{"id":1124,"date":"2011-03-21T19:20:29","date_gmt":"2011-03-21T13:50:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=1124"},"modified":"2019-06-19T18:58:31","modified_gmt":"2019-06-19T18:58:31","slug":"clear-ie-cache-command-line-rundll32","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/clear-ie-cache-command-line-rundll32\/","title":{"rendered":"Clear Internet Explorer Cache using Rundll32 Command-Line"},"content":{"rendered":"

The rundll32 command-line involving inetcpl.cpl and the entry point ClearMyTracksByProcess<\/code> which is widely in use since Internet Explorer 7, is effective only if it’s run in low integrity level. This is because in Windows Vista and higher, Internet Explorer manages two different cache containers, one for the Protected Mode and another cache folder to store files when Internet Explorer is outside the Protected Mode.<\/p>\n

When a user executes the following command in order to clear the cache:<\/p>\n

RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 8<\/pre>\n
The command executes with a Medium integrity level and thus clears only the cache folder for websites visited outside of Protected Mode. Whereas all of your cache files are in the Protected mode area, that is under the Low<\/b> directory.<\/p>\n
In order to properly clear the cache, you’ll have to run the same command again but this time launch it in Low integrity level. This is what Internet Explorer exactly does when you try to clear the cache via menu options. This is evident from the following graphic.<\/p>\n
\"Clear<\/p>\n
How to Clear Internet Explorer Cache Using Command-Line?<\/h2>\n
To properly clear the Internet Explorer Temporary Internet Files cache, use one of these options.<\/p>\n
Option 1: Using PsExec.exe<\/b><\/p>\n
Use from Windows SysInternals to launch Rundll32.exe with low Integrity Level. Download PsExec.exe<\/i> from Windows SysInternals<\/a> and save it to a convenient location. To clear IE cache, run this command:<\/p>\n
<Path:>\\psexec.exe -l c:\\windows\\system32\\RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 8<\/pre>\n
Example:<\/p>\n
c:\\tools\\psexec.exe -l c:\\windows\\system32\\RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 8<\/pre>\n
Thanks to magicandre1987<\/a> at StackOverflow for the PsExec tip.<\/i><\/p>\n
Option 2: Make a Copy of Rundll32.exe and Set it to Run with Low IL<\/b><\/p>\n
Open your Windows\\System32 directory. Make a copy of rundll32.exe and name the copy as rundll32-low.exe<\/p>\n
\"Clear<\/p>\n
Now, open an elevated or administrator Command Prompt, and type in:<\/p>\n
icacls rundll32-low.exe \/setintegritylevel low<\/pre>\n
You should “see the successfully processed 1 files” in the output.<\/p>\n
\"Clear<\/p>\n
Optionally, make a note of the disk space consumed by Internet Explorer’s Temporary Internet Files\\Low directory, that’s where the real cache (for Protected mode) is stored.<\/p>\n
\"Clear<\/p>\n
Press WinKey + R, and type the command-line to clear the IE cache, but this time using rundll32-low.exe<\/b>.<\/p>\n
RunDll32-low.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 8<\/pre>\n
\"Clear<\/p>\n
That does the job perfectly. Here you go.<\/p>\n
\"Clear<\/p>\n
You could also make a shortcut to the above command-line if you want.<\/p>\n
Note:<\/b> The above method has a small drawback. The rundll32-low.exe process does clear the cache perfectly, but doesn’t exit cleanly. The process shows up in Task Manager until you exit it manually. This shouldn’t affect the performance though.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The rundll32 command-line involving inetcpl.cpl and the entry point ClearMyTracksByProcess which is widely in use since Internet Explorer 7, is effective only if it’s run in low integrity level. This is because in Windows Vista and higher, Internet Explorer manages two different cache containers, one for the Protected Mode and another cache folder to store … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13],"tags":[264],"class_list":["post-1124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-internet-explorer","tag-internet-explorer"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":78295,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/turn-off-file-uri-history-run-dialog\/","url_meta":{"origin":1124,"position":0},"title":"How to Turn off File Path URI history in Run Dialog","author":"Ramesh","date":"April 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"When you open the Run dialog and type f or \/ (forward slash), the recently accessed files may appear in the list as file path URIs. You wonder where these entries are stored, as they're not in the RunMRU registry location. Resolution The file URI history comes from the IE\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows"","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Run dialog turn off or clear file URI history - inetcpl.cpl","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/run-uri-history-clear-inetcpl.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1015,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/clear-thumbnail-cache-windows\/","url_meta":{"origin":1124,"position":1},"title":"How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows 10 or 11","author":"Ramesh","date":"August 11, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Windows keeps a copy of all of your picture, video, and document thumbnails in a cache database so they can be displayed quickly when you open a folder. 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The full error message verbatim is mentioned below: An unexpected error is keeping you from copying the file. If you continue to receive this error, you can use the error code to search\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 10"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"0x80070522 unexpected error when copying a file - privilege not held. when copying files","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0x80070522-unexpected-error-copy-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0x80070522-unexpected-error-copy-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0x80070522-unexpected-error-copy-2.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0x80070522-unexpected-error-copy-2.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":167,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/how-to-rebuild-the-icon-cache-in-windows\/","url_meta":{"origin":1124,"position":3},"title":"How to Rebuild Icon Cache in Windows 10 or 11","author":"Ramesh","date":"April 8, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"We may face the icon cache corruption issue sometimes in Windows 10\/11 and earlier OS. 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