Temporary Internet Files Use More Disk Space Than Specified (301057)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows NT 4.0 SP 1
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows NT 4.0 SP 2
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 for Windows NT 4.0 SP 1
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 for Windows NT 4.0 SP 2
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for Windows NT 4.0
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows Millennium Edition SP 1
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows Millennium Edition SP 2
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows 98 Second Edition SP 1
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows 98 Second Edition SP 2
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 for Windows 98 Second Edition SP 1
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 for Windows 98 Second Edition SP 2
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for Windows 98 Second Edition
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows 98 SP 1
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows 98 SP 2
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 for Windows 98 SP 1
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 for Windows 98 SP 2
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for Windows 98
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows 95 SP 1
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows 95 SP 2
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 for Windows 95 SP 1
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 for Windows 95 SP 2
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for Windows 95
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows 2000 SP 1
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows 2000 SP 2
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 for Windows 2000 SP 1
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 for Windows 2000 SP 2
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for Windows 2000
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 for Windows XP
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 for Windows 2000
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 for Windows NT 4.0
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 for Windows Millennium Edition
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 for Windows 98 Second Edition
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 for Windows 98
This article was previously published under Q301057

SYMPTOMS

You may experience either or both of the following symptoms:
  • Your Temporary Internet Files folder may use more disk space than you specified in Amount of disk space to use (to locate Amount of disk space to use, click Settings on the General tab of the Internet Options dialog box).
  • Files that are downloaded from Web sites may remain in your Temporary Internet Files folder (but are not visible in Windows Explorer) after you click Delete Files on the General tab of the Internet Options dialog box, and then click to select the Delete all offline content check box.

    NOTE: By design, Windows Explorer uses the Desktop.ini and Index.dat files to provide the functionality of the Temporary Internet Files shell extension. Index.dat is the Internet Explorer cache index file. It facilitates the browser cache mechanism that speeds access to frequently accessed web pages across different browser processes in the same user context.Cookies are also displayed when you view the Temporary Internet Files folder in Windows Explorer, but these files are physically stored in your Cookies folder; this is also by design. For additional information about how to delete cookies, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    278835 How to Delete Cookie Files

CAUSE

This problem can occur for any of the following reasons:

The content on a Web page is only partially downloaded (for example, if you click Stop while a page is still being opened, or if you navigate to another page before a page is completely downloaded).You are downloading streaming video with the AxisCamControl ActiveX control (distributed by Axis Communications), which is used to stream live video from a camera.Some of the files in the Temporary Internet Files folder are hidden, used by other processes, or otherwise protected files.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, move your Temporary Internet Files folder to another location, delete the old folder, and then (if you want to) move your Temporary Internet Files folder back to the original location:
  1. In either My Computer or Windows Explorer, create a new folder.
  2. In Internet Explorer, click Internet Options on the Tools menu.
  3. On the General tab, click Settings under Temporary Internet Files.
  4. In the Settings dialog box, click Move Folder under Temporary Internet Files folder.
  5. Click the folder that you created in step 1, and then click OK.
  6. If you are prompted to log off, click Yes, and then log on to Windows again. If you are not prompted to log off, click OK to close all of the dialog boxes.
  7. In either My Computer or Windows Explorer, delete the old Temporary Internet Files folder, and then create a new folder in the same location with the same name.
  8. Repeat steps two through six again, but in step five, click to select the new folder that you created in step seven.
NOTE: You must repeat this process when logged on as each user of the computer.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:12/5/2003
Keywords:kbenv kbnetwork kbprb KB301057
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.