Clear Internet Explorer's URL History by Editing the Registry

The Windows registry is a large database of all the configuration settings and options on the Windows operating system. It stores information about your computer usage patterns. One type of information the registry stores is a list of popular URLs you have visited on Internet Explorer. The registry stores this information in order to make better suggestions when you start typing the beginning of an address in IE's address bar. However, if you wish to clear the registry of certain or all stored URLs, you can do so using a built-in tool called Regedit.

Steps

Backing up the Registry

  1. Log-in as an administrator. If you are the primary user of the computer, you are likely already logged in as an admin. If you are not the primary user and need to make an admin account, read our article about the topic for both Windows 7 & Vista, and Windows 8
  2. Open regedit. Open up regedit – Windows' built-in registry editor tool – by pressing the Windows key, typing "regedit," then pressing ↵ Enter. You will be asked whether or not you want to allow the following program to make changes to your computer. Click "yes."
  3. Click File. Click the File tab in the upper-left corner of the Registry Editor window to reveal a dropdown menu.
  4. Select Export. Backing up the registry essentially means you are exporting a copy of everything currently in the registry to a location on your computer. This is important because if you make a mistake when editing the registry, you can cause serious problems. You will want a back-up in case you mess something up.
  5. Save the copy. Select a location on your computer to save the copy of the registry to. Try to make the place somewhere secure. Don't save it on to a flash drive or other external hard drive.

Clearing the Registry

  1. Open Run. Press the Windows key, type "run," then press ↵ Enter. The Windows' run tool lets you quickly open up programs that aren't as easy to find on your computer, such as regedit.
  2. Open regedit. Type "regedit" into the run tool's input box. Then, press ↵ Enter. You will be asked whether or not you want to allow the following program to make changes to your computer. Click "yes."
  3. Double-Click HKEY_CURRENT_USER. On the left side of the Registry Editor window, you should see a list of folders all starting with "HKEY." Double-clicking the HKEY_CURRENT_USER folder will open up its contents, known in the Registry as its tree.
  4. Double-click on the Software folder. Within the HKEY_CURRENT_USER folder, you should see a folder titled "Software." Double-click on this folder to reveal its tree.
    • If you have trouble finding this folder, try clicking the 's' key to go through all items in the folder starting with the letter 's'. Keep on clicking until you see the Software folder.
  5. Double-click on the Microsoft folder. Within the Software folder, you should see a folder titled "Microsoft." Double-click this folder to reveal its tree.
  6. Double-click on the Internet Explorer folder. Within the Microsoft folder, you should see a folder titled "Internet Explorer." Double-click on this folder to reveal its tree.
    • Again, if you have trouble finding this folder, try clicking the 'i' key to go through all items in the folder starting with the letter 'i'. Keep on clicking until you see the Internet Explorer folder.
  7. Click on the TypedURLs folder. Within the Internet Explorer folder, you should see a folder titled TypedURLs. Click on this folder to show a list of URLs you most frequently visit. This is the list that Internet Explorer draws on to make auto-complete suggestions whenever you start typing a URL in the address bar.
    • If you see some websites that you have never visited, your registry may have been edited by malware. Malware will edit this list in order to direct you to websites that you would not normally visit. If you are concerned that your computer may be affected by malware, read our article about how to get rid of malware.
  8. Delete entries. You can delete either individual URLs or groups of URLs. After deleting a URL, Internet Explorer will no longer show this URL in your history and will no longer suggest the website. You can delete every entry except for the topmost entry. This is the placeholder entry and does not hold any actual URL.
    • Individual entries: Right-click on the URL entry under the "Name" header, click "Delete" from the dropdown menu. In the pop-up dialog box that warns you about deleting anything from the registry, click "Yes."
    • Multiple Entries: Click and drag over multiple entries in the "Name" column. Right-click on any of the selected entries, click "Delete" from the dropdown menu, then click "yes" in the dialog box.

Warnings

  • Always back up your registry, before making any edits.
  • Don't delete anything in your registry without knowing what you're doing. You can cause serious problems that requires you to reinstall your operating system.

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Sources and Citations

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