Slightly off-topic: Tracking Files
 

I use CCleaner everyday to purge my browsing history, etc.
It used to run faster. It takes quite a while to even remove
"counters.dat", whatever that is. I don't remember it being an
issue before. Evidently, I can accumulate 2000-8000 "tracking
files" without even doing a lot of browsing (how is this
possible?). I don't even use the IE browser, yet it seems to
takes a while to remove Internet explorer data. It is true that
I am using an older version of the CCleaner app, but I don't
believe this is the issue. Thank you for your guidance!

Bill

Slightly off-topic: Tracking Files
 

On Sat, 30 Jun 2018 17:03:43 -0400, Bill wrote:

| I use CCleaner everyday to purge my browsing history, etc.
| It used to run faster. It takes quite a while to even remove
| "counters.dat", whatever that is. I don't remember it being an
| issue before. Evidently, I can accumulate 2000-8000 "tracking
| files" without even doing a lot of browsing (how is this
| possible?). I don't even use the IE browser, yet it seems to
| takes a while to remove Internet explorer data. It is true that
| I am using an older version of the CCleaner app, but I don't
| believe this is the issue. Thank you for your guidance!
|
| Bill

You don't set your browser to delete your browsing history when you close it? Firefox
on my systems is set to clear everything except cookies for sites I visit often.
When I run CCleaner, it usually deletes almost nothing from Firefox. I run the free
version of CCleaner only before each backup, but keep it up to date. It runs
quickly.

Larc

Slightly off-topic: Tracking Files
 

Bill wrote:
I use CCleaner everyday to purge my browsing history, etc.
It used to run faster. It takes quite a while to even remove
"counters.dat", whatever that is. I don't remember it being an issue
before. Evidently, I can accumulate 2000-8000 "tracking files" without
even doing a lot of browsing (how is this possible?). I don't even use
the IE browser, yet it seems to takes a while to remove Internet
explorer data. It is true that I am using an older version of the
CCleaner app, but I don't believe this is the issue. Thank you for your
guidance!

Bill

Use Process Monitor to track the I/O operations. The current
version may not be WinXP compatible, so you might need to look
for an older version for WinXP.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sys...nloads/procmon

This is the info for WinXP:

Version 3.1

https://web.archive.org/web/20150117...rnals/bb896645

I had some trouble with the download link. I hope this works.

https://web.archive.org/web/20150208...essMonitor.zip

*******

The trace control is a tick mark in the file menu.
Remove the tick mark to stop the trace from collecting
any more data.

The filter is not important to collecting a trace.

Later, you can set the trace to:

"Operation" "Is" "CreateFile"
"Operation" "Is" "ReadFile"
"Operation" "Is" "WriteFile"

You can also limit the process name to whatever ccleaner
actually uses for operations.

By watching what it's doing, what file seems to take
many seconds to process, you can tell us what area
of the file system it's spending all this time.

*******

I have a browser (Seamonkey) which doesn't properly
clear the caches when you select that from the menu.

To deal with Seamonkey I delete a few things manually.

I'm not a CCleaner user, so I hope that much can get
you started. Start ProcMon, which will start tracing
right away. Start CCleaner. When CCleaner is finished
and exited, stop the trace in ProcMon using the File
menu tick box, then have a look at what happened.

Paul

Slightly off-topic: Tracking Files
 

Paul wrote:

To deal with Seamonkey I delete a few things manually.

I AM using Seamonkey too! Are there some things that aren't
getting deleted that you could tell me about? Maybe that's where
the process time is going....too much on "counters.dat"!

Bill

Slightly off-topic: Tracking Files
 

Bill wrote:
Paul wrote:

To deal with Seamonkey I delete a few things manually.

I AM using Seamonkey too! Are there some things that aren't getting
deleted that you could tell me about? Maybe that's where the process
time is going....too much on "counters.dat"!

Bill

I don't have a "counters.dat" on the C: drive.

Try Procmon.

*******

Things I search for:

_cache === search a level above this, for any additional junk
# === flash related
+++ === files with URL names, tracking via video playback
webappsstore.sqlite === grows with time, tracking something

Those are examples.

Paul

Slightly off-topic: Tracking Files
 

On 01 Jul 2018, Paul wrote in
alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt:

I don't have a "counters.dat" on the C: drive.

