AOL by AOL

What is AOL?

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Overview

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How do I clean AOL?

AOL may store excess, temporary data on your computer that can take up valuable space. It may also store private data such as passwords or browsing history in the registry or on the file system. The easiest way to erase this data is by downloading AppCleaner, it is 100% free and about 1MB in size. A portable version is also available.

Clean AOL
with AppCleaner

If you want to clean AOL manually, you can follow the steps outlined below. There are nine locations in the file system where AOL stores data that can be cleaned.Additionally,AOL stores private data in three registry keys.

Registry

To clean the registry from data stored by AOL, you can use the Microsoft Registry Editor (regedit.exe) which is installed by default on all Windows operating systems. First of all, open regedit.exe by carrying out these steps:

• Hit the Windows key , usually located in the lower left of your keyboard between the Ctrl and Alt keys.
• Windows XP/Vista/7: Click Run...
• Type regedit.exe
• Hit Enter

Now use regedit.exe to delete the registry keys:

1. • Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER from the root of the tree in the left pane.
   • Expand Software.
   • Expand America Online.
   • Expand AOL Instant Messenger �.
   • Expand CurrentVersion.
   • Right-click recent IM ScreenNames.
   • Choose Delete from the context menu.
   • Click Yes.
2. • Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER from the root of the tree in the left pane.
   • Expand Software.
   • Expand America Online.
   • Expand AOL Instant Messenger �.
   • Expand CurrentVersion.
   • Right-click recent ScreenNames.
   • Choose Delete from the context menu.
   • Click Yes.
3. • Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER from the root of the tree in the left pane.
   • Expand Software.
   • Expand America Online.
   • Expand AOL Instant Messenger �.
   • Expand CurrentVersion.
   • Right-click Users.
   • Choose Delete from the context menu.
   • Click Yes.

Files

To clean your file system from files stored by AOL and to gain free disk space, examine the following file system locations. First of all, open a command prompt window:

• Hit the Windows key , usually located in the lower left of your keyboard between the Ctrl and Alt keys.
• Windows XP/Vista/7: Click Run...
• Type cmd
• Hit Enter

Now list all the files stored by AOL that can be cleaned:

1. Type dir %APPDATA%/AOL/C_AOL*
2. For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
   Type dir /s {folder}\*.tmp where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
3. Type dir %ALLUSERSPROFILE%/AOL/C_AOL*
   • Windows XP: Type dir %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data/AOL/C_AOL*
4. For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
   Type dir /s {folder}\bart/* where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
5. Type dir %ALLUSERSPROFILE%/AOL/C_AOL*
   • Windows XP: Type dir %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data/AOL/C_AOL*
6. For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
   Type dir /s {folder}\spool/* where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
7. Type dir %ALLUSERSPROFILE%/AOL/C_AOL*
   • Windows XP: Type dir %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data/AOL/C_AOL*
8. For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
   Type dir /s {folder}\*.tmp where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
9. Type dir /s %ALLUSERSPROFILE%/AOL Downloads/*
   • Windows XP: Type dir /s %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data/AOL Downloads/*
10. Type dir %LOCALAPPDATA%/VirtualStore/ProgramData/AOL/C_AOL*
    • Windows XP: Type dir %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data/VirtualStore/ProgramData/AOL/C_AOL*
11. For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
    Type dir /s {folder}\bart/* where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
12. Type dir %LOCALAPPDATA%/VirtualStore/ProgramData/AOL/C_AOL*
    • Windows XP: Type dir %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data/VirtualStore/ProgramData/AOL/C_AOL*
13. For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
    Type dir /s {folder}\spool/* where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
14. Type dir %LOCALAPPDATA%/VirtualStore/ProgramData/AOL/C_AOL*
    • Windows XP: Type dir %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data/VirtualStore/ProgramData/AOL/C_AOL*
15. For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
    Type dir /s {folder}\*.tmp where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
16. Type dir /s %LOCALAPPDATA%/VirtualStore/ProgramData/AOL Downloads/*
    • Windows XP: Type dir /s %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data/VirtualStore/ProgramData/AOL Downloads/*

Once you have identified the files stored by AOL that you want to clean, delete them using the del command or Windows Explorer.