Re: Internet History Fills in Only 8 Weeks
Jan Il
Try the following and see if it helps:
Clearing the Temporary Internet Cache -
Safely Delete the Temporary Internet Files
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/delcache.htm
Note: Any links listed in your Favorites (including any pages you saved for
offline viewing) will not be deleted when the History is cleared normally.
Therefore, you must also check the box next to Delete offline files on the
dialog box as well when you clear the Temp Files to be sure all files are
deleted
If TIF is much larger than 50 MB, IE starts to slow down because it's
actually faster to get the information from the Internet than to find it in
TIF. In addition, you start losing the ability to save pictures as anything
but a BMP and you lose the ability to View | Source. Unfortunately, as far
as I know IE still by default grabs some percentage of the drive for TIF and
for large drives this is way too much. 50 MB seems to be about the best.
If you don't need to keep the Temp files:
Go to Tools>Internet Options?Advanced tab
Scroll down to the Security section
Check the box next to "Empty Temprary Internet Files folder when browser is
closed"
Click OK and close.
This will automatically clear the TIF's each time you close IE
Also...your Cache or Index.dat file may be corrupted, to delete and let
Windows create a new one follow the steps below:
To delete the History folder and index.dat (XP)
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/delcache.htm
Log on as Administrator and delete the desired <username> folder and reboot.
(or log on as another user that has Administrator privileges)
Example: "C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\HISTORY"
Description of the Internet Explorer CACHE
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/archive/answers3.htm#Cache
Hope this helps.
Jan :)
MS MVP - Windows IE/OE [DTS/AumHa]
Smiles are meant to be shared,
that's why they're so contagious.
Replies are posted only to the newsgroup for the benefit or other readers.
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> Hello,
>
> (Please note: This is a cross-post of something I'd previously posted in
> WindowsXP.General, but that hasn't received any responses as yet, so my
> apologies if you're seeing it twice. I'm hoping that posting it here
> might
> generate some relevant answers, please.)
>
> I'm running Windows XP on a PC with 23GB of available space on my hard
> drive. Also, I've set the Temporary Internet Files Folder to 1715MB.
> (That
> was a recent move from 1143MB as an attempt to solve this very same
> problem,
> but it didn't seem to help.)
>
> For some reason, even given all of this space for it to occupy, my
> Internet
> History has stopped recording the sites/pages I visit, and after only 8
> weeks. (I'd set it to record for 30 weeks, but, apparently, no matter...)
>
> At the start of the period, I'd Cleared my History because, then, too, it
> was acting in a similar way, refusing to record site visits after it got
> "full".
>
> Why is it getting full so soon, and what can I do about it? Is there a
> registry setting, for example, that could be tweaked? Is there something
> else to explain this? Is there something else I can do?
>
> Please let me, and anyone else who reads this, know, and thank you very
> much.
>
> Sincerely,
> Bram Weiser
Bram Weiser
Hello (again?) and thank you for reading, and responding to, my post.
I'll try deleting the index.dat and having it be recreated as, who knows,
maybe it did get corrupted. (I must admit a little bit of doubt with that as
I've experienced History files filling up before their time in the past,
which led me to use the 1143MB setting, which was higher than I originally
had -- maybe 573MB or so -- yet it didn't stop this from happening...)
However, I want you to know that I regularly do delete the Temporary
Internet Files from within IE (Tools, Internet Options, Delete Files...), yet
that has not had any impact on this issue (full History that stops recording
the pages/sites I visit) in my experience.
I'm wondering, would you (or anyone else reading this) please know of
something within the settings, file sizes, or registry, for example, that I
may need to either review or adjust as a way to remedy this as well?
Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Bram Weiser
Jan Il
The History is part of the Cache, as is the Temporary Internet Files,
Cookies, etc. When the cache becomes corrupted, as it can, it can affect
the other functions.