I do! Three of then, in fact. I have no idea what they are or what
they do. I don't think I've ever used IE on this Win7-64 computer.

C:\Users\me!\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Tem porary Internet Files\counters.dat

C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\L ocal\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\counters.dat

C:\Windows\SysWOW64\config\systemprofile\AppData\L ocal\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\counters.dat

Slightly off-topic: Tracking Files
 

Nil wrote:
On 01 Jul 2018, Paul wrote in
alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt:

I don't have a "counters.dat" on the C: drive.

I do! Three of then, in fact. I have no idea what they are or what
they do. I don't think I've ever used IE on this Win7-64 computer.

C:\Users\me!\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Tem porary Internet Files\counters.dat

C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\L ocal\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\counters.dat

C:\Windows\SysWOW64\config\systemprofile\AppData\L ocal\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\counters.dat

Would those be for Internet Explorer ?

I checked the other machine, and it doesn't have those either.
(Searched with Agent Ransack on a Win10 install.) Mind you, I
don't use IE all that often.

Paul

Slightly off-topic: Tracking Files
 

Bill wrote in part:
Paul wrote:
To deal with Seamonkey I delete a few things manually.

I AM using Seamonkey too! Are there some things that aren't
getting deleted that you could tell me about? Maybe that's
where the process time is going....too much on "counters.dat"!


With any browser which stores lots of user-data, annually I
save a minimum of required data (bookmarks, contacts for those
who use them), then create a new blank user profile and use it.
This leaves a lot of cruft behind in the old profile. Hard to
pick out what to delete, just trash it all after the new is working.

-- Robert

Slightly off-topic: Tracking Files
 

On Sat, 30 Jun 2018 17:03:43 -0400, Bill wrote:

I use CCleaner everyday to purge my browsing history, etc.
It used to run faster. It takes quite a while to even remove
"counters.dat", whatever that is. I don't remember it being an
issue before. Evidently, I can accumulate 2000-8000 "tracking
files" without even doing a lot of browsing (how is this
possible?). I don't even use the IE browser, yet it seems to
takes a while to remove Internet explorer data. It is true that
I am using an older version of the CCleaner app, but I don't
believe this is the issue. Thank you for your guidance!

Bill

I assigned HotKeys to a suitable freeware utility, Cntr_Alt_Key for
bringing up batch, or CMD, file(s). I navigate [CD ;REM change
directory] to any directories, deleting [DEL *.* /...] as needed
browser program artifacts. In another instance, I use Beyond Compare,
a freeware synchronization tool, for the browser as installed and set
up as I like, prior to connection. When the hotkey is initiated and
up the browser called, the CMD/BAT overwrites (viz Beyond Compare) a
prior session, occupying a different working directory, from a that
steady-state definition directory aforementioned, which then occurs at
the working directory being hotkeyed, just prior to the browser
executable, again in the work directory, being called.

Something along how CCleaner is intended, I suppose. A little more
encompassing and at times beyond even Beyond Compare, as I treat three
browsers in a similar manner. Except in an instance of one involving
relay nodes (similar to a VPN), basically similar to the above but for
two stages, as that particular browsers needs be taken back, erasures
devolving into a further "pristine restorative" state, as the relays
all have to be granted permission and contacted online for their
validity.

Slightly off-topic: Tracking Files
 

On Sun, 01 Jul 2018 14:44:18 -0400, Flasherly
wrote:

Something along how CCleaner is intended, I suppose.

-
Not as much about profiling, aside, evidently. Whatever the
synchronization state is drawing from will be the same result to the
working directory. I don't use a present FireFox, mostly portable
sorts, although I see where someone has written an extension for
FireFox which randomizes the browser state settings - as they're
largely used for profiling purposes by industry collection services.

Provided of course that FireFox hasn't by now "broken" it.

Slightly off-topic: Tracking Files
 

On 01 Jul 2018, Paul wrote in
alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt:

Nil wrote:
I do! Three of then, in fact. I have no idea what they are or
what they do. I don't think I've ever used IE on this Win7-64
computer.

C:\Users\me!\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Tem porary Internet
Files\counters.dat

C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\L ocal\Microsoft\W
indows\Temporary Internet Files\counters.dat

C:\Windows\SysWOW64\config\systemprofile\AppData\L ocal\Microsoft\W
indows\Temporary Internet Files\counters.dat

Would those be for Internet Explorer ?

