# Thumbs.db

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thumbs-db/165610>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 1, 2003, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thumbs-db/165610 "2003-04-01T01:53:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![SlickRoenick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@SlickRoenick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlickRoenick)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thumbs-db/165610/1 "2003-04-01T01:53:33Z")

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I’ve read this is some kind of Windows file, but it’s a hidden system file and I’m half scared to delete it. Does anyone know about this file or what it does?

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**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thumbs-db/165610/2 "2003-04-01T01:59:20Z")

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[http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,13357,00.asp](http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,13357,00.asp)

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**Author:** ![SlickRoenick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@SlickRoenick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlickRoenick)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thumbs-db/165610/3 "2003-04-02T04:03:30Z")

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The article says for Win98 and 95, I have W2K. It this a problem?

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**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thumbs-db/165610/4 "2003-04-02T04:21:45Z")

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It’s also in XP. Actually I never saw it until I got XP. I delete mine all the time. They’re created when you view files (i think just image files) in Explorer as thumbnails. So you may have a folder with “photo1.jpg” “photo2.jpg” “photo3.jpg” and then Thumbs.db. You’ll only “see” it if you show hidden files or look at your file system through a non-OS program like an FTP client or something else. I always delete them, never have a problem.