Your web browser’s cache is a place where it temporarily stores information on your computer. The cache contains a copy of the items you have downloaded from the Web, such as web pages, images, sounds, and sometimes cookies. Keeping these items on your hard drive helps web pages load faster the next time you view them. The more files you can load from your hard disk, the faster your browsing speed. Occasionally, pages that have been modified since your last visit do not load with the current content; you end up seeing what was stored in the cache. This can also adversely affect the behaviour of online applications, such as Yahoo! Games.

Clearing the cache sends all cached files to the Recycle Bin (Windows) or Trash (Macintosh), so the browser must load all new web page content. This procedure can fix behaviour issues. It also can free up space on your computer's hard drive and increase the exit speed from your browser.

To clear your cache, follow the instructions for your browser:

• Internet Explorer 7.0 and Higher
• Internet Explorer 6.0
• Firefox 3.5 and Higher
• Firefox 1.5, 2.0, and 3.0
• Safari 3.x and 4.0
• Google Chrome

If you’re running a browser other than those listed above and want more information about your browser's cache, refer to your browser's help file.

Internet Explorer 7.0 and Higher

To clear your cache with Internet Explorer 7.0 and Higher on Microsoft Windows:

1. From the Tools menu, select Internet Options. The Internet Properties dialog box appears.
2. On the General tab, in the Browsing History section, click Delete, and then click OK when prompted. All the files in your cache are now deleted.
   
   
3. In the Delete Browsing History dialog box, select the Temporary Internet Files checkbox. To fix undesirable behaviour, you might also need to delete cookies. If so, select the Cookies checkbox as well.
   
   Warning: Selecting the Cookies checkbox will clear web site passwords, login information (whether sites recognize you), site-specific preferences, and so forth.
   
   
4. Click Delete.
5. Click OK to close the Internet Properties dialog box.

Internet Explorer 6.0

To clear your cache with Internet Explorer 6.0 on Microsoft Windows:

1. From the Tools menu, select Internet Options. The Internet Options dialog box appears.
2. On the General tab, in the Temporary Internet Files section, click Delete Files.
   
   
3. In the Delete Files dialog box, click OK. All the files in your cache are now deleted.
   
   
4. To fix undesirable behaviour, you might also need to delete cookies. If so, click Delete Cookies.
   
   Warning: Selecting the Cookies checkbox will clear web site passwords, login information (whether sites recognize you), site-specific preferences, and so forth.
   
   
5. In the Delete Cookies dialog box, click OK. All the cookies saved on your hard disk are now gone.
   
   Warning: Selecting the Cookies checkbox will clear web site passwords, login information (whether sites recognize you), site-specific preferences, and so forth.
6. On the General tab, in the History section, click Clear History, and click Yes when prompted to confirm that you want to delete your history of web sites visited.
   
   
7. Click OK to close the Internet Options dialog box.

Firefox 3.5

To clear your cache with Firefox 3.5 on Microsoft Windows:

1. From the Tools menu, select Options.
   
   
2. In the Options dialog box, click Advanced.
   
   
3. Click the Network tab.
4. In the Offline Storage section, click Clear Now.
5. Click OK.

To set Firefox 3.5 to automatically clear the cache when you close Firefox:

1. From the Tools menu, select Options.
   
   
2. In the Options dialog box, click Privacy.
   
   
3. In the History section, select Use custom settings for history from the Firefox will pull-down menu.
4. Select the Clear history when Firefox closes checkbox, and then click Settings.
5. In the Settings for Clearing History window, select the Cache checkbox. To fix undesirable behaviour, you might also need to delete cookies. If so, select the Cookies checkbox as well.
   
   Warning: Selecting the Cookies checkbox will clear web site passwords, login information (whether sites recognize you), site-specific preferences, and so forth.
   
   
6. Click OK to close the Settings for Clearing History dialog box.
7. Click OK to close the Options dialog box.

Firefox 1.5, 2.0, and 3.0

To clear your cache with Firefox 1.5, 2.0, or 3.0 on Microsoft Windows or Mac OS X:

1. From the Tools menu, select Options (Windows). From the Firefox menu, select Preferences (Mac OS X).
2. In the Options dialog box, click Advanced.
   
   
3. Click the Network tab.
4. In the Offline Storage section, click Clear Now.
5. Click OK.

To set Firefox 1.5, 2.0, or 3.0 on Microsoft Windows to automatically clear the cache when you close Firefox:

1. From the Tools menu, select Options.
   
   
2. In the Options dialog box, click Privacy.
   
   
3. In the Private Data section, to clear your cache automatically every time you close the browser, click the Always clear my private data when I close Firefox checkbox.
4. Click Settings to see more options in the Clear Private Data dialog box.
   
   
5. In the Clear Private Data dialog box, select the Cache checkbox. To fix undesirable behaviour, you might also need to delete cookies. If so, select the Cookies checkbox as well.
6. Click OK to close the Clear Private Data dialog box.
7. In the Options dialog box, click Clear Now.
8. Click OK to close the Options dialog box.

Safari 3.x and 4.0

To clear your cache with Safari 3.x or 4.0 for Mac OS X or Microsoft Windows:

1. On a Macintosh, from the Safari menu, select Reset Safari.
2. On a Windows PC, from the Actions pull-down menu that looks like a gear, select Reset Safari. Note: This option is also under the Edit menu.
   
   
3. In the Reset Safari dialog box, select the Empty the cache and Remove all cookies checkboxes.
   
   
4. Click Reset.

Google Chrome

To clear your cache with Google Chrome for Microsoft Windows:

1. Click the wrench icon in the upper-right corner of the browser to display its pull-down menu.
   
   
2. Select Clear browsing data from the pull-down menu.
3. In the Clear Browsing Data dialog box, select the checkboxes for the items to remove: Empty the cache and Delete cookies.
   
   
4. Use the Clear data from this period pull-down menu to select how much of your information you want to delete. By default, Google Chrome only clears information collected in the last 24 hours. To clear browsing information from a longer period of time, select another option in the pull-down menu. To delete all data, select Everything.
5. Click Clear Browsing Data.