Hard Drive and Internet File Cleaner

  • Thread starter Thread starter richk
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richk

Can someone please point me in the direction of an effective hard
drive and internet file cleaner. Something that also takes care of
those nosey index.dat files and files like them.

thanks in advance
 
Can someone please point me in the direction of an effective hard
drive and internet file cleaner. Something that also takes care of
those nosey index.dat files and files like them.

thanks in advance
Click to expand...

Some tips:
http://www.nondisputandum.com/html/registry-system_cleaner.html

Nondisputandum
De Gustibus et Coloribus non est Disputandum
____________________________________________

www.nondisputandum.com
An attempted to be objective
honest freeware collection
____________________________________________
 
richk said:
Can someone please point me in the direction of an effective hard
drive and internet file cleaner. Something that also takes care of
those nosey index.dat files and files like them.

thanks in advance
Click to expand...

For a few years now I have been using Spider (v1.16) which is available at:

http://www.fsm.nl/ward/index.html

I run this program under Win98SE and IE6. Although, it is now a bit dated
looking, it will remove all index.dat files as well as cookies, temporary
internet files and history files when the PC is next rebooted.

I use Spider in conjuction with other progs such as HDValet, EasyCleaner,
MRU-Blaster and Eraser which all play different roles in keeping my PC
fairly clean and tidy.
 
I run this program under Win98SE and IE6. Although, it is now a bit
dated looking, it will remove all index.dat files as well as cookies,
temporary internet files and history files when the PC is next
rebooted.
Click to expand...
Quick question - I have a bit of trouble, no more than a wee nuisnce when
closing some progs, that I have traced to an index.dat file, as it's the
only other place on the puter that boxworld.ini is mentioned, but I was
chicken to just remove it - from time to time my canon scanner has an
argument with it, too.

Would it be ok just to delete the b** thing (it does lok rather powerful
and intimidating!)

mike r
 
(e-mail address removed) (richk):
Can someone please point me in the direction of an effective hard
drive and internet file cleaner. Something that also takes care of
those nosey index.dat files and files like them.
Click to expand...

For your MSIE files, I recommend Index.dat Suite.

http://www.it-mate.co.uk/support/idsuite.asp

| Index.dat Suite is a rather unique program that allows you not
| only to delete the index.dat files, temporary internet files,
| temp files, cookies and history, but it also allows you to view
| the index.dat files on your system.
|
| Index.dat Suite's current features include:
|
| 1. View index.dat files
| 2. Delete index.dat files
| 3. View and delete Temporary Internet Files (TIF)
| 4. View and delete Cookies
| 5. View and delete History
| 6. View and delete Temp files
| 7. View and delete Recent Documents
| 8. Auto-generation of batch file to assist in deleting the
| index.dat files in DOS.
| 9. Optional add to RunOnce registry key
| 10. Optional deletion of swap file (9x users only)
| 11. Optional defrag after file deletion
| 12. Full application logging
 
Ed said:
For a few years now I have been using Spider (v1.16) which is
available at:

http://www.fsm.nl/ward/index.html

I run this program under Win98SE and IE6. Although, it is now a bit
dated looking, it will remove all index.dat files as well as
cookies, temporary internet files and history files when the PC is
next rebooted.

I use Spider in conjuction with other progs such as HDValet,
EasyCleaner, MRU-Blaster and Eraser which all play different roles in
keeping my PC fairly clean and tidy.
Click to expand...


Ed....you sure you're not me. I use the same programs. ;)
 
mike said:
Quick question - I have a bit of trouble, no more than a wee nuisnce
when closing some progs, that I have traced to an index.dat file, as
it's the only other place on the puter that boxworld.ini is
mentioned, but I was chicken to just remove it - from time to time my
canon scanner has an argument with it, too.

Would it be ok just to delete the b** thing (it does lok rather
powerful and intimidating!)

mike r
Click to expand...

If I'm not mistaken, index.dat can be deleted; it's your IE cookie file.
You'll lose all your cookies for favorites sites and what not. Once you use
IE again, it will recreate it.

