Article ID: 260897 - Last Review: January 27, 2007 - Revision: 5.2

How to Delete the Contents of the Temporary Internet Files Folder

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SUMMARY

This article describes how to delete the contents of the Temporary Internet Files folder.
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MORE INFORMATION

The Temporary Internet Files (or cache) folder contains Web page content that is stored on your hard disk for quick viewing. This cache permits Internet Explorer or MSN Explorer to download only the content that has changed since you last viewed a Web page, instead of downloading all the content for a page every time it is displayed. To delete the files in the Temporary Internet Files folder, follow these steps:.
  1. Quit Internet Explorer and quit any instances of Windows Explorer.
  2. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Internet Options.
  3. On the General tab, click Delete Files under Temporary Internet Files.
  4. In the Delete Files dialog box, click to select the Delete all offline content check box , and then click OK.
  5. Click OK.
Notes
  • If the Temporary Internet Files folder contains a significant amount of Web page content, this process may take several minutes to complete.
  • An administrator can customize your Temporary Internet Files settings and prevent you from changing them (for example, by removing the General tab from the interface in the Internet Options dialog box). If you cannot access the Internet Options dialog box or the General tab, contact your administrator for more information.
  • Files that start with the word "Cookie" may remain in your Temporary Internet Files folder after you follow these steps. These files are pointers to the actual cookie files that are located in your Cookies folder. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    158769  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/158769/EN-US/ ) Emptying Temporary Internet Files Folder Leaves Cookies Files
    For additional information about how to delete cookies, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    278835  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/278835/EN-US/ ) How to Delete Cookie Files
  • In some cases, files that are downloaded from Web sites may remain in your Temporary Internet Files folder but are not visible in Windows Explorer after you follow these steps. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    301057  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/301057/EN-US/ ) Temporary Internet Files Use More Disk Space Than Specified
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REFERENCES

For additional information about the Temporary Internet Files folder, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
155353  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/155353/EN-US/ ) How to Adjust Cache Size for Temporary Internet Files
172949  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/172949/EN-US/ ) How to Change the Location of Temporary Internet Files
263070  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/263070/EN-US/ ) How Internet Explorer Cache Settings Affect Web Browsing
175885  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/175885/EN-US/ ) Cannot View Temporary Internet Files on Shared Computer
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APPLIES TO
  • MSN Explorer
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0, when used with:
    • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
    • Microsoft Windows XP Professional
    • Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition
    • Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
    • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
    • Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
    • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Edition
    • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
    • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition
    • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition
    • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition
    • Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
    • Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
    • Microsoft Windows 98 Standard Edition
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Keywords: 
kbinfo kbenv KB260897
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