Internet Explorer Does not Delete Temporary Internet Files on Close

Microsoft Internet Explorer may fail to delete Temporary Internet files, even if the advanced option to Empty Temporary Internet Files folders when browser is closed is turned on.

This issue occurs because a file lock is placed on temporary Internet files by third-party programs, such as antivirus software, when Internet Explorer tries to perform the temporary file deletion routine. This issue may occur if you try to manually delete the temporary Internet files or when you close Internet Explorer.

This issue may also occur if a central repository is used for temporary Internet files such as a network share, to store temporary Internet files for more than one user in the same folder. Microsoft does not support a configuration. The temporary Internet file location must be set on a "per user" basis, that is one folder per user. This is default behavior for Internet Explorer.

Antivirus Software

If Internet Explorer's temporary Internet file folder is locked by an antivirus program, you must configure your antivirus program to not lock out the folder used for temporary Internet files.

For more information, see your antivirus program documentation about how to do this.

Shared Temporary Internet File Folder

To work around this issue, you must create individual folders on the shared folder and for identification purposes, name the folder with the user's username. To change to the new location, follow these steps:

1. Start Internet Explorer.
2. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
3. Under Temporary Internet files, click Settings.
4. Under Temporary Internet files folder, click Move folder.
5. Locate the network share under My Network Places, and then locate the user's folder on that share.
6. Click OK, and then click OK two times.