How to Unerase a Deleted Search History

Many people mistakenly believe that when they delete their search history it is gone forever. However, it's not really because it is stored in a hidden file known as the index.dat file. If you want to unerase a deleted search history, perhaps to see what another user has been doing on your computer, you can do so with the appropriate process.

Instructions

1. Download an index.dat file reader onto your computer if you don't already have one.

2. Click "Start," click "Search," click "Tools" and click "Folder Options." Click on the "View" tab and then click "Show hidden files and folders" and uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types" and "Hide protected operating system files." Then click "Apply" and "OK."

3. Search in "All Files and Folders" in the "C Drive" for the "index.dat" file.

4. Open the index.dat file with the index.dat file reader. Click the "Restore All" button to unerase your deleted search history.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't want to restore all deleted search history, click on the sections you do want to unerase and click "Restore Selected."

• You cannot unerase a deleted search history if the index.dat file has been cleaned because then the index.dat file will be empty.

References

• PC Tools: What is index.dat?

Resources

• Software Informer: Free index.dat reader