# Corrupt / Infected Temporary Internet Files Folder



## rgnoll (Oct 30, 2002)

Hello
My Temporary Internet Files folder is obviously infected / corrupted.
There are no visible files in the folder however, when I check the properties I find that its size is 820mb / 2.21g and contains 277,000 files and 19 folders. 
The attributes boxes are not checked, however, the "hidden" (middle box) is shaded. I cannot find a way to unshade the box. The "View" selection for folders is set to show hidden files, I even selected for protected op system files to show, Still nothing is showing in the TIF Folder.
I then renamed the folder and made a new TIF folder, cookies are still going into the old renamed and the hidded files are quickly multiplying.
I tried deleting the original renamed folder and cannot, am told it is a system folder and cannot be deleted. 
Apparently there is a dna (for lack of better) link to this corrupt folder, since the newly named folder is not being recognized.
I'd certainly appreciate any advisement on how to delete this folder.
I've done multiple virus scans with different products....included, Panda, Norton, Smart Cop, Stinger, etc. system is supposedly clean.
Won't be long until my 80hd will be full....
HELP....Thanks, Rg


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## Claymore (May 20, 2005)

Hi,

Not quite sure how you moved the Temporary Internet Files folder, but you can't just do it by manually creating a folder.

Go to Internet Options => General tab => Temporary Internet Files section => Settings button.

Select to 'Move Folder' and move it there temporarily - to a different drive or at least a different directory. Also check how much space is allocated. Reduce it to say, 20MB.

Restart the computer and try deleting the old Temporary Internet Files folder.
If it works, move it back to its original location.


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## rgnoll (Oct 30, 2002)

Well, you know the saying....if there is a will there is a way....lol
I dragged the folder to the desktop (renamed it), after creating a new folder with the original name. 
Yep, couldn't delete no hows....
When perusing the System Information Cache "summary" I noticed that the original Temporary Internet Files Folder (corrumpt one) had changed its location to where I had moved it to on the desk top....it then occurred to me that I needed to redirect the Temporary Internet Files to the new folder I had created in the Windows folder. 
Thus, as you suggest, I went into the tools menu of the browser and changed it. I then dumped the corrupt folder into the recycle bin, didn't shred until after reboot & testing. No problems, took like 5 or 6min for the trash bin to empty the 2+ gig folder..lol. 
Did a bit more housecleaning and I'm back to normal working order and speed.
Though I had finally solved it, your reply was most appreciated.....
A very strange thing indeed, a folder filled with 2.1 gigs of files and growing....that Cannot be seen or deleted. 
Regards, Rg


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## gurutech (Apr 23, 2004)

When you are in the Temporary Internet Files folder, you should see that in your address bar at the top of the window. Go to the end of it, and add "\Content.IE5" (so it will look like "C:\Documents and Settings\(username)\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5")

You will see a bunch of folders in there, which are safe to delete. They are copies of your temporary internet files.


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## WhitPhil (Oct 4, 2000)

Not seeing the contents of the \TIF folder is normal.

The reason that it is so large and contains so many folders is because by default the size is a percentage of the drive (15%?).

So, as recommended above, go to IE options and set the size to around 20MBs. This will reduce the number of folders to 4 and keep the size around 20MBs.


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