Index.dat - What is it
See:
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/delcache.htm
Jeff Davis, Software Design Engineer di IE Team:
"Index.dat: Part I - What is index.dat?".
http://blogs.msdn.com/jeffdav/archive/2004/11/18/266027.aspx
"Index.dat: Part II - What are they used for?"
http://blogs.msdn.com/jeffdav/archive/2004/11/18/266045.aspx
"Index.dat Part III - How do I delete index.dat?"
http://blogs.msdn.com/jeffdav/archive/2004/11/19/266977.aspx.
If the suggestions I have provided don't work then try the following:
First, disable your AV:
How to Reinstall or Repair Internet Explorer and Outlook Express in Windows
XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=318378
SP2 section:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=318378#XSLTH3130121123120121120120
The section: Windows XP and Windows XP SP1: Edit the registry and install
Internet
Explorer 6 works on earlier versions of Windows.
You will need to uninstall WinXP SP2 from Control Panel -> Add/Remove
Programs and then reinstall Service Pack 2. Follow the information here:
How to remove Windows XP Service Pack 2 from your computer
http://support.microsoft.com/KB/875350
Be sure to visit Windows Update site and let it scan for all needed updates
and service packs afterward.
Don Varnau
There are two issues here. Your Temporary Internet Files folder is
unnecessarily large. As Jan recommended, I'd limit it to 50-60 MB. I don't
think that's part of the History problem.
You're pushing your luck trying to keep 210 days of history. ;-) I often
see (and agree with) recommendations of 10-25 days. Use your Favorites
folder instead of counting on the History folder. Delete your History
folder- don't just delete the files, as Jan recommended, and get a fresh
start. Set the History folder for 210 days- you might get there. But, I
wouldn't be surprised if, at some point, you have to clear the History for
one reason or another.
Hope this helps,
Don
[MS MVP- IE]
"Bram Weiser" <BramWeiser[at]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:C1BABF88-6A63-4614...@microsoft.com...
Bram Weiser
Hello, and thank you for responding to my post.
As I noted before, I'd increased the TIF file size as I understood from past
advice that that setting had an impact on how much History could be kept by
my system.
210 days (30 weeks) is simply a way for me to say I want to keep as much
History as possible, particularly because I have the space (I thought) with
which to do it. That it's topping off much too soon, anyway, is what's
causing me concern.
I mean, in theory, shouldn't I be able, with enough disk space, to get the
History to continue tracking my Website vists for as long as I want, and not
just stop because it thinks it's "full"?
Thank you again for your advice.
Bram
"Don Varnau" wrote:
> .
>
Bram Weiser
Thanks again.
Please note, I'm using XP SP1, not SP2, and I already am current through
Windows Update (now Microsoft Update) so some of these points are not
relevant to my situation, but thanks anyway for offering them.
Uninstall and reinstall IE completely?! Yikes. That seems a fairly drastic
step (no?) which is why my first thought was, as noted below, to seek
assistance re: registry and other settings, etc. For instance, wouldn't I
then lose all my Favorites and the "Offline Synchronizations" that went with
them?
...and what's my "AV"?
Thanks again, Jan.
Bram
"Jan Il" wrote:
> .
>
Don Varnau
> I mean, in theory, shouldn't I be able...
Yes... in theory. But, large History or TIF folders "seem" to be more
susceptible to corruption- especially when they reach their size limit and
new entries replace older ones. A common first step in diagnosing/resolving
many IE problems is "Clear the cache and History, delete cookies."
So, if you delete the History folder and get a fresh start, you may be able
to save 30 weeks of history. But, I won't be surprised if there's a problem
before you reach 30 weeks. ;-)
Don
[MS MVP- IE]
"Bram Weiser" <BramWeiser[at]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:61943DB0-8893-4DA2...@microsoft.com...
> >
Bram Weiser
Hi, again, and thanks for following up.
Yes, of course, I definitely see benefits in clearing the cache (i.e.,
"clearing Temporary Internet Files"), which I do often, anyway. I also see
them, when necessary, in clearing the History, though I should tell you I'm
fairly leery of clearing all of my cookies in one shot.
