How to Delete Index.Dat

Index.dat is the file used by Windows to store your deleted computer history. That's right. When you delete your computer history, it's not really gone completely. It can, in fact, still be located and read thanks to the index.dat file. Most people don't know about the index.dat file, though, because it is a hidden file. If you share a computer with other users or other users have access to your computer and you want to make sure that no one can ever see your computer history, then you need to delete index.dat periodically-or even after each browsing session. However, if you've ever located the index.dat file and tried to delete it, you've found out that you cannot simply delete the index.dat file because your computer will return an error message stating that you cannot delete index.dat because the file is in use or so on. So how to delete index.dat? It can be done with the appropriate process.

Step 1

~Create a new user account~

Click on Start>Control Panel>User Accounts. Click on "Create New Account." Give your new account the username of your choice, and select the option to grant the new account administrative rights.

Step 2

~Log in with your new user account~

Log off of your current account (the account on which you wish to delete the index.dat file), and log in with your newly created account.

Step 3

~Configure your folder options~

Open your computer's search window. Click on Tools>Folder Options>View. Click "Show hidden files and folders," and deselect "Hide extensions for known file types" and "Hide protected operating system files" (all of which are located beneath "Advanced Settings"). Click "Apply" to apply your new folder settings and "OK" to exit the window and return to the search window.

Step 4

~Locate the index.dat file~

Set your search parameters to search "All Files and Folder" in the "C Drive." Type "index.dat" into the search bar, and click "Search" to locate the index.dat file.

Step 5

~Delete index.dat~

Click on the index.dat file to select it, and press the "Del" (delete) key to delete it.

Tips

Your computer might have more than one index.dat file on it.

When you delete the index.dat file, an empty index.dat file will be generated by default, so do not worry. You are not deleting an important system file.

Restore the default folder options by navigating Folder Options>View and clicking on the "Restore Defaults" button.