Many people often ask what a cache is and how it works, and after they know how it works, another logical question follows: “How do I clear the browser cache on my computer?”. If you do not yet know what caching is and how to delete files from this operation, this article is for you.
What is a cache and how does it work
Whenever you write a request in your browser or enter the address of a site you want to visit, the browser stores the response from the server on your hard drive. The response refers to the HTML pages, files and images that you view (in a word, all this is called content). The next time you enter the same site address again, for example, the cache will use the previously saved result instead of contacting the server again to load the content.
Developers have implemented this feature in their browsers for several reasons:
- Reducing the load on network traffic(in other words, a decrease in the amount of data that is pumped through your Internet channel). This property is especially relevant when using mobile traffic, which costs a lot of money and the amount of data transferred is limited.
- Decrease in time waiting for a response and download. The data on request is already located on your computer or mobile device and, accordingly, there is no need to wait for a response from the server, which may be overloaded or not responding at all.
Every browser has a built-in caching service that allocates space on your hard drive or memory card for storage. And you constantly use this cache by pressing, for example, the “back” button or clicking on a link that you have recently viewed. The browser will automatically load the saved files.
In order for you not to constantly view the same outdated page, the browser checks whether the content stored on disk is outdated in relation to the page on the server and, if there are no updates, loads the cache from disk. If the page is refreshed, but permanent elements (for example, navigation buttons) are used on it all the time, the browser will take only these elements from the cache, and load the rest of the content from the site. This is a very simple algorithm that allows you to significantly speed up the Internet and save traffic.
How to clear the cache in Opera
Step 1: Open the menu in the opera by clicking on the inscription "Opera" in the upper left corner. In the drop-down list, go to the "Settings" menu. To make it faster, you can press the Alt + P hotkey combination.
Step 2: In the left tab of the settings window, select "Security". On the right, click on the "Clear browsing history ..." button.
In Settings, click on the "Security" tab.
Step 3: In the drop-down menu in the list, select the period for which you want to delete the cache. Check that there is a checkmark next to "Clear cache". And in the end, to clear the cache in the Opera browser, confirm the deletion by clicking on the "Clear browsing history" button
How to Clear Mozilla Firefox Browser Cache
Step 1: As in any other browser, open the settings. To do this, in the upper right corner, click on the settings and control button in the form of three stripes. In the menu that opens, open "Settings".
Step 2: In the left column, go to "Privacy". In the right column, find the "delete your recent history" text link and click on it.
Go to the "Privacy" tab
Step 3: In the drop-down menu, select the period for which you want to delete the browsing history and cache. Click for more details, check for a checkmark next to "Cache". Confirm the deletion by clicking on the "Delete now" button.
How to clear cache on google chrome
Step 1: Traditionally, we start with the settings. In the upper right corner, click on the three dashes and then click "Settings".
Click "Show advanced settings"
Step 3: In the "Personal data" section, click on the "Clear history" button.
Step 4: First - select for what period you need to clear the cache, then check that there is a mark for deleting the cache and at the end click the "Clear history" button.
How to clear Yandex browser cache
Step 1: Find three dashes at the top and go to "Settings". Yandex Browser settings one to one repeats the design and name in Google Chrome ... 🙂
Step 2: In the settings window, click "Show advanced settings".
Click the "Advanced Settings" button
Step 3: Click "Clear History..."
Click the "Clear History" button
Step 4: Choose a period for deleting history, check the box next to "files saved in the cache" and boldly click "Clear history"
Delete the Microsoft Edge cache
Well, in the end, let's look at the most interesting and yet mysterious Microsoft Edge browser.
Step 1: Press three dots (something new, though not dashes) and go to settings.
Click the "Choose what to clear" button
Step 3: We check that opposite "Cached data and files" there is a mark and click "Clear".
Clear browser cache with CCleaner
Edge is Microsoft's new browser that replaces Internet Explorer. I must say that the replacement turned out to be quite successful, many Windows 10 users note its high speed compared to its predecessor. Like many other browsers, it also uses the technology to save data from web pages. This technology allows you to download the most frequently used data from the cache - a special area on your hard drive - without downloading the Internet channel, which reduces the time it takes to load a web page. Sometimes, when accessing a web page, it may be displayed incorrectly or contain outdated information, in which case it becomes necessary to clear this area.
