So far, it isn't a problem BUT: I have a "my Documents" file. (WinME). I recently noticed that it now contains several "dat" files. They are all small and have various modification dates. If I try to open such a file I get a warning message that the files are used by the operating system and various files. So, I don't open them. My question. How did they get into "My Documents" file. Should they be some place else? Can I (should I) delete them? I've just searched this site re; dat files. I don't really care to read them. I just don't want them in My Document file. They have names such as "old" "unclaimed" etc which tell me nothing. Will appreciate any advice.

Make a copy of the file on your desktop and double click on it. Choose to open it with Notepad and see what's inside. If it's garbled characters, it's not a text file for sure but probably some other system or program file. I wouldn't really worry about it though since you said it had .old extensions and others. They are usually used as a backup of the original just in case something goes wrong. So you can't move these files away from this folder at all? Kevin.

hello did you install kazaa it uses dat files

Thanks for the replies. The "old" I referred to is the name of the file. All of the extensions are ".dat" I am able to open the files with word pad and they are in English. I haven't tried moving them 'cuz I don't know where to put them. And, no, I haven't gone within ten feet of a Kazaa file. JC