Yes, I've heard how some cookies aren't so "friendly", but others are, and
can include personalized information for how I'd want to access various
Websites, and I don't want to lose that so I usually don't delete them en
masse.
Still, yeah, while it might not reach 30 weeks, 8 is just too weird, you
know? In fact, this 8-week span to fill it up is the time period that's
elapsed since my last attempt to start anew, and, as such, it never got to
the point where older entries were being replaced, anyway.
Maybe I/we should just chalk it up to another lovely little operating system
"bonus" from Microsoft? ;-)
Bram
Jan Il
Hi Bram :-)
If you insist on wanting to keep such large chunks of History, then you have
to realize that you are going to suffer problems in other areas, and, by
doing so, you are also leaving yourself open for your Cache and Index.dat to
become corrupted, thus, losing everything, including all your History,
Cookies and the rest. So, if I may suggest that if you want to make sure
that you don't lose your History that use this little utility program to
back up not only your History, but your Cookies, Favorites and IE passwords
as well. The program is free, and backing up your files will ensure that
when, not if, the worst happens, you will at least be able to restore them.
BackRex - Internet Explorer Backup - Free Download
http://www.backsettings.com/internet-explorer-backup.html
Backsup all IE files, including
Favorites
Proxy & connection settings
Security zones
User customizations
Cookies
History
Dialup accounts
Form Autocomplete entries
The suggestions Don and I have given you are ways to resolve your current
issue. You can use them or not, the decision is yours, of course. But, in
view of the manner in which you prefer to maintain your Cache files, I
highly suggest that you use some method of backing up your History and other
Cache files before you lose them all. You can also backup all the files and
restore them after doing a repair install if necessary, but, it rarely is.
.
Hope this helps.
Jan :)
MS MVP - Windows IE/OE [DTS/AumHa]
Smiles are meant to be shared,
that's why they're so contagious.
Replies are posted only to the newsgroup for the benefit or other readers.
How to make a good newsgroup post:
http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
> Dear Don,
Jan Il
> Dear Jan,
>
> Thanks again.
>
> Please note, I'm using XP SP1, not SP2, and I already am current through
> Windows Update (now Microsoft Update) so some of these points are not
> relevant to my situation, but thanks anyway for offering them.
>
> Uninstall and reinstall IE completely?! Yikes. That seems a fairly
> drastic
> step (no?) which is why my first thought was, as noted below, to seek
> assistance re: registry and other settings, etc. For instance, wouldn't I
> then lose all my Favorites and the "Offline Synchronizations" that went
> with
> them?
Not at all. Normally, a repair does not wipe out your History files. In
regards to this, see my other reply to you here.
>
> ...and what's my "AV"?
AV = Antivirus program
>
> Thanks again, Jan.
You're very welcome. See the information I provided in my reply to your
response to Don here.
Bram Weiser
So far, this issue of History filling "too soon" has been my only
significant IE-file-related issue to come up over the years, at least from
what I can remember.
The main reason I want to maintain the History that large is so that
"visited" links will be more likely to truly show as such. That's basically
it.
Hopefully, corruption and data loss for these files won't happen for a long
time, if ever.
Thanks again, Jan. I appreciate your contributions here.
Bram
"Jan Il" wrote:
> ..
Jan Il
You're very welcome. Here is another little free utility that you might try
for your Favorites, in order to keep them healthy and up to date. This may
or may not help with the immediate probem, but, might in the long run. It
is a good way to maintain your URLs and such in good order and up to date.
FavOrg: To save Favicons - Free
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/Bookmark-Managers/favorg.shtml
This allows you to save them permanently in a different folder and
re-associate your favorites with the stored icons. It also verifies whether
your links in Favorites are still good.
Bram Weiser
Thank you again.
For now, my Favorites seem to all be fine, including with the
Synchronization, but I'll keep this in mind, too.
