files folder may use more disk space than you specified in Amount of disk space to use (to locate Amount of disk space to use , click Settings on the General tab of the Internet Options dialog box).
· Files that are downloaded from Web sites may remain in your Temporary Internet Files folder (but are not visible in Windows Explorer) after you click Delete Files on the General tab of the Internet Options dialog box, and then click to select the Delete all offline content check box.

NOTE : By design, Windows Explorer uses the Desktop.ini and Index.dat files to provide the functionality of the Temporary Internet Files shell extension. Index.dat is the Internet Explorer cache index file. It facilitates the browser cache mechanism that speeds access to frequently accessed web pages across different browser processes in the same user context.Cookies are also displayed when you view the Temporary Internet Files folder in Windows Explorer, but these files are physically stored in your Cookies folder; this is also by design.
CAUSE
This problem can occur for any of the following reasons:

The content on a Web page is only partially downloaded (for example, if you click Stop while a page is still being opened, or if you navigate to another page before a page is completely downloaded).

You are downloading streaming video with the AxisCamControl ActiveX control (distributed by Axis Communications), which is used to stream live video from a camera.

Some of the files in the Temporary Internet Files folder are hidden, used by other processes, or otherwise protected files.

WORKAROUND
To work around this problem, move your Temporary Internet Files folder to another location, delete the old folder, and then (if you want to) move your Temporary Internet Files folder back to the original location:
1. In either My Computer or Windows Explorer, create a new folder.
2. In Internet Explorer, click Internet Options on the Tools menu.
3. On the General tab, click Settings under Temporary Internet Files .
4. In the Settings dialog box, click Move Folder under Temporary Internet Files folder .
5. Click the folder that you created in step 1, and then click OK .
6. If you are prompted to log off, click Yes , and then log on to Windows again. If you are not prompted to log off, click OK to close all of the dialog boxes.
7. In either My Computer or Windows Explorer, delete the old Temporary Internet Files folder, and then create a new folder in the same location with the same name.
8. Repeat steps two through six again, but in step five, click to select the new folder that you created in step seven.
NOTE : You must repeat this process when logged on as each user of the computer.

 

Thanks Roger, that will take a while to digest and am sure that it will solve my issues.

Lar

 

Try this program

I have been using a program called Spider for deleting most internet temp files it also deletes the dat file that holds a list of all sites visited full info Here and it's Free

 

I've started using a nice program that work on W98 and AOL. Cache and Cookie Washer. I like it and it seem to be thorough.'

From DOS, I realized that I was trying to delete via DEL instead of DELTREE.

Thanks to all! Lar

 

Go to http://www.langa.com/clean9x.htm and download his free clean9x bat file. It works great. Be sure to follow all the links on this page to read about what all it can do, but don't be intimated by the contents of all the contents of these pages. The file is safe to run and will really, I mean really, clean out all your Internet Temp Files. I have been using it since he first published it and it has kept my Win 98 SE PC very clean.

Please post back here if you have success (or failure).

Goodluck,

jrshami

 

Hi, I appreciate your offer. I have been really happy with the program I have now. You know the saying "the grass is greener..... ". Well, there are others that will certainly take you up on your offer but I'll stay put for now unless there is something insidious about my program that I an not aware of.

PS- Sorry that my last post was seemingly illiterate. Must have been in a hurry.

 

You're welcome. I notice that you haven't mentioned the name of the programme that you are using nor where it can be downloaded from. I would be grateful if were to share this information.

All the best.
Javaid

 

Hi, actually I did mention it. It really is called Cache and Cookie Washer!

http://www.webroot.com

Best regards, Larry

 

Excuse Me......

rogersch

Am I to understand that you can delete this folder safely and that it will recreate itself? I have been opening ALL the little folders under this one and deleting all content. Since I upgraded to IE6 I have more folders under this one that I did with IE5. I also have a 'desktop' file in each of those sub folders and it won't let me delete that. I don't remember having it with the IE5 version. Will there be a problem with deleting it enmasse? I don't really want to use a cache washer, since I don't mind going through my computer to do the weekly cleaning.

Thanks for the input.

 

It works on IE5x but I don't know about 6x. I am sure that someone else can, however!

 

Thank You

Thank you, LarryB, but that answer didn't help me. I just did a google search and in several places it said I can delete the whole folder and it WILL recreate a new one. I did notice something interesting, though. Even though I have IE6, the content folder is listed as IE5. Anyone know why? I do still need an answer as to why there is a DESKTOP file listed in each sub file and why it won't let me delete it. I'll keep watching this post and hope someone can give me a positive answer on it.

Thanks.

 

Thank You

Thank you, LarryB, but that answer didn't help me. I just did a google search and in several places it said I can delete the whole folder and it WILL recreate a new one. I did notice something interesting, though. Even though I have IE6, the content folder is listed as IE5. Anyone know why? I do still need an answer as to why there is a DESKTOP file listed in each sub file and why it won't let me delete it. I'll keep watching this post and hope someone can give me a positive answer on it.

Thanks.

 

I think that you should try out Cleanall9x by Fred Langa. It's free and very powerful. Read all about it here http://www.langa.com/clean9x.htm

Javaid

 

Thank you, jrshami, but as I menioned before, I really don't want to use another freebee program. After a while, it gets tiring having to keep track of all those neat little tweak programs. I don't mind cleaning my own machine and all I really need is an answer to my original question about deleting the whole folder and what affect it will have on the DESKTOP file in all the subfolders.

Thanks for the tip, though. And, I will take a look at your link.

 

Panda,
Follow the link I gave you and read the page from top to bottom. You will find several links provided that you should also follow to obtain anwsers to your question (and to many more).
If you decide to use cleanall9x then this the only such application you'll ever use.
Good luck.
Javaid

 

Thank you. I went back to the link and read it, but still didn't find the answer I am looking for. I did, however, leave a message on their bulletin board. Maybe someone else has my answer.

Thanks.....

 

Try this URL and see if it answers your question about the desktop.ini file: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/d...hell_basics/shell_basics_extending/custom.asp

Javaid

 

Well, it explains how to create and use one, but I'm still confused because I didn't create one in those folders. I still have no idea where it came from or why. I have been playing around with making a home page via my cable modem that I got for free. You know, the 5mb of free space they give you to play with? I'm still trying to figure out how to use it and I did create a page and saved it to my root. Could this be where it came from? I'm still wondering if I were to delete it if it would cause any problems with my computer or web pages.

Thanks for the link.