Clear Out Temporary Files

Your Web browser uses space on your hard disk to store, or “cache,” Web pages that you view. Caching allows your browser to load recently viewed pages a lot more quickly, because retrieving those pages from your hard disk is faster than downloading them from the Web.

That is a great timesaver, but there are downsides to keeping those files on your computer. For one thing, they use up hard disk space. And in some cases, they can become corrupted and cause your browser to crash. It is a good idea to clean them out periodically — say, once a month. To learn how, follow the instructions below for your browser:

Microsoft Internet Explorer (Windows):
Click the Tools menu and select Internet Options. In the Temporary Internet Files section, click the Delete Files button. Check the box labeled Delete all offline content, and then click OK.

Microsoft Internet Explorer (Macintosh):
Click the Edit menu and select Preferences. In the left pane, click Advanced under the Web Browser heading. To the right, under the Cache section, click the Empty Now button. Click OK when you’re finished.

Netscape Navigator (Windows and Macintosh):
Click the Edit menu and select Preferences. Under the Advanced heading in the left pane, click Cache (if you see no entries under Advanced, click the small plus sign or arrow beside the word Advanced). To the right, click the Clear Disk Cache Now button. Click OK when you’re finished.

EarthLink 5.0 Browser:
With a browser window open, go to EarthLink 5.0’s Tools menu and select Delete Temporary Internet Files.