How to Clear Temp Files, Cookies and History in Internet Explorer 6

Large amounts of temporary Internet files can bog down your computer.

Temporary Internet files and cookies are little snippet files that save parts of webpages on your computer for quicker, easier access when you return to those pages. Although these files can be useful, the number of them stored on your machine can add up quickly, taking up a lot of space. Fortunately, Internet Explorer 6 includes options for deleting these files.

Instructions

1. Close any browser windows that you have open.

2. Click your "Start" button and select "Control Panel."

3. Double-click "Internet Options."

4. Locate a group titled "Temporary Internet Files." To delete all the cookies stored on your computer, click "Delete Cookies." To delete all temp files, click "Delete Files."

   Depending on the number of temp files on your machine, your system may appear to hang when you click "Delete Files." Don't let this alarm you. Give it a few minutes, and it should delete all files successfully.

5. Locate the History group and click "Clear History." You can also minimize the number of days Internet Explorer stores pages in its history by altering the number next to "Days to keep pages in history."

Tips & Warnings

• Set Internet Explorer to automatically delete these files each time you exit your browser. To do this, click the "Advanced" tab in the Internet Properties box. Under the Security group, place a check next to "Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed" and click "Apply."

References

• Winhelp2002: Safely Delete the Temporary Internet Files