In article ,
says...

Bruce Patis wrote:

... a friend's house who uses Windows XP....
I placed [the card] in a card reader ....
She then selected the image files on the card
that she wanted and copied them to the hard
drive.... when I examined the mysterious file(s),
it looked like some kind of database index ....

That's the Thumbnail Database Index, or
THUMBS.DB, created by Windows XP
to shorten the lag next time you access the
directory with Thumbnail View.

I don't want Bill Gates ... putting "stuff"
in my computer .... I'm curious whether
there is an option ... which turns off that
"feature".

Yes. In Windows Explorer, go to:
Tools, Folder Options, View, Advanced
and check the "Do Not Cache Thumbnails"
box.

You will also find PSPBRWSE.DB files
created by Paint Shop Pro, and other
database files to store thumbnail info from
a variety of multimedia programs like ACD
See, Photoshop, et alia. These are all created
on your storage media if you access them in
this way, just like on your hard drive. Most
of these apps have similar toggles.

They serve a purpose, of course. If you
have large numbers of image files, it can take
a lo-o-ong time for those thumbnails to
generate, especially if you use archival TIFFs.

Correct. These files are totally benign, and other than taking up space on the
card will have not effect on its operation, only the speed with which THOSE
images that were thumbnailed, are viewed, if you should place the card into an
XP, or OS-X computer. Re-formatting in your camera will delete them
completely. Also Tetractys, I didn't know about the Do Not Cache Thumbs,
thanks.

Hunt