I checked the other machine, and it doesn't have those either.
(Searched with Agent Ransack on a Win10 install.) Mind you, I
don't use IE all that often.

I'm sure they're related to Internet Explorer somehow, since they live
in IE's temporary files directory. I also find them on my Win7-32
system. I do NOT find them on my XP or Win10 systems. Hmmmm...

I just fired up IE on this Win7-64 computer and I guess it's the first
time since I built the computer last December, because I got the prompt
asking me if I wanted IE use "recommended settings". I had an idea that
maybe COUNTERS.DAT had to do with running IE for the first time, but
the files are still there and their dates are still 12/12/2017.

I find other people asking on the web about what that file is. Nobody
seems to know. It seems to be difficult to delete.

Slightly off-topic: Tracking Files
 

On Sat, 30 Jun 2018 17:03:43 -0400, Bill wrote:

I use CCleaner everyday to purge my browsing history, etc.
It used to run faster. It takes quite a while to even remove
"counters.dat", whatever that is.

Maybe you should ask the people of Avast. After all, they've purchased
CCleaner not so long ago...

--
s|b

Slightly off-topic: Tracking Files
 

On Sun, 01 Jul 2018 15:16:23 -0400, Nil
wrote:

It seems to be difficult to delete.

Resistance is futile. Or, even for Microsoft, rather ironically,
General Public Licensing has GRUB pretty much written in bold Bull's
Eye lettering on the wall. (Excluding one of Windows 10's recent
patches which "broke" GRUB.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compar...f_boot_loaders

NTFS then being somewhat a minor imposition for "static" maintenance.
"Ghosting", or imagining software capable of advanced editing within
its own images. Although few do among those that will well cost.

Operational VM system imaging and a 128M/Byte developer's platform
would be another interesting scenario.

Another is to zero it out, a null overwrite. A proviso of Microsoft
coding for looping validity and a prior state of counters.dat to
intermediary accountability -- in extremity the infamous "blue" or
other errant form of terminable screen.

As any type of CCleaner sort knows, among degrees of severity these
programs attempt, that results are not to be held accountable for data
loss, when a standard user assumes responsibility to contain their
system for events of failure.

Or, none of the above: Microsoft operates at "levels" of associative
permission permitted modular modifications. A core modular or highest
system-level being both impermissible and proprietary, if all but
inured (sic) by dint of US Copyright.

When 'difficulty' is another informality and hardly anything but
easier a second time up. (Unless perhaps a preclusion by another
formality, such as a scrutiny for Windows' "programs" given leeway by
code-writers of WINE.)

Slightly off-topic: Tracking Files
 

Robert wrote:
Bill wrote in part:
Paul wrote:
To deal with Seamonkey I delete a few things manually.

I AM using Seamonkey too! Are there some things that aren't
getting deleted that you could tell me about? Maybe that's
where the process time is going....too much on "counters.dat"!


With any browser which stores lots of user-data, annually I
save a minimum of required data (bookmarks, contacts for those
who use them), then create a new blank user profile and use it.
This leaves a lot of cruft behind in the old profile. Hard to
pick out what to delete, just trash it all after the new is working.

-- Robert


I appreciate that tip! TYVM!

Bill

Slightly off-topic: Tracking Files
 

Bill wrote:
Robert wrote:
Bill wrote in part:
Paul wrote:
To deal with Seamonkey I delete a few things manually.

I AM using Seamonkey too! Are there some things that aren't
getting deleted that you could tell me about? Maybe that's
where the process time is going....too much on "counters.dat"!


With any browser which stores lots of user-data, annually I
save a minimum of required data (bookmarks, contacts for those
who use them), then create a new blank user profile and use it.
This leaves a lot of cruft behind in the old profile. Hard to
pick out what to delete, just trash it all after the new is working.

-- Robert


I appreciate that tip! TYVM!

Bill

Most browsers have an "Export Bookmarks".

That's the bit worth saving.

In some browsers, the option is buried three
layers deep, as if they don't want you to know
the option is available.

This converts proprietary formats such as
..jsonlz4 or some binary database format,
into something you can use for "import" later.

