INDEX.DAT file usage

Computer Help and Discussions Software
1

Just after some feedback on what are other peoples perception of the uses/reasons with the INDEX.DAT file.

I was under the impression it is used mainly(if not solely) by Internet Explorer to record the usually stuff like cookies, history, searches etc. In other words, they record stuff of little importance in the grand scheme of things.

Add to that, if you never use IE or care about the info these files contain, I have never found a reason not to clean them from my PC's, or knowingly suffered a disadvantage in doing so.

Just wondering if I have missed some point to these files ???

2

Index files are simply that.

Indexes (histories) of what you did.

3

The index.dat file located exactly here on Windows XP:

C:\WINDOWS\pchealth\helpctr\OfflineCache\index.dat

Will cause issues with Help and Support if it's removed. There may be other index.dat files also that aren't even related to Internet Explorer at all that could cause a system-wide problem if removed. This is on XP though, I don't know the mess that's in newer versions of Windows.

4

@Andavari, can't say i've personally seen any issues, even in Help and Support, back when I had an XP PC. Your example maybe just limited to the offline files kept in OfflineCache.

i rememeber something years ago about PCHEALTH being tied into MSINFO32, something about deleting the contents of \PCHEALTH then effecting how MSINFO32 works(or doesn't work), but I don't suffer that problem either when I delete all INDEX.DAT files.

5

I don't even use help & support on Windows. So I never suffer that problem! :P

I don't believe I have had any problems on my machine in removing index.dat files, either, mta.

6

I don't even use help & support on Windows. So I never suffer that problem! :P

I don't believe I have had any problems on my machine in removing index.dat files, either, mta.

Superfast how can you state you've never had any problems directly after stating you don't use the thing they are saying problems could happen to?

I've said it (to you) before, just cause you don't use something that breaks does not mean that it doesn't matter, for others, that it breaks.

7

Well, cause, I tested removal of index.dat files with no problem. Even though I don't (normally) use Windows Help, I have in time past.

I don't recommend randomly deleting any old .dat files, because there are programs that use .dat extension for incomplete files & other things.

But so far, had no problems when I experimented with removal of index.dat files sometime back.

I currently am on W7, but I have used XP for a while. Am testing things in W7, so it may be a few months before I switch back.

Have a few ideas how to tweak some things in XP that I learned from testing in 7.

Time past... Errrr... I'd say, perhaps less than 4 months ago? :P