| What is it? A cache (pronounced "cash") is something important to everyone who browses the web. When you visit various web sites using any web browser, the content of a web site on a server (graphics, text and other types of files) are stored in a spot on your computer's hard drive -- that spot is the cache. Good and Bad. The cache can be helpful because as you re-access a web page, it will pull the data from your hard drive, rather than needing to download it again from the remote server, which speeds up browsing. However, if you are checking a site that is frequently updated (such as financial data or a news site), you may be reading the stale data from your cache and not the new content on the server. One way to pull down fresh information is to use your browser's "Refresh" (IE) or "Reload" (NS) command. Another Problem. Your browser may start performing erratically. Also, if you have a small hard drive with little free space, those files in the cache start stealing precious memory. When your cache fills up, performance can slow down. So clearing your cache is a good habit to get into and it is quite easy! How: | Microsoft Internet Explorer 1) Start Internet Explorer.
2) Click on "Tools."
3) Select "Internet Options." | IE - tools, internet options
| 4) Find "Temporary Internet Files"
5) Click "Delete Files" | IE - Temporary Internet Files, Delete Files, OK
| | 6) Click "OK" | | (An alternate method is to locate the directory where the files are stored, typically a directory named "Temporary Internet Files", select all of the files and hit "Delete." You will be presented with a "Warning" dialogue box, asking: "Are you sure you want to delete the selected Cookie(s)?" You should probably respond "No" to this question and only the temporary files will be deleted.) | | | | Netscape Navigator/Communicator 1) Start Netscape
2) Click on "Edit"
3) Select "Preferences" | NS - Edit, Preferences
| 4) Click the + sign next to "Advanced"
5) Select "Cache"
6) Click on both "Clear Memory Cache" and "Clear Disk Cache" | NS - Advanced, Cache, Clear, OK
| | 7) Click the "OK" button | | (An alternate method is to locate the directory where the files are stored, typically a directory named "Cache", select all of the files and hit "Delete." You will be asked: "Are you sure?" Respond "Yes" to this question and the temporary files will be deleted. Netscape should not be running when you do this.) | |