This should be done before making significant
changes to the browser and trashing the
possibility of Export.

Paul

Slightly off-topic: Tracking Files
 

Paul wrote:
Bill wrote:
Robert wrote:
Bill wrote in part:
Paul wrote:
To deal with Seamonkey I delete a few things manually.

I AM using Seamonkey too!Â* Are there some things that aren't
getting deleted that you could tell me about?Â* Maybe that's
where the process time is going....too much on "counters.dat"!


With any browser which stores lots of user-data, annually I
save a minimum of required data (bookmarks, contacts for those
who use them), then create a new blank user profile and use it.
This leaves a lot of cruft behind in the old profile.Â* Hard to
pick out what to delete, just trash it all after the new is
working.

-- Robert


I appreciate that tip!Â* TYVM!

Bill

Most browsers have an "Export Bookmarks".

That's the bit worth saving.

In some browsers, the option is buried three
layers deep, as if they don't want you to know
the option is available.

This converts proprietary formats such as
.jsonlz4 or some binary database format,
into something you can use for "import" later.

This should be done before making significant
changes to the browser and trashing the
possibility of Export.

Â*Â* Paul

Thanks again. I was wondering how I was going to relocate the
bookmarks!

BTW, I just tried to delete my 2 files, counters.dat--and I
couldn't even do it as administrator (I received the message "in
use by explorer.exe").
I think that's at the crux of why CCleaner is running slower for
me--everytime it runs, it tries, and fails, to delete these files.

Bill

Slightly off-topic: Tracking Files
 

Bill wrote:
Paul wrote:
Bill wrote:
Robert wrote:
Bill wrote in part:
Paul wrote:
To deal with Seamonkey I delete a few things manually.

I AM using Seamonkey too! Are there some things that aren't
getting deleted that you could tell me about? Maybe that's
where the process time is going....too much on "counters.dat"!


With any browser which stores lots of user-data, annually I
save a minimum of required data (bookmarks, contacts for those
who use them), then create a new blank user profile and use it.
This leaves a lot of cruft behind in the old profile. Hard to
pick out what to delete, just trash it all after the new is working.

-- Robert


I appreciate that tip! TYVM!

Bill

Most browsers have an "Export Bookmarks".

That's the bit worth saving.

In some browsers, the option is buried three
layers deep, as if they don't want you to know
the option is available.

This converts proprietary formats such as
.jsonlz4 or some binary database format,
into something you can use for "import" later.

This should be done before making significant
changes to the browser and trashing the
possibility of Export.

Paul

Thanks again. I was wondering how I was going to relocate the bookmarks!

BTW, I just tried to delete my 2 files, counters.dat--and I couldn't
even do it as administrator (I received the message "in use by
explorer.exe").
I think that's at the crux of why CCleaner is running slower for
me--everytime it runs, it tries, and fails, to delete these files.

Bill


Does Task Manager show any iexplorer.exe tasks ?

Don't forget to turn on the "full details", as the
initial appearance of the thing is rather limited
in what it presents.

Paul

Slightly off-topic: Tracking Files
 

Paul wrote:
Bill wrote:
Paul wrote:
Bill wrote:
Robert wrote:
Bill wrote in part:
Paul wrote:
To deal with Seamonkey I delete a few things manually.

I AM using Seamonkey too!Â* Are there some things that aren't
getting deleted that you could tell me about?Â* Maybe that's
where the process time is going....too much on "counters.dat"!


With any browser which stores lots of user-data, annually I
save a minimum of required data (bookmarks, contacts for those
who use them), then create a new blank user profile and use it.
This leaves a lot of cruft behind in the old profile.Â* Hard to
pick out what to delete, just trash it all after the new is
working.

-- Robert


I appreciate that tip!Â* TYVM!

Bill

Most browsers have an "Export Bookmarks".

That's the bit worth saving.

In some browsers, the option is buried three
layers deep, as if they don't want you to know
the option is available.

This converts proprietary formats such as
.jsonlz4 or some binary database format,
into something you can use for "import" later.

This should be done before making significant
changes to the browser and trashing the
possibility of Export.

Â*Â*Â* Paul

Thanks again.Â* I was wondering how I was going to relocate the
bookmarks!