Thanks. :-)
Robert Aldwinckle
news:F70C0D61-7F73-4127...@microsoft.com
...
> "Don Varnau" wrote:
>> So, if you delete the History folder and get a fresh start, you may be able
>> to save 30 weeks of history. But, I won't be surprised if there's a problem
>> before you reach 30 weeks. ;-)
Ditto but I suspect it may have even more to do with the number of sites
you are visiting in that period than the number of days in that period.
E.g. you may be running into an implementation limit in the main index.dat file.
> Still, yeah, while it might not reach 30 weeks, 8 is just too weird, you
> know? In fact, this 8-week span to fill it up is the time period that's
> elapsed since my last attempt to start anew, and, as such, it never got to
> the point where older entries were being replaced, anyway.
How precise is "8 weeks" a complete description of your symptoms?
What other variables are you testing or controlling to be sure of that?
Perhaps the problem is only one of presentation and not of data.
E.g. take a look under the covers to see if the History.IE5 directory
contains all your 30 week History anyway. FWIW I have noticed
that even when I am asking for only 20 days (the default) much more
than that seems to be kept in those other index.dat (e.g. files which
span a longer period but not necessarily completely.)
Notice in the registry under Extensible Cache and History that
there are mysterious but relevant sounding values such as CacheLimit
which perhaps would have to be tweaked to match your preferences
and browsing behaviour. E.g. I'd be particularly suspicious that
having the same CacheLimit in History and Extensible Cache
would be an indication that a limit in History (which I'm guessing
would be related to the History.IE5's index.dat size) could be
something which would constrain History's View by site option
if too many different sites were being visited over a long period.
Etc.
HTH
Robert Aldwinckle
---
Bram Weiser
Hello, and thanks for contributing to this thread.
The 8-week figure comes from simply opening up the History folder, either as
part of my IE browser, and also by clicking on Local Settings and History in
Windows Explorer. I presumed (and still believe) that what I see there is
really what's kept on the hard drive.
Also, yes, I visit a lot of sites, but, again, I'd say that shouldn't force
History to be so limited, especially when there's so much free space on my
hard drive, and when I'd set the TIF folder size to be so big (now 1715MB).
So, how to adjust that index.dat implementation size, if, in fact, that's
truly the culprit? (Understandably, I'm reluctant to tweak the registry
unless I/we/whoever truly knows the move is a safe, and productive/helpful,
one.)
I must also say, regrettably, I think I started to lose your train of
thought around when you were discussing History.IE5. I'd seen that folder
before "in my travels", but haven't checked it as part of diagnosing this
issue.
Thanks again.
Bram
"Robert Aldwinckle" wrote:
> "Bram Weiser" <BramW...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:F70C0D61-7F73-4127...@microsoft.com
> ....
Gary Smith
more likely to cause problems than cure them. Most knowledgeable people
recommend 50 to maybe 200 MB as an appropriate size.
More directly relevant to your situation, the history data is not stored
in the TIF folder, so changing its allowed maximum size will have
absolutely no effect on the retention and display of your browsing
history. History data is stored in index.dat files located in subfolders
of \Documents and Settings\{UserName}\Local Settings\History\History.IE5.
The subfolders are named for the time period they represent. My machine
(set for 31 days) currently has
MSHist012006022720060306
MSHist012006030620060313
MSHist012006031320060320
MSHist012006032020060327
MSHist012006032720060328
MSHist012006032820060329
MSHist012006032920060330
MSHist012006033020060331
Bram Weiser <BramW...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> Thanks again.
> Bram
> "Robert Aldwinckle" wrote:
--
Gary L. Smith
Columbus, Ohio
Bram Weiser
Hello, and thank you for writing in for this thread.
I could find the History.IE5 with the path you cited only from a DOS prompt.
There, I saw just eight (8) files, as expected, but, quite surprisingly,
they were all(!) from 2004 and 2005, apparently. (Currently, Index.dat is
16,171,008 bytes.)