Microsoft Edge allows you to not only clear this area, but also completely disable it, if necessary. Let's see below how to clear the cache in Microsoft Edge.
How to completely clear the cache in Microsoft Edge
Thus, the area for storing information from web pages in the Microsoft Edge browser will be cleared
Disable cache in Edge
This is a new browser feature. Try to use it if necessary. To do this, follow these steps:
With the cache disabled, the browser will access the web page directly.
When you open any site, the browser saves it to your PC automatically. This is done so that the next time you open this page, it will load faster from local storage. But time passes and a huge number of such pages are collected, as a result of which, various kinds of freezes can be observed in the browser. Moreover, the browser cache is stored by default on the system drive (C:/) and over time, free space on this partition becomes less and less. This article will help you clear the cache in popular browsers Chrome, Firefox, Opera, YandexBrowser, Internet Explorer.
The cache is usually located in hidden folders, but we do not need to know their location, since each browser has its own mechanisms for deleting the cache. Below you will find instructions on how to clear the cache of the respective browser.
How to Clear Cache in Chrome Browser
This browser is used by most of all users. The browser is quite fast, and besides, it is adapted to all its services. To clear the cache in Chrome, click "Menu" - "History"
A window will open where you have to select the period for which you want to delete the cache. As shown in the screenshot below, check the box for "Images and other files ...". The remaining daws must be unchecked and click "Clear history"
How to clear cache in Firefox browser
Here is the second most popular browser called Mozilla Firefox. In it, we also press the button "Menu" - "Journal",
"Delete recent..."
Or you can do it differently, press the key combination “Ctrl + Shift + Del“. Now in the History Management window, select the period for which you want to delete the cache, uncheck all the checkboxes except for the "Cache" item and click "Delete now".
How to clear cache in Opera browser
If in secret, this is my first browser through which I first went to the Internet. Even then, I had access to the Internet through the GPRS service of a mobile phone, which was connected to a computer as a modem. Now Opera is not such a popular browser as it was then, but still people use it. So, to clear the cache in Opera, click on the "Opera" icon and select "History",
After selecting the cleaning period, leave a checkmark next to the "Cached images and files" item and click the "Clear browsing history" button.
How to Clear Cache in Microsoft Edge Browser
A fairly new browser from Microsoft, which is used only by happy owners of Windows 10. Personally, I used it and sometimes use it, in principle, a good browser, fast, convenient. To clear the cache in Microsoft Edge, go to "Settings", find the item "Clear browsing data".
Next, click the "Choose what to clear" button. Accordingly, we choose what needs to be cleared. We carefully look at whether the item "Cached data" is checked, it should be checked. To clear the cache, click the "Clear" button.
How to clear the cache in Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer is a browser that is used very rarely, we can say only a few. Personally, I use it after reinstalling the operating system to download another browser. However, especially for those who use Internet Explorer on a daily basis, below I have described how to clear the cache in it.To do this, click the "Tools" button and select "Internet Options",
Object caching during application operation is one of the fundamental principles of data storage and processing, which is used by all programs, including browsers. The article will tell you how to clear the browser cache, help you understand the sequence of actions if you need to manually clear it.
The physical location of the cache on the device, and working with it with built-in tools, differs for different browsers, but there are also general concepts.
What is a cache?
In the "Settings" menu, select the "Applications" section, find the browser in the list and open its settings. Further actions depend on the version of Android. The "Clear cache" button may be located on the main screen of the application's settings, or you will first have to open the "Storage" option - the button will be in this section.
In the example, the Chrome browser is used, but this is not important. Clearing the cache on a mobile device is a function of the operating system, not an application. The cache of any other browser will be cleared in the same way.
Manual cleaning is rarely performed, in emergency situations and when the browser does not work correctly. You should not clean it without the need, the programs themselves monitor the correctness and relevance of the contents of the cache.
The network offers various utilities, automatically, on schedule, or manually, removing "garbage", freeing up disk space, including from the cache. You can use them, but the built-in tools will better and more correctly cope with the task of deleting buffered data.
Finding the folder containing the cache files on the disk is easy. In the Mozilla browser, for example, the address about: Cache is used for this, in response, the disk path and cache parameters are displayed on the screen. Theoretically, you can open this folder in Explorer and delete all files from it. But this is incorrect, and it is better not to do so.
