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Answer Line: Fix System Files Without Reinstalling Windows

Fix system files without reinstalling Windows, share address books.

Lincoln Spector

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Shrink Windows Me Index.Dat Files

Your August 2000 column explained how to shrink index.dat files by exiting Windows and deleting them from the DOS prompt. I'm running Windows Me and can't get to a DOS prompt. How do I get rid of these files now?

Jose M. Veloso, Delton, Michigan

Internet Explorer puts index.dat files in the C:\Windows\Cookies folder and/or the C:\Windows\Temporary Internet Files folder, depending on your version of IE. Index.dat files keep growing as you surf the Web, and the only way to shrink them is to delete them (Windows will automatically re-create smaller versions). But Windows always keeps these files open, so they're difficult to delete.

One way to delete your index.dat files is by logging on as a different user. Select Start, Settings, Control Panel and launch the Users applet (if Users isn't visible, click the view all Control Panel options link on the left side of Control Panel).

If your system doesn't already have more than one user setting, this approach will bring up the Enable Multi-user Settings Wizard. As you walk through the wizard, create the User name noindex and don't enter a password. On the Personalized Items Settings page, check Downloaded Web pages. When you're finished with the wizard, Windows will ask whether you want to restart your system. Answer in the affirmative.

Windows will log you off, and then log you back on as 'noindex'. Once Windows is running, select Start, Log Off noindex and log back on as yourself. Windows will tell you that you haven't logged in with this name before--click Yes, then log off and back on again with the user name 'noindex'.

Now you can delete all index.dat files except those intended for the user 'noindex'. Since 'noindex' doesn't surf the Web, these index.dat files won't grow. When you're done, log off and then back on again as yourself.

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