The cache itself is a simple thing, but most useful. When you visit a web page you download not only the text in the page, but the images etc. These are put in a cache, and they usually have file names so obscure only the browser could figure it out. But the reason is that this way, every time you visit pages more than once, they load much faster because the images etc, which are often the heaviest part of the page are already in the cache and do not need to be downloaded again.
Therein we find the problem. After a while the cache can become bloated, and it can start to become both a problem with disk load and sorting (when surfing), as well as chewing up a lot of memory. So every now and again, or more like on a regular basis, we should clear this cache.
One the cache is cleared, the pages we access the most often will perhaps be a hair slower to load the first time we go back, but overall, the performance of the web browser will improve greatly.
In fact, if you surf a lot, say you're a surf-a-holic, then you can even notice that just opening the browser can become much slower and at times it could freeze. Oh, even history can be a lag inducer after a while, so you will have to decide if you want to get rid of that as well.
The browsing history is simply a list of links to the last boat load of web pages that you've visited, and can cause similar problems to those caused by the cache.
On windows vista you can clear your cache and history very easily. Just follow the click list below and you shouldn't have an troubles.(Xp users see the note just below the click list) These click lists are for users of Internet explorer 8, for other browsers, you should be able to find the directions in the help for your browser. If you have a different version of Internet Explorer, then there will be slight differences, but you should be able to find your way.
- Click on the round windows logo on the bottom right of your screen.
- Right click the internet explorer icon in the menu that pops up.
- Left click 'Internet Properties'.
- In the little window that pops up, click the 'Delete Button'
Now another window pops up (windows eh? name fits!), and a few default options are selected. The first one 'Preserve favorite website data' means that it won't touch anything from your favorite websites. That's a rather useful one, but sometimes I do wipe it just to keep down on the clutter. After all, I've many favorites, but I don't necessarily surf often. In fact my favorites list is more like a directory of the web! So that could be a big issue on the cache. You have to choose there. Either way, the worst thing is that your favs load like a fraction of a second slower than usual on the first visit after clearing the cache.
The next option is 'Temporary Internet Files'. These are the ones of the biggest interest (unless your favs are like mine!), and you'll want to make sure this box is checked.
The final default option is 'History'. This one is also one that can be important to clear. But hey, wait a sec on this one!!! The history is often a bloated monster especially for super-surfers, yet at the same time it can be rather use full for the absent minded (I've picked through my history to find things before!). So ponder this one for a minute.
Once you have the options you want selected, simply click delete. It may take a bit, but its worth the effort. I'm doing this as I write, and from how long its taking, I can tell I've spent the last several weeks scouring the web!
After the delete is done, just click 'Ok' to close the window. And you're done!
Hope this was helpful!
Trin
(PS: I said 3 parts, but I'm adding two bonus episodes! Disk Cleanup, and Check Disk.)
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