Most Recently Used (MRU) lists contain information such as the names and/or locations of the last files you have accessed. This information is mostly stored in the registry, but some applications still store the MRU in ini files. The MRU registry location depends upon the software which stores the entries in it's own registry key. This table will give you an idea about the registry locations and MRU lists.
MRU-Blaster is a program made to do one large task - detect and clean MRU (most recently used) lists on your computer. - Approx. 30,345 MRU items can be cleared using MRU-Blaster (3/28/2004). Download MRU-Blaster
Install MRU-Blaster and run it it. From the main screen, click Settings. Deselect the MRU items that you don't want to remove. Once done, save settings and go back to the main screen. Similarly go to the Plugins section and configure the Cookies and Temporary Internet Files settings accordingly.
Click Scan from the main screen. Once the Scan results are displayed, you can click Clean Now to clear the list. For deselecting items from the Scan results, click Show Results button.
Configure MRU-Blaster as said above
Open the MRU-Blaster folder (usually %ProgramFiles%\MRU-Blaster)
Double-click the file named Scheduler.exe
Configure the MRU cleanup time [ Seconds | Minutes | Hours ] accordingly
Click Save/Apply Changes. This will activate the Scheduler's Timer
Once done, click Minimize to Tray
The Scheduler file takes ~4 MB of the System Memory and sits in the Tray. This file triggers MRU cleanup at every interval.
MRU-Blaster supports -silent command-line argument which cleans the MRU lists without displaying it's window. This command-line argument is useful for Scheduling Tasks in Windows.
Configure MRU-Blaster as said in the top of the page
Click Start, Run and type control schedtasks
Double-click Add Scheduled Task. The Scheduled Task Wizard starts
Click Next
Under Click the program you want Windows to run, click Browse
In the Select Program to Schedule dialog box, open the %ProgramFiles%\MRU-Blaster folder
Locate and click the MRUBlaster.exe file, and then click Open
Under Perform this task, specify a name for the task and how frequently you want this task to run
Click Next
Under Select the time and day you want this task to start, specify a start time/date, and click Next
Type the user name and password to run this task under, and then click Next
Click to select the Open advanced properties for this task when I click Finish check box, and click Finish
Click the Task tab. In the Run box, specify any additional parameters ( -silent )that you want to use with MRUBlaster.exe. Example: The command-line is:
"C:\Program Files\MRU-Blaster\MRUBlaster.exe" -silent
Click OK
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This method does not invoke MRU-Blaster's Scheduler.exe, and does not sit in the Notification area. |