How To: Disable And Remove Thumbs.db Files In Windows XP

By default, whenever you pick “thumbnail” or “tiles” view, in your Windows Explorer, a local cache of a pictures thumbnail will be stored in that directory, in a file called Thumbs.db. It speeds things up next time you open that directory, because it can load the image from the cache – but it also creates an extra file in every directory

The Thumbs.db file is often viewable when the “Show Hidden Files” option is turned on in Windows XP. To activate this setting in Windows XP, first open a folder in Windows. Then choose “Folder Options” from the Tools menu. Click “Apply” in the lower-right corner of the window to apply the changes to the current folder. Click “Apply to All Folders” to show hidden files in all folders. Then click “OK” to close the window.The only drawback of the Thumbs.db file is that it takes up disk space. Although this space is very small in most cases, if you have a lot of thumbs.db files littering your hard drive you may be able to save some valuable space by removing them. You can delete the Thumbs.db file by simply dragging it to the Recycle Bin. However, the file will be regenerated each time you open the folder, which means deleting the file has little effect. To prevent the Thumbs.db file from being created, follow these instructions:

To disable Thumbnails View feature in Windows XP Professional edition :

• Click Start>click Run and type gpedit.msc and click ok to run Windows Group Policy
• Find following >> User Configuration/Administrative Template/Windows Components/Windows Explorer
• In right panel find and right click “Turn off caching of thumbnail pictures” and select properties
• In dialog box select “ENABLED” and click Apply and then OK.

To disable Thumbnails View feature in Windows XP Home edition :

• Open a folder (or the specific folder you want to change).
• Select “Folder Options” from the View menu.
• Click the View tab.
• Check the “Do not cache thumbnails” option (see below).
• Click “OK” to apply the change and close the window (or click “Appy to All Folders” to make the change systemwide).

Now follow the next steps to remove the thumbs.db files from your hard drive

• Click on Start
• Click on Search
• Click on All Files and Folders
• Type the following in the section called “all or part of the file name”
• thumbs.db
• In the Look in box, make sure Local Hard Drives is chosen
• Click Search
• A long list of thumbs.db files should appear, click on Edit, Select All
• Click on File, and choose Delete
• Close the Search Results window

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Written by Tony on February 12th, 2009 with 1 comment.
Read more articles on XP Annoyances.

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