Correct me if I'm wrong, and I've been known to be. ;)
 
mike said:
Quick question - I have a bit of trouble, no more than a wee nuisnce
when closing some progs, that I have traced to an index.dat file, as
it's the only other place on the puter that boxworld.ini is
mentioned, but I was chicken to just remove it - from time to time my
canon scanner has an argument with it, too.

Would it be ok just to delete the b** thing (it does lok rather
powerful and intimidating!)

mike r
Click to expand...

yes, no problems. You can delete the index.dat files at Dos. A new one is
regenerated on re-starting Windows. Progs like Index.dat Suite and Spider
do precisely this.
 
yes, no problems. You can delete the index.dat files at Dos. A new
one is regenerated on re-starting Windows. Progs like Index.dat Suite
and Spider do precisely this.
Click to expand...

Many thanks, Ed; I've got Index.dat which found the file ok, but on looking
into it, I figured deleting it might leave me with a nice clean flawless
HDD!

mike r
 
Andy said:
If I'm not mistaken, index.dat can be deleted; it's your IE cookie file.
You'll lose all your cookies for favorites sites and what not. Once you use
IE again, it will recreate it.

Correct me if I'm wrong, and I've been known to be. ;)
Click to expand...

You're right about the essential point. Safe to delete the MSIE index.dats;
and they will get automatically recreated. Recreated at a size significantly
smaller, and cleansed of their previous contents.

The one detail for correction is on the statement that "index.dat is your
IE cookie file. Your MSIE cookies exist as a whole bunch of files, and then
their is a master index.dat connected with them. As sort of a binary index
for them.. There are a number of MSIE index.dat files. As with cookies, there
are some for the MSIE history files. Add to the list, one special (trivial)
one in there, normally in a different path than norm, something to do with
history of locally accessed URLs. Then there is the one that likes to get
super huge - the one connected with the cache files.

When I run Index.dat Suite, I tell it the path to my MSIE temp files, and
it is very good about immediately identifying what is appropriate. In
contrast, Spider has a most serious problem.

I store my temp files on a specific path on D. but Spider lets me specify
only down to my /entire/ D drive. Then it wants to delete /every/ file on
that drive named index.dat. If were to let it proceed, that would break a
few of my programs. Those with happen to use a filename "indes.dat" for
their own stuff, nothing to do with MSIE. Spider has further shown a strange
inclination to want to delete some /additional/ independent files on my
system, ones not even having index.dat for their filenames..

I've found no such risks with Index.dat Suite. It's this one that is able
to hunt down on my system strictly the appropriate files. Even if I don't
take advantage of its feature where it will look in a specific path --
and I instead tell it to scour the entire D -- it does /not/ have Spider's
false positives. I assume the difference to do with Index.dat Suite having
the intelligence to take a peak at file headers, or something to that effect,
before coming up with its filelist.

Even after the file-list point in things, Index.dat Suite has more safety.
It lets you edit precisely what you want to delete, whether at the interface
stage, or even at the point when it will launch the planned .bat in notepad.
Spider, I had to do some emergency thing, forgot precisely, but think it was
to refuse to let it reboot and then to delete the startup registry entry it
wrote, in order to prevent its action of wrongful deletes.
 
Andy said:
You'll lose all your cookies for favorites sites and what not.
Click to expand...

Those who have some specific MSIE cookies they like to preserve are best
off using a dedicated cookies utility, to give the convenience in selective
saves and deletes....

I wanted to mention one thing I periodically like to do with the information
from the cookies entries. When I see site names that I've never visited, iow
from third-party ugly, spying ad-servers, then I put their names in the hosts
file.

Contrary to what one might expect, this does not prevent them from writing
new cookies on the drive. Btw, I don't use iexplore 6x, am not familiar with
what measures it offers for this purpose. Nor can I say I've experimented
with the work of adding their names to firewall filters. What putting the
entries into my hosts file does achieve, involving only minimal effort, it
is my primary objective. It means I am at least cutting off communications
with those ad-servers on the most blatant level -- that they cannot achieve
their end, load their advertisements on any of my browsers.

In this, I like the cookies information. The way a cookie for some of those
sites is like a signature saying, "Hi, I'm a dirty-grime insect trying to
sleaze across your ports, and here is my name for your block-list."
 
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