Is the fact that those years show up a clue that something's wrong...maybe
something more serious than just a possibly-corrupted Index.dat file?
Thanks again.
Bram
Gary Smith
that your History has been unintentionally redirected. That happened to
me a couple of times. To determine whether that has happened, check the
registry keys
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell
Folders
and
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User
Shell Folders
One or both should have a value named History with the associated data
being the folder where your history is kept. If they don't point to your
History folder, then the data is being recorded elsewhere. When I had the
problem, the registry has somehow been changed to point to the Temp
folder.
Bram Weiser <BramW...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> Thanks again.
> Bram
> "Gary Smith" wrote:
--
Bram Weiser
Yes, using Regedit, I found that your first path shows my History as being
kept in C:\Documents and Settings\LocalService\Local Settings\History but
that LocalService folder is not visible, as we've noted, in Windows Explorer.
(The second path showed %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\History, which jibed
with what Windows Explorer DOES show me.) :-(
Also, when traversing via the DOS prompt, that first path (LocalService) CAN
be found, but there's apparently nothing(!) in the end-result folder at the
end of that path...nor at the end of the second, either, so go figure. :-)
Thanks again,
Robert Aldwinckle
> Dear Robert,
>
> Hello, and thanks for contributing to this thread.
>
>> How precise is "8 weeks" a complete description of your symptoms?
>> What other variables are you testing or controlling to be sure of that?
> The 8-week figure comes from simply opening up the History folder, either as
> part of my IE browser, and also by clicking on Local Settings and History in
> Windows Explorer. I presumed (and still believe) that what I see there is
> really what's kept on the hard drive.
Actually all it is is a special formatting of the Visited: entries
in the main index.dat file.
>
> Also, yes, I visit a lot of sites, but, again, I'd say that shouldn't force
> History to be so limited, especially when there's so much free space on my
> hard drive, and when I'd set the TIF folder size to be so big (now 1715MB).
Are you missing my point? The History "special folder" has an implementation
(such as the index.dat file, etc.) and hence may have some implementation limits.
Regardless of how much physical harddrive space you have, if the combination
of your preference for having too many days plus your current browsing behaviour
causes those implementation limits to be reached that could be the reason why
you wouldn't be able to see more (e.g., exceed the implementation limits.)
>> Notice in the registry under Extensible Cache and History that
>> there are mysterious but relevant sounding values such as CacheLimit
>> which perhaps would have to be tweaked to match your preferences
>> and browsing behaviour. E.g. I'd be particularly suspicious that
>> having the same CacheLimit in History and Extensible Cache
>> would be an indication that a limit in History (which I'm guessing
>> would be related to the History.IE5's index.dat size) could be
>> something which would constrain History's View by site option
>> if too many different sites were being visited over a long period.
>> Etc.
> So, how to adjust that index.dat implementation size, if, in fact, that's
> truly the culprit? (Understandably, I'm reluctant to tweak the registry
> unless I/we/whoever truly knows the move is a safe, and productive/helpful,
> one.)
I suspect that this is where you have to become a trailblazer
for the rest of us, do some experiments and report your results.
Obviously the current value of the CacheLimit variable isn't
tied directly to the size of the index.dat. Perhaps it is as simple
a thing as a maximum count. To test that idea use your cmd
window (positioned at the History.IE5 directory) and enter this:
find /c /i "Visited:" index.dat
If you see that command reporting something like 8192
I think that that would be a good indication that the CacheLimit
value would be constraining the number of History items
which you could keep. Then if you wanted to try to see more
I think it would be worthwhile to try increasing that value.
As an extreme example of what I am getting at and as a way
of testing this idea take your 210 days and divide that into 8192
then make sure that on average you don't add more than
39 items to your History each day. If you are hitting that
limit after 8 weeks (56 days) I guess the implied average
number of new visits per day (146) will be large enough
to discount the idea...
OTOH there is something definitely regular about the sizes
that we are seeing. For example you told Gary that yours
was "16,171,008 bytes" In hex that's F6C000.
