Cleaning Out the Cache
Posted on 23. Feb, 2009 by Kimberly in mac
I have had a lot of clients ask me lately. “How do I clean out the browser cache?” or “What is a cache?”
So here is some information to assist you.
When using Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, temporary files are stored onto the hard drive of your computer to help speed up your web surfing. These temporary files, referred to as your cache, need to be emptied periodically. If you have a small hard drive, you need to empty your cache often because the temporary internet files can take up a lot of space and slow down your computer.
- Clean out your temporary files in Internet Explorer. Open your browser and click on “Tools.” In the pull down menu, click “Internet Options.”
- Select “Delete” under the heading of “Browsing history” in the General tab. This will pop up another window that gives you several options: Temporary Internet Files, Cookies, History, Form data and Passwords. Click on “Delete files” under the “Temporary Internet Files” heading.
- Wait a few moments while your computer deletes all your temporary Internet files. When it is finished running, click “Close.” Your Internet files are now cleaned out.
- Clean out your temporary Internet files using Mozilla Firefox. Open a window in your browser. In the tool bar along the top, and click “Tools.” Then in the pull down menu, select “Clear Private Data.”
- Check the box next to “Cache” in the pop-up window. Make sure the rest of the boxes are unchecked. Then click on “Clear Private Data Now” at the bottom. The window will close itself when your cache is emptied.
- Set your computer to clear your cache automatically using Firefox. Click on “Tools,” and then “Options.” In the pop-up window, you can choose “Always clear my private data when I close Firefox.” This will not only clear your temporary Internet files, but also your passwords and other private information every time you close Firefox. Now I actually only hit the control button on my mac and hit the refresh page as I have a lot of passwords I really do not want to delete – so you need to make a choice there.
- Change the settings for storing your temporary internet files in Internet Explorer. Again, click on “Tools,” and then “Internet Options.” In the pop-up window under the General tab, click on “Settings” underneath the “Browsing history” section.
- Set the amount of disk space to use and other settings under the “Temporary Internet Files” section in the pop-up window. This will optimize your computer so that it does not get bogged down with too many stored temporary files.
Probably a good idea to clean out the cache at least every month as it bogs down your browser.
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Kimberly Beaven is a Web Designer and Creative Director of BlueWave Media. She is is truly a gadget girl who loves architecture, photography, design and coding. Learn more via twitter or her Google Profile. If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to our RSS feed.