I've known for some time about the content.ie5 directory in windows, (located in "Documents and settings --> (user) --> local settings --> temporary internet files" under XP).

One thing I never understood though is why it's so well hidden, in terms of the fact that you acctually have to know it's there and type your way to it if you want to see it. I've read a number of sites saying it's so M$ can spy on you etc. etc. I find this hard to believe.

Can anybody tell me what the folders in this directory are for, and why they are so strangely named? (ipluna, for example). Not important, I was just wondering.

This is where M$ stores its temporary internet files, like the pictures and text elements and whatever, when you are browsing.
Using this forum as an example, when you first come in you see the title-page with the different forums. IE stores this in your temp-internet-directories under arbitrary names, using 4 different sub-directories. Now you go into let's say the Windows OS forum. You see a list of threads. Again IE stores this info.
Now you discover (for argument's sake) that you picked the wrong sub-forum, so you click "Back". IE leads you back to the overview-page and uses its stored data from when you first went there, rather than downloading everything again from the internet.
This makes for faster browsing and has nothing to do with anybody "spying" on you. For that they use "cookies" but that is another story.
You can set your browser to empty these temp-files whenever you close your browser (rightclick IE in the desktop, select Properties, tab Advanced).

Hope this clarifies it for you.

Yes, I thought something similar, and like I said, I find it hard to believe that it's anything to do with spying.

What is bugging me though is the accessability of the folder. All the temp internet files can be found in "local settings --> temporary internet files", yet they appear to be duplicated/shadowed in various folders in "temporary internet files --> content.ie5", which can't be accessed from it's parent directory (in "my computer"), but instead must be accessed by typing in the folder path. Why so hidden? I'm desperatly trying to understand the logic of using the desktop.ini files to hide the folder from view in explorer, when they obviously aren't that critical to the stability of the system. Seems strange, that's all. Thankyou for your reply though. Knowing what they are for is one thing, understanding how they work is another.

If you go (in Explorer) to Tools/Folder Options/View you can set it to show all files incl. system files and the full name for those with known extionsions.
If you then go to those temp-inet-file-dirs you will see them normally (at least in W2K on my PC).

Oddball files: emptying from content.ie5

I have 3 strange files in my content.ie5 file. They have no ext that windows can recognize & read, so I can't dump them. They seem to be an odd set of information picked up on ebay items, maybe photos. Hmmm. How can I delete them? Maybe from the registry? They wouldn't bother me but they are on my computer at work and have been annoying my by their very presence, plus if any looked, they would know I have been ebaying when at workl (a no-no). I know very well how to delete regular old files, but because these seem to have corrupt file extensions, they won't delete, so what is the path through the registry to reach them? Any ideas will be great. Thanks!

Spike they hide them away because you don't use them directly and the is a set for each user.

Pamzia don't worry the admins know you're looking at e-bay already.

pamzia,
you could try to rename them with a .txt extension (if Explorer lets you), then delete them.

Renaming won't take

Thank you, yep, I have tried already but no ext will take. They are hanging there with NO extension, with a name about 50 chars. long that windows will not recognize -- and thusly, will not copy, delete or allow a rename. I keep thinking there is a registry key to open up the contentie.5 file(s) but how on earth would this be found? These files seem to be descriptions, as if they are code for the ebay pictures. How did a string of code get stored as a file name? Yikes, a crazy mess, for sure. Do I need a registry tweak and how do I do that in this case?

Was IE closed when you tried these steps?

Not Closed

It was closed from my desk, but I am on a network here. Usually I can clean all temp's myself, so I have some access. We have a dsl set up for internet use...so I can close out of it as a unit, but the network may stay open. I am not even sure if I can get to my own registry. Have looked at it but can'ttell it if it my own or that of the network we run.

Try it in safe mode.

And here is a util to delete weird-named files:
http://www.deletefxpfiles.com/index2.html

THX a bunch. Found the cache in the registry. I come to 4 folders path1, path2, path3, path4. Open each and they are not the creepy hanger files that I am trying to kill. No idea what next. I am not sure how to get to command prompt...you can see I am running low on craft, here. Perhaps it is time for a graceful exit before I do any permanent damage. Thank you for your help...I will use the registry info at home as needed. (Currently keep it neat and clean with a little applet, can't recall name.) Here at work cautions rules. No sys admins so we are on our own until the pudding hits the fan.

Careful with the registry. It is live, there is no save or undo. Make a backup first. In regedit highlight My Computer and then select Registry | Export Registry File...

And so I exit the game. The registry is no-person's land for an amateur. Those files will hang here and mock me daily, but the registry would be a WMD in my hands. I just don't know enough! Thank you for sharing your knowledge, though. (Knowing my limits, here.)

I remain a Windows victim,
Pam

Hang around and learn. You'll be confident enough to tackle it later.

Thanks again

Somehow I never got good at way deep stuff. I was there in the olden days and still remember the pre-windows infancy of those huge pizza boxes and (gulp) the REAL floppies. Ah, the BBS and 24bps modems of yore. Computer nostalgia is extremely short-lived. I am proud I got to be whizz-bang at desktop topics (no database ever scared me, hey) and pick up when I have to, but hailing passing geeks does get embarrassing. It's time to start reading posts, for sure! Your patience is appreciated.

The registry's a little beyond me too sometimes, but at the end of the day, all it is is just one big database!

I seem to have developed some kind of sense for what I can and can't safely touch in the registry, though still do the odd thing purely on guesswork and hope for the best#! lol

The trick is, I've found, to always export any key or value you are about to change before you make the changes. That way theres a far better chance that if something does go wrong, you can easily put it right again.

Display Content.IE5 folders in IE

There's an excellent freeware shell extension called "Open Subfolder" at http://www.bubblepop.com/opensubfolder/index.html that creates a right-click context menu which displays such otherwise-hidden folders.