How to clear Internet Explorer browser cache
Monday, 7th February 2005
Internet Explorer (IE) 7.x (Windows):
- Under the Tools menu at the top of your browser, select Internet Options.
- Click the General tab.
- In the Browsing History section of the General tab, click the Delete button.
- Under Temporary Internet Files, select the “Delete Files…” button.
- A dialog box will appear that says, “Are you sure you want to delete all temporary Internet Explorer files?” Click the Yes button.
- In the History section of the General tab, click the Clear History button. A dialog box will appear that says, “Are you sure you want Windows to delete your history of visited Web sites?”?
- Click the YES button.
- Click close to leave the Browsing History section.
- Click OK to leave Internet Options.
- Click the Refresh button at the top of the browser
Internet Explorer (IE) 6.x (Windows):
- Under the Tools menu at the top of your browser, select Internet Options.
- Click the General tab.
- In the Temporary Internet files section of the General tab, click the Delete files button.
- A dialog box will appear that says, “Delete all files in the Temporary Internet Files folder?”? Click the OK button.
- In the History section of the General tab, click the Clear History button. A dialog box will appear that says, “Are you sure you want Windows to delete your history of visited Web sites?”?
- Click the YES button.
- Click OK to leave Internet Options.
- Click the Refresh button at the top of the browser
Internet Explorer (IE) 5.x (Windows):
- From the Tools drop-down menu at the top of the browser, select Internet Options.
- Click the General tab at the top of the Internet Options dialog box.
- In the Temporary Internet files section of the General tab, click the Delete files button.
- A dialog box will appear that says, “Delete all files in the Temporary Internet Files folder?”? Click the OK button.
- In the History section of the General tab, click the Clear History button.
- A dialog box will appear that says, “Delete all files from your History folder?”? Click the OK button.
- Click OK to leave Internet Options.
- Click the Refresh button at the top of the browser. (This button is to the right of the Stop button.)
Tip: If you have stored web pages for offline viewing, check “Delete all offline content”?
Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) 4.x and 5.x (Mac):
- From the Edit menu, choose Preferences.
- Click the arrow next to Web Browser to expand the menu, then choose Advanced.
- In the Cache section of the window, click Empty Now.
- Click OK to leave Preferences.
Internet Explorer (IE) 4.x (Windows):
- From the View drop-down menu at the top of the browser, select Internet Options.
- Click the General tab at the top of the Internet Options dialog box.
In the Temporary Internet files section of the General tab, click the Delete files button. - A dialog box will appear that says, “Delete all files in the Temporary Internet Files folder?”? Click the OK button.
- In the History section of the General tab, click the Clear History button.
- A dialog box will appear that says, “Delete all files from your History folder?”? Click the Yes button.
- Click OK to leave Internet Options.
- Click the Refresh button at the top of the browser. (This button is to the right of the Stop button.)
Tip: If you have Explorer 4.x Active Channel subscriptions, check “Delete all subscription content”? to delete cached channel content as well.
Internet Explorer (IE) 3.x:
- Select “View > Options”? from the main menu
- Change to the “Advanced”? tab
- Click on “Settings”? button
- Click on “Empty Folder”
Tip: If you’re running out of hard disk space, you could reduce percent of disk space used by Explorer 3.x for its cache by sliding the “Amount of disk space to use”? guage.
Tip: Although it’s not required by all browsers, it is a good idea to restart your browser after clearing the cache. If you’re using Internet Explorer it’s sometimes better to restart your computer as well.