Forced specification of the disk and directory for the browser cache, as well as the size of the cache, is done through the settings, in the same section where cleaning is provided.
The exception is the Google Chrome browser and clones based on its engine. In this browser, the restriction and redirection is done through the launch line parameters.
In the label, in the "Object" field, after the closing quotes, a string of two keys is entered:
--disk-cache-dir=d:ttemp --disk-cache-size=104857600
The double dash before the key is not a typo, that's correct.
The --disk-cache-dir key specifies a directory, in the example the ttemp directory on drive D:
The --disk-cache-size switch specifies the cache size limit in bytes. In the example, the limit is set to 100 Mb.
Conclusion
Periodic cleaning of your computer or mobile device is essential. Gradually, unnecessary, unused files accumulate, cluttering up memory and disk, and the cache occupies one of the first places in this "garbage heap". A sign of the need to remove them is the slowdown of the device and failures when downloading new information from the Internet.
Some users have already switched to the new Microsoft Edge.
Not everyone knows where the cache is located in this browser. But working with this information affects the speed of the program itself.
Therefore, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the main recommendations.
Working with the cache in the new Microsoft Edge browser
When any site opens, information about it is saved on the PC in automatic mode. This is required in order to use local storage. Then pages load faster from it. But after some time, there are too many such pages in the repository. Because of this, less and less space is being created on the system drive C.
Clear cache in Microsoft Edge browser
The step-by-step instruction for performing this action will look like the following.
- We start by opening the browser itself. In the upper right corner we find the icon with three horizontal dots, and click on it. Select the item with Options in the window that appears after that.
- In the next menu there will be an item with clearing browser data.
- Uncheck the box for passwords. And click on clear.
This completes the main steps.
Using CCleaner to clean
First you need to download this application, and then run it on the computer itself. We need the "Cleaning" tab. Next - information about "Applications". It is necessary to check the box next to the item with the Internet cache. After that, just click on the button offering to analyze.
The application itself will calculate and show exactly how many files will be deleted after processing. Then click on cleanup.
How to reset browser?
This solution is relevant for those who have problems in their work even after the previous procedures have been successful. It is better to try a soft reset before deciding to reinstall the browser itself.
Performing a Soft Reset
In the upper right corner of the browser, click on the three dots in the horizontal plane. Then the context menu will open, where we need information about the Parameters. It is also better to use the pin icon so that the settings menu is saved.
You need to scroll down the window until a message appears with the option to clear all browser data. Under this item there will be a function for selecting those elements that require deletion. You can select the "More" option for more options. Removal is also available for: 
- Compatibility permissions.
- Permissions to open the window in full screen.
- Location permissions.
- Pop-up exceptions.
- Licenses for multimedia files.
If the error turned out to be related to the program itself, then such data cleaning will not help. This is an option for users who only have trouble logging in to certain pages. You can clear the history in the cache and cookies, information on visited sites. It should not lie in the computer for too long.
About hard reset
You can also remove Edge from the operating system. To restart the installation. And get the browser the way it originally came with the operating system itself.
PowerShell is one of the most accessible tools to make this task easier. You need to download the Reset_Microsot_Edge.xipm archive, proceed to unpack it. After that, right-click on the program file. Select "Run with PowerShell" from the context menu.
After that, you can add one of two commands to the script. 
- remove-item $env:localappdata\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\* -recurse -Force 2>$null
- Either Get-AppXPackage -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach (Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose) .
Thanks to the first command, the browser installation package is removed from the operating system. The second command is needed to re-add Microsoft Edge.
After the script is executed, Microsoft Edge will become the default browser.
Removing passwords from the cache
Passwords are usually stored in the settings of the Windows operating system itself. To get to this part, you need to go to the Control Panel. It's easy to find if you use the search. In the panel itself, we are looking for an item with User Accounts.
The Account Manager will appear. Select Manage your data. After that, the user will be taken to the password manager. The arrow on the right and the Show function must be selected if you want to see all the characters that have ever been entered on sites.
To remove passwords, just select the desired entry, and then right-click on it. The required function will appear by itself. In general, storing passwords in the browser is not recommended. It is better to use special programs for this. One of the best programs for this is Keepass. This will also allow you to unload the cache from unnecessary information. And make room for other entries.
Clearing the cache does not take much time, even for novice users. But this is a useful operation that allows you to speed up the browser. And correct mistakes.