BTW, I just tried to delete my 2 files, counters.dat--and I
couldn't even do it as administrator (I received the message
"in use by explorer.exe").
I think that's at the crux of why CCleaner is running slower
for me--everytime it runs, it tries, and fails, to delete these
files.

Bill


Does Task Manager show any iexplorer.exe tasks ?

No, but it does show a/the explorer.exe process. Its description
on the right says "Windows Explorer". I think this is not
closely related to internet explorer, but I could be mistaken. I
don't run Internet Explorer unless a web site "forces me" to.

Bill



Don't forget to turn on the "full details", as the
initial appearance of the thing is rather limited
in what it presents.

Â*Â* Paul

Slightly off-topic: Tracking Files
 

Bill wrote:
Paul wrote:
Bill wrote:
Paul wrote:
Bill wrote:
Robert wrote:
Bill wrote in part:
Paul wrote:
To deal with Seamonkey I delete a few things manually.

I AM using Seamonkey too! Are there some things that aren't
getting deleted that you could tell me about? Maybe that's
where the process time is going....too much on "counters.dat"!


With any browser which stores lots of user-data, annually I
save a minimum of required data (bookmarks, contacts for those
who use them), then create a new blank user profile and use it.
This leaves a lot of cruft behind in the old profile. Hard to
pick out what to delete, just trash it all after the new is working.

-- Robert


I appreciate that tip! TYVM!

Bill

Most browsers have an "Export Bookmarks".

That's the bit worth saving.

In some browsers, the option is buried three
layers deep, as if they don't want you to know
the option is available.

This converts proprietary formats such as
.jsonlz4 or some binary database format,
into something you can use for "import" later.

This should be done before making significant
changes to the browser and trashing the
possibility of Export.

Paul

Thanks again. I was wondering how I was going to relocate the
bookmarks!

BTW, I just tried to delete my 2 files, counters.dat--and I couldn't
even do it as administrator (I received the message "in use by
explorer.exe").
I think that's at the crux of why CCleaner is running slower for
me--everytime it runs, it tries, and fails, to delete these files.

Bill


Does Task Manager show any iexplorer.exe tasks ?

No, but it does show a/the explorer.exe process. Its description on the
right says "Windows Explorer". I think this is not closely related to
internet explorer, but I could be mistaken. I don't run Internet
Explorer unless a web site "forces me" to.

Bill

Internet Explorer is likely "iexplore.exe" or so.

Whereas "explorer.exe" would be the desktop. It's more
than just a file manager window, as it decorates stuff too.

In Windows 10, the desktop is "dwm.exe" as near as I can
figure out. And not everything ending in .exe on Windows
10 is an actual PE32 or PE32+ application either. There
are some tricky ones made with alternative methods
(HTML/JS). By comparison, the older OSes were easier
to figure out.

Paul

Slightly off-topic: Tracking Files
 

On Mon, 2 Jul 2018 00:11:50 -0400, Bill wrote:

No, but it does show a/the explorer.exe process. Its description
on the right says "Windows Explorer". I think this is not
closely related to internet explorer, but I could be mistaken. I
don't run Internet Explorer unless a web site "forces me" to.

Might like a look at Process Lasso
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Process_Lasso

Once a mainstay, unfortunately no longer freeware, although it can be
had for nothing, upon occasion I notice others say, when offered free
for some incentive, possibly through an email registration exchange
thing.

I've an older version, perhaps not now available for self apparent
reasons, when programmers want hard money.

Running programs, although similarly identifiable within a Windows'
counterpart program style resource monitor, have slowed down my
computer without a usual indicative from apparent resource draw. Once
I forcibly terminated them the operating system resumed to normal
status and function. Where PL does it's thing, is that rules can be
specifically defined for particular instances of programming modules -
PIDs - such as stopping, terminating them, throttling priorities,
restricted utilization and such.

Not that you shouldn't be able to trouble-shoot from Windows'
provisions for side-processes, knowing first how and what you're using
to delete files isn't the culprit -- at anything less than as it
effectively should be -- for an instantaneous erasure.

Stuttering all over sectors can be Bad News anytime, especially on a
disk if indicative of a possibly bad or failure-prone HDD headed
southbound. A fully-stuffed and fragmented drive, conceivably with
its files busted up and all over hell, although I've never run with a
likes, so they say, will also evidence "thrashing" in a bad way.