In order to speed up web browsing, browsers are designed to download web pages and store a copy of them on your computer. That way, next time you visit the page, the browser speeds up display time by reading the copy of the page that's now on your computer instead of downloading everything from the internet again. Sometimes the files stored in the cache folder can become corrupted and mess things up. If your browser is going unusually slow, or certain particular web sites won't work, or you are having any other strange browsing problem, one of the first things you should try is clearing the cache.

Locate your browser from the list below, and then follow the instructions to clear the cache.

Internet Explorer 7 or 8 for Windows
1. From the Tools menu, select Internet Options.
2. In the "Browsing History" section, click Delete.
3. Make sure that "Cookies" and "Temporary Internet Files" are both checked.
4. Click Delete.
5. When the window closes, just click OK or Cancel on the Internet Options window.

Internet Explorer 4, 5, or 6 for Windows
1. From the Tools menu (for the old version 4, the View menu), select Internet Options.
2. In the "Temporary Internet Files" section, click the Delete Files button.
3. Put a checkmark by "Delete all offline content", then click OK. You may get the hourglass and have to wait as long as several minutes.
4. While you're in here, you could also delete cookies, but that's up to you.
5. In the Internet Options dialog box, click OK.


Firefox for Windows
1. From the Tools menu, select Options.
2. In the Options window that appears, select Privacy.
3. There are several "Clear" buttons. Click the last Clear button next to Cache, and then OK.
4. Or, to clear all information stored while browsing, click the Clear All button at the bottom.


Mozilla or Netscape Navigator 7.1 for Windows
1. From the Edit menu, select Preferences.
2. In the left panel of the Preferences dialog box, click the + (plus sign) in the box to the left of Advanced. Click Cache.
3. Click Clear Cache.
4. Click OK.


Netscape Navigator 4.x, 6.x, or 7.0 for Windows
1. From the Edit menu, select Preferences.
2. In the left panel of the Preferences dialog box, click the + (plus sign) in the box to the left of Advanced. Click Cache.
3. Click Clear Memory Cache. Confirm by clicking OK.
4. Click Clear Disk Cache. Confirm by clicking OK.
5. In the Preferences dialog box, click OK.


Safari for Mac OS X
1. From the Safari menu, select Empty Cache.
2. The "Are you sure you want to empty the cache?" dialog box appears.
3. Click Empty.


Mozilla Firefox 1.0 for Mac OS X
1. From the Firefox menu, select Preferences.
2. In the Options window that appears, select Privacy.
3. There are several "Clear" buttons. Click the last Clear button next to Cache, and then OK.
4. Or, to clear all information stored while browsing, click the Clear All button at the bottom.


Internet Explorer 4.x and 5.x for Mac OS and Mac OS X
1. In Mac OS X, from the Explorer menu, select Preferences. In Mac OS 9.x and earlier, from the Edit menu, select Preferences.
2. In the left panel, click the arrow to the left of Web Browser. Click the Advanced button.
3. Under "Cache", click Empty Now, then click OK.


Netscape 6.x or later and Mozilla for Mac OS and Mac OS X
1. In Mac OS X, from the Netscape or Mozilla menu, select Preferences. In Mac OS 9.x or earlier, from the Edit menu, select Preferences.
2. In the left panel of the Preferences dialog box, click the arrow to the left of Advanced. Click Cache.
3. Either click the Clear Cache button, or click both the Clear Memory Cache and Clear Disk Cache buttons.
4. In the Preferences dialog box, click OK.


Netscape Navigator 4.x for Mac OS
1. From the Edit menu, select Preferences.
2. In the left panel, click the arrow to the left of Advanced.
3. Click Cache.
4. Click Clear Disk Cache Now, then click OK. Click OK again.