How do I clear the temporary Internet files (cache), cookies, and history from Internet Explorer or AOL?
Occasionally it may be necessary to delete cached Internet files in the Internet Explorer Temporary Internet files folder, locally stored Web site information (otherwise known as cookies), and the history of viewed Web page addresses. This allows Internet Explorer or AOL to refresh frequently used resources (such as www.websitename.com).
To clear the temporary Internet files (cache), cookies, and history from Internet Explorer or AOL, perform the following steps:
Close all open Internet Explorer and/or AOL windows using the
Close button in the upper right corner of the
window.
From the Start menu, select
Settings, and then click Control
Panel.
In Windows XP, from the Start menu, click
Control Panel.
From the Control Panel, double-click
Internet Options.
In Windows XP, click Switch to Classic View,
and then double-click Internet Options.
Step 4 and Step 5 detail
clearing the cache.
From the General tab, click Delete
Files.
From the Delete Files dialog box, click to
select Delete all offline content, and then
click OK.
Step 6 through Step 12 detail
how to manually clear cookies. To clear cookies automatically,
Internet Explorer 6 users may click Delete
Cookies, and then, from the Delete
Cookies dialog box, click OK. Proceed
to
Step 13 to learn how to clear the history.
Under Temporary Internet files, click
Settings.
Under Check for newer versions of stored
pages, ensure that Automatically is
selected, and then click View Files.
From the Edit menu, click Select
All.
From the File menu, click
Delete.
From the WARNING dialog box, click
Yes.
To close the Cookies window, click the
Close button.
From the Settings dialog box, click
OK.
After clearing cookies, your browser may not automatically log
into certain Web sites. If this occurs, you will need to
manually log into the sites(s) using your username/user ID and
password.
Step 13 and Step 14 detail
how to clear the history.
Under History, click
Clear History.
From the Internet Options dialog box, click
Yes.
Click OK.
