In case you're running out of disk space or you just want to remove some data there are some procedures that you can follow in order to avoid running into any issues.
No matter which data you choose to delete, before starting ensure that all MT4 terminals are closed or at the very least that none of them is running a tick data backtest.
Removing history data
Whenever you run a backtest, the Tick Data Suite generates the HST files required to provide bar data to your backtest that is in perfect sync with the tick data. Due to the inefficient format that MT4 uses, these files can sometimes be as large as the tick data itself. Furthermore, the files are generated for each GMT and DST configuration that you use for each symbol which means their size can add up quite fast if you change these settings a lot.
If you wish to remove the HST data:
- Start the Tick Data Manager.
- Open the Manage history dialog by clicking the relevant entry in the ☰ popup menu.
- You will see a list of all the HST files created on your computer with the data source, symbol, GMT/DST and the size of each set. You should select the entries you wish to remove and click the Remove button.
It is possible to select multiple entries using SHIFT+click or CONTROL+click.
Note that removing history is a task so if you have any downloads running or any other queued tasks, the history removal task will get queued at the bottom. It's recommended to do this when there are no other tasks in progress.
Finally, it doesn't really matter if you accidentally remove some HST files that you still needed - they will get re-created automatically the next time you run a backtest for that symbol and GMT/DST configuration.
Removing tick data
If you no longer need the tick data for a particular symbol or for a certain period, you can remove it as follows:
- Start the Tick Data Manager.
- Click the ... button to the right of the symbol of your choice in order to open the Symbol operations dialog.
- Navigate to the Manage tab.
- Open the Remove data dialog by clicking the button with the same name.
- You will see a list of all the dates that have been downloaded to your computer together with their sizes. Select the dates that you would like to remove and press the Remove button.
You can select multiple dates using SHIFT-click, CTRL-click or you can even select all of them at once by pressing CTRL+A.
Just like the remove history task, removing tick data is also a task. That means it will get added at the bottom of your task queue so it's best if you run this when you have no ongoing downloads or any other running tasks.
Unlike the history data, once the tick data is deleted the only way to restore it is by downloading it again.
Removing all the data
We strongly advise against performing manual operations on the tick data repository but at the same time we realize that removing the tick data for many symbols can be rather cumbersome.
Consequently, if you would like to manually remove data please follow this procedure:
- Ensure that all MT4 terminals are closed.
- Ensure that the Tick Data Manager is closed.
- Start the Tick Data Suite support assistant from your Start menu.
- Navigate to the Settings tab.
- Click the Open data folder button.
- In the Explorer window that opens, navigate the folder structure and remove the folders that you no longer need.
The folders for each symbol are located in their respective source folders. For example, if you wish to remove all the downloaded tick data for the EURUSD symbol from the TrueFX source, you need to navigate to the TrueFx folder, select the EURUSD folder and remove it. Be sure to also empty your Recycle bin if needed. - When finished deleting, run the Tick Data Manager.
- Open the Settings dialog by using the ☰ popup menu.
- Navigate to the Data tab.
- Click the Data repository rescan button.
The process started in step 10 will reindex all the tick data on your disk. This may take a very long time depending on the quantity of tick data that remains in your repository.