Clear Cache

I hope one of you 'puter pro's can answer my problem. My lapgtop has been running very slow lately and I know it is due to build up of old searches and downloads in my memory cache but unlike my desktop set I don't see any way for me to clear the cache on my laptop. I am using a Gateway model 6020z with XP. Any solutions? Thanks for any help you can offer.

PC

I take it you know the basic way for Internet Explorer, but just for kicks I'll throw it in:
1. Menu > Tools > Internet Options.
2. Delete Cookies.
3. Delete Files.
4. Clear History.

This site shows the "how to" for every kind of browser.

Now, if you're really into Conpiracies, you'll find that there's a second set of hidden Cache.
This site
This is only recommended for the brave! And follow instructions very carefully! (This site gives the same steps just shorter and in simpler words.)

You can also do a Windows Dsik Cleanup to speed things up a bit. www.optimizingpc.com...

Also take a look at your right hand corner and remove unnecessary background programs and processes, like Quicktime, etc.

You can also speed up your start-up by deleting the preload/prefetch files.

1. Browse to C:\windows\Prefetch.
2. Delete all files (or at least all those older than say 2 or 3 weeks) except Layout.ini!

You can also turn prefetch off. Prefetch is designed to speed up program launching by preloading programs into memory - not a good idea is memory is in short supply, as it can make programs hang. To disable prefetch:

1. Click 'Start' then 'Run'
2. Type in 'Regedit' then click 'Ok'
3. Navigate to 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters\'
4. Right-click on "EnablePrefetcher" and set the value to '0'
5. Reboot.

You may also want to run RegClean (Download here)

If you still battle with low speeds, you may want to consider a drive format or a hardware upgrade (RAM or Harddrive space). ONLY as a last resort!

Hope that helps.

[edit on 19-4-2006 by Gemwolf]

My lapgtop has been running very slow lately and I know it is due to build up of old searches and downloads in my memory cache but unlike my desktop set I don't see any way for me to clear the cache on my laptop.

Take a look at whats running in the background. If you have spyware and adware running invisibly, that will bog down your internet link horribly aswell.

(Its also a good idea to get rid of any other useless programs wreaking havoc on your ram aswell.)

Go to START > RUN > type MSCONFIG and hit [ENTER]
Click on the STARTUP tab at the top right.

In here you will find a list of programs which are set to start when windows starts. This is unlike your startup folder... which technically should be done away with if I were microsoft.
You can uncheck anything you know is useless.
A good thing here is, anything listed here can be unchecked without harm to your system. There are no system necessary programs listed here, so feel free to uncheck with glee... GLEE I SAY!

If you notice a program you like didnt load when windows starts next time... thats fine. Just go back in there and put the checkmark next to that program again.

Good luck...

let us know how it goes.

[edit on 19-4-2006 by johnsky]

Try a program called Crap cleaner. www.ccleaner.com...

It has regular deletion and secure file deletion using 1 pass, 3 pass DOD, and 7 pass NSA. Its free, and its great. You can pick and choose what you want to delete, and you can add custom folders that you want to delete, it has a software uninstaller utility, a registry cleaning utility, and a windows startup editor . Easy to use if you just want to clear out all your temp files. If you download and install there are 2 things to remember, uncheck Yahoo toolbar install option during setup (You will see a few Checkboxes on one page during setup.Uncheck the bottom one), and once installed and you run the program, click on Options->Advanced-> and uncheck delete files older then 48 hrs if you want to completely erase everything.

Another good tip to use for IE 6.0 is click on TOOLS->Internet Options->Settings and change the usually extremely high number in the box to 100MB and click OK and click apply if its lit.
Good Luck

Pie

Thank you Gemwolf,Johnsky & thePieman for all of your help. Performance is still a bit sluggish but definately much improved. Again, many thanks.

PC