As an exact multiple of 8192 it's 1974.
Currently mine is 1,228,800 bytes In hex that's 12C000.
As an exact multiple of 8192 it's 150.
A reasonable guess from those observations would be
that perhaps that CacheLimit value is just a transitory limit
which can be exceeded as needed and there is some other
implementation constraint which will account for your symptom.
I don't know.
> I must also say, regrettably, I think I started to lose your train of
> thought around when you were discussing History.IE5. I'd seen that folder
> before "in my travels", but haven't checked it as part of diagnosing this
> issue.
Well, thanks to Gary, you've seen it now. <w>
>
> Thanks again.
>
> Bram
Good luck
Robert
---
Bram Weiser
Thanks for responding.
OK, so, in the DOS prompt, I went to C:\Documents and
Settings\(myname)\Local Settings\History\History.IE5 and typed exactly what
you wrote only to get no noticeable response after hitting "return". If I
break (control-break), control is returned. Might there be a typo in what
appears below? Just wondering...
I don't think I really missed your point for, as you also showed, I did
address the implementation limit of index.dat later in my last post.
I also definitely visit more than 39 pages per day, maybe even more than
146. (It could be well into the hundreds, for all I know...)
I don't understand your point, though, about that 16M+ value being a
multiple of 8192. Wouldn't that be expected? Are you trying to say that,
maybe, Hex FFFFF or, differently, 8192*2000 is the maximum?
Did I cover everything? :-)
Thanks again.
Bram
Bram Weiser
Check that...
It WAS running the "Find", and came up with 30612 as an answer. Please
clarify (again) what that means, and what I can do with that information.
Thanks again.
Bram
Robert Aldwinckle
...
>> > find /c /i "Visited:" index.dat
> Dear Robert,
>
> Check that...
>
> It WAS running the "Find", and came up with 30612 as an answer. Please
> clarify (again) what that means, and what I can do with that information.
The /c switch asked find to do a count of the number of found lines
containing the string "Visited:". (Actually because of the /i switch
it would also count all case insensitive matches of that word.
I used the /i switch through force of habit. It should be unnecessary
because there should be no other instances of visited terminated
by a colon when that find is done.)
Your result proves that you have many more potential History items
than the 8192 "limit" I was speculating about, so clearly that
CacheLimit variable is not related to a count of Visited: items.
However, does 30612 match your browsing behaviour?
E.g. it implies an average number of new site visits of 145 per day.
If that seems unreasonably high it could mean that the index.dat
file is corrupt, in which case anything might be possible.
>> I don't understand your point, though, about that 16M+ value being a
>> multiple of 8192. Wouldn't that be expected? Are you trying to say that,
>> maybe, Hex FFFFF or, differently, 8192*2000 is the maximum?
No, I was surprised to find that the index.dat file is a multiple of 8192.
As I indicated I think it would lend support to the idea that CacheLimit
is just a sort of buffer size which gets increased as space in the index.dat
gets used up.
>> I don't think I really missed your point for, as you also showed, I did
>> address the implementation limit of index.dat later in my last post.
Except that now your observations seem to be showing that an
implementation limit, (assuming that that is the cause of your symptom
and assuming that the index.dat entries are all valid),
will be more to do with the presentation of the data than its collection.
I think that that's some progress but other than some tedious analysis
comparing what is actually being shown versus what could be shown
I have no idea where you could go from here.
>
> Thanks again.
>
> Bram
You're welcome. Good luck.
Robert
---
Bram Weiser
Thanks so much.
So, as I understand it now, some of what you're saying is...it seems as if
maybe the History really is being tracked (and, yes, I do surf a lot), but
that somehow its display is being inhibited for more than a certain number of
entries, is that where we are (or, maybe better, where I am)?
Thanks again for your time and your insights.
Bram
"Robert Aldwinckle" wrote:
> "Bram Weiser" <BramW...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:DB31590E-CB2A-4B37...@microsoft.com
> ....