deleting Temporary Internet Files

On my WinXP SP3 computer with IE7, I set Internet Properties-Advanced to
"empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed." However, if
I've visited more than a few websites, when I go to Internet Properties and
click on Delete and then Temporary Internet Files, the program spends
several seconds deleting these files. Shouldn't they have been deleted
already?

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

 

Hi Jo-Anne...I dont know why it does that but it does and there is a sort of
fix..go to start run
in the window type CMD and enter this will open a DOS prompt at the cursor
type cd/local settings then enter then type cd/temporary internet files then
enter then type del *.*/s then enter and you will be asked if thats what you
want to do het Y and then Enter. it will ask again hit Y and enter and the
deletion process will start and at times it will stop and ask again so keep
hitting y and enter till all files are gone. I do this about once a month to
keep it all up to date.

Chris

 

I can't remember when that option actually worked. Try CCleaner. A couple of
clicks and you can delete TIFs, unwanted cookies, empty the Recycle Bin. You
choose what you want removed.

CCleaner:
http://www.ccleaner.com/

 

Jo-Anne wrote

If you checked the option "empty Temporary Internet Files folder when
browser is closed" then the cookies and favicons will remain in the
folder.
You can see what is in the Temporary Internet Files folders by this way:
Internet Properties > General > Settings under Browse history > Show
Files.
When you manually delete the temporary internet files, the favicons will
also be deleted. You can check after you applied the several options.

 

Thank you, Chris! Sounds like this does what deleting Temporary Internet
Files does, though. I gather from Jan's response that emptying the folder
doesn't get rid of either cookies or Temporary Internet Files but deleting
them in Internet Properties does.

Jo-Anne

 

Thank you, Bruce! I've been meaning to give CCleaner a try anyway. Now is
the time...

 

Thank you, Jan! This suggests that emptying might be the better approach,
since I do want to keep the Favicons (and I can delete the cookies
separately). I've noticed that when I delete the Temporary Internet Files, I
lose a few of the Favicons for a while (they revert to IE7 icons). Odd,
though, that they're not more stable.

Jo-Anne

 

Hi, again, Jan,

Well, I tried first to manually delete cookies. That is, I exited IE7; and
in Internet Properties-General, I clicked on Delete, then on Cookies. I
opened Show Files and found that I still had hundreds of cookies and several
Favicons. I then tried deleting all the Temporary Internet Files; and when I
looked, I still had all the same cookies and Favicons. So...how does one
delete cookies? I'm beginning to think I'll need to use either Chris's DOS
command or Bruce's third-party suggestion. Or perhaps just navigate to
Temporary Internet Files and use CTRL-A, delete.

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

 

Hi Again Jo-Anne. The DOS command works best it clears out everything
including hidden and files that wont delete from the folder in the normal
view. A lot of files look like they delete but if you empty the folder close
it down and exit and then go back the files are still there and some have
been renamed. registry cleaners are a great help as well but really DOS works
best for these files

Cheers
Chris

 

....and you won't regret it; ensure you tune out the registry
scanning/fixing option!
Download latest version of CCleaner - Free
Cleans temporary internet files, cookies, history, recent urls, application
MRUs, etc. ...
http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/
The toolbar offered prior installation is not required!
If Windows Defender is utilized click 'Applications' tab, under
'Utilities' [uncheck] "Windows Defender" (so it won't delete the history of
WD).
If you wish to have CCleaner run when the computer starts, click the
'Options' button then 'Settings' [check] 'Run CCleaner when the computer
starts'.
Pending on your browsing habits you may wish to [uncheck] 'Only delete
files in Windows Temp folders older than 48 houres'. This can be done when
clicking the 'Advanced' button.
--or--
Setup CCleaner to Automatically Run Each Night in Vista or XP
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/wind...-automatically-run-each-night-in-vista-or-xp/

Good luck

 

Thank you again, Chris! I'll give it a try.

Jo-Anne

 

Thank you, Kayman! The details you've given here are extremely helpful!

Jo-Anne

 

The answer to your first question,

"when I go to Internet Properties and click on Delete and
then Temporary Internet Files, the program spends several
seconds deleting these files. Shouldn't they have been
deleted already?"

is that that is normal behaviour.


The best solution for you is to make 1 or more shortcuts for
the task you want to execute and place them in your Quick
Launch folder here:

C:\Documents and Settings\{username}\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\

These are the commands:

Clear History From the Command Line
For IE7 only, XP and Vista

These commands may be executed via the Run box,
a Shortcut, the Command Line or a Batch file.

Temporary Internet Files
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 8

Cookies
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 2

History
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 1

Form Data
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 16

Passwords
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 32

Delete All
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 255

Delete All - "Also delete files and settings stored by add-ons"
RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 4351


ju.c

 

Jan Kuipers wrote

Hi Jo-Anne,

This I don't understand. When I manually delete cookies, all the cookies
are deleted. And when I manually delete all temporary internet files,
all the files, including the favicons but excluding the cookies are
deleted.
With the other option, empty temporary internet files folder when
browser is closed, only the cookies and favicons remain in the folder.
Are there such differences in the same program?
But try the options that Bruce and Chris gave and see how that works?

 

Thank you, ju.c! Could you point me to a source of information on how to
create what's needed to delete the cookies? Would I create a file in Notepad
with the appropriate commands, name it, and save it to the Quick Launch
folder? Many years back I was able to create small batch files in DOS, but
it's been a long time.

Jo-Anne

 

Thank you, Jan!

Here's an interesting update. I recently bought a notebook computer running
WinXP Pro SP3. I just discovered that the new computer deletes the cookies
when I click on the "delete cookies" button in Internet Properties. My old
desktop computer runs WinXP Home SP3, and it will not delete the cookies.

I'm almost certain this behavior on the old computer started with IE7 and
SP3. I had SP3 installed for me at a local shop in May, and they also
installed IE7. Since that time, cookies apparently have not been deleted
when I click on the appropriate button. I had wondered for a while why
certain websites knew who I was even though I had deleted cookies. I assumed
they had found another way of keeping track of my identity. Now I know the
real reason.

I wonder if anyone else could duplicate this problem in WinXP Home. The
other possibility in the back of my mind is that I installed Norton Internet
Security 2008 right after SP3 and IE7. Any chance it could be interefering?

Jo-Anne

 

Hi Jo-Anne,

That is interesting. I also have Win XP Pro and this may be the reason
for the difference in the way that cookies are deleted. But IE 7 and SP
3 have nothing changed in the way my cookies can be deleted so I think
it's the difference with XP Home. I can't tell you about XP Home because
I never had this version but maybe others in this newsgroup know
something more.

About Norton Internet Security 2008, this could be another cause. Some
third-party security programs make changes in the settings of Internet
Explorer, but again, I am not sure about this.

Let's see if anyone has the same experience!?

 

Create a shortcut, right-click on the Desktop and select 'New-->Shortcut'.
Paste one of the commands in the path box then name it. Drag the icon
to the Quick Launch area. I use it all the time, way easier than the IE menu.


ju.c

 

Thank you, ju.c! I think I understand what to do, and I'll file this tip in
a folder on my hard drive. I've just downloaded CCleaner, however, and
discovered that it does something I really like--it cleans out cookies
except for the ones I specifically want to keep. I'll use that program for
now but may well come back to the Quick Launch shortcut later.

Thank you again,

Jo-Anne

 

<qp>
it cleans out cookies except for the ones I specifically want to keep.
</qp>

That's what I meant by CCleaner removing *unwanted* cookies. <w>
--

Bruce Hagen
MS-MVP Outlook Express
Imperial Beach, CA