/ How to delete Index.dat file

How to delete Index.dat file

I am unable to delete a directory. I get the following error: The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process. The directory contains: \music\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\index.dat. Any ideas?

Celeste Stewart What is the Index.dat File?

Your computer has several index.dat files scattered throughout the hard drive in various directories. This is a hidden system file, often extremely hard to view (even when Folder Options is set to show hidden system files). Index.dat files are exactly as the name describes; that is they are indexes containing data. The data in this case involves a record of every single URL you have ever visited - even if you have deleted your Web browsing history!

Privacy Concerns Surrounding Index.dat Files

Most users are savvy enough to delete their web histories and cookies so that other users won’t be able to see what websites have been visited. For example, a teenager might not want his parents to know that he’s been viewing inappropriate material on the Internet so he deletes the Web history files. Another example might be an employee who’s been checking out Monster.com on the job. However, anyone in the know can simply view the index.dat file and see a complete history despite the other user’s precautions.

Deleting Index.dat Files

In this case, you want to delete a directory that contains an index.dat file but you can’t because of the “The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process” error. The index.dat file is locked by the operating system. While there are manual ways of deleting index.dat files, they are complicated. Not only that, index.dat files are scattered throughout your computer - and they are hard to find because they are well hidden by Windows.

Depending on your operating system (Windows 200 and above), you may be able to delete this particular index.dat file by creating a new user account with administrative rights. Log onto the computer as the new user and then try to delete the index.dat file in your \music\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5 folder. Once deleted, log back in as the original user and then delete the new user account you just created. Keep in mind that Windows will eventually create a new index.dat file that will start tracking your history once again.

It’s much easier to invest in a privacy protection software utility such as Privacy Controls from ParetoLogic Software. This software provides complete privacy protection including dealing with the index.dat files and securely deleting files once and for all.