Microsoft Hiding Secret Files

I found this very intriguing.

Microsoft's Really Hidden Files

Can anybody verify this?? Whenever I try and view these files Explorer closes the Window, and I cant view it. Somebody wanna try this??

This is a quote from the article:

If you don't have any knowledge of DOS then don't plan on finding these files on your own. I say this because these files/folders won't be displayed in Windows Explorer at all -- only DOS. (Even after you have enabled Windows Explorer to "show all files.") And to top it off, the only way to find them in DOS is if you knew the exact location of them. Basically, what I'm saying is if you didn't know the files existed then the chances of you running across them is slim to slimmer.

I wouldn't be surprised if its true. After all the thing that pisses me of about f***ing WinXP is that IE cannot be deleted. What kind of nonsense is this BS. I could think of a million ways of what i could be doing with the space that IE is taking up. FYI I have a 28 GB HD, but there are games like Matrix and Spiderman2 that take up a #load of space. What happened to using the cd to run the game. I liked those days.

Originally posted by kinglizard
This is a quote from the article:

If you don't have any knowledge of DOS then don't plan on finding these files on your own. I say this because these files/folders won't be displayed in Windows Explorer at all -- only DOS. (Even after you have enabled Windows Explorer to "show all files.") And to top it off, the only way to find them in DOS is if you knew the exact location of them. Basically, what I'm saying is if you didn't know the files existed then the chances of you running across them is slim to slimmer.

I know...i read it..........................

I found this post interesting

Some of the most frequently asked questions...

Does this information apply for 95/98?

Yes. It was specifically written in mind for 9x systems.

Does this information apply for ME?

Most of it applies. It's important to note the index.dat files still do not get cleared properly after instructing MSIE to clear it. The instructions for clearing this information is the same except getting into real DOS mode requires a bootdisk (aka startup disk). If you don't have one or know how to make one then borrow one from a friend. Make sure it has a copy of 'deltree.exe' on it.

On a side note, I've heard complaints that after following the instructions to clear the TIF and History folders, Windows ME re-creates them two-fold in other locations. So be aware of the possibility.

Does this information apply for Windows 2K?

Not all of it. Again, the most important thing to note is that your index.dats do not get cleared properly. Advanced users can clear them by following these steps. (Requires a reboot so be prepared to do so.)

1) Using the "Find" utility, write down the locations of all your "Temporary Internet Files" and "History" folders. ([Start] > Find > Files or Folders)

2) Open up a DOS box and leave the expanded window open. ([Start] > Run > cmd.exe)

3) Ctrl-alt delete and kill your explorer task. (Once the explorer task has ended you should now have access to the "locked-down" index.dats)

4) Using the still-open DOS box you should be able to delete the index.dats. It's important to delete all the contents of your "temporary internet files" and "history" folders as well.

Afterwards, you'll notice the index.dats will automatically return but should be cleared of all urls.

Does this information apply for Windows XP?

Windows XP comes preinstalled with MSIE6 and I've heard that 6.0 doesn't have this problem. Though I can't confirm this. Let the record show that I wouldn't touch XP with a 10-foot poll.
Hope this helps,

"Let the record show that I wouldn't touch XP with a 10-foot poll." I totally agree. Touching winXP would just cause a system crashs, which is not good for my countless GBs of mp3s.


[Edited on 6-8-2004 by websurfer]

Theres nothing wrong with XP if you know how to take care of it.

That index.dat file is just in use while your system is up, so it appears as though you can't delete it. nothing abnormal really.

Now, in XP/Win2k if you logon as another user you'll be able to go back and delete it from other users profile folder but not the one under the current user. In 9x/me you can delete while in dos mode (not just a dos prompt from within windows though)

It's some sort of cookie index file from what I understand.