PC TUNING NOTES
Speeding up Internet Explorer
 Cache
is a local storage area in your browser in which previously viewed HTML pages and
images are stored. If a previously viewed Web page is accessed again, the copy is
loaded from the cache. With this technique, unnecessary Internet traffic is avoided.
For some unknown reason, the default for "Check for newer versions of stored pages"
was changed in Internet Explorer 5.0. The default is now "Every visit to the page".
This can dramatically slow down Internet Explorer, as it has to load and reload
graphics each time there is a new graphic, and the cache is not used.
To change the default:
- Start Internet Explorer
- Click on the Tools menu button
- Click Internet Options
- On the General Tab, click the Settings button
- For the "Check for newer versions of stored pages" options, choose "Every time you
start Internet Explorer"
- Click OK, then OK again
The only time that the "Every visit to the page" option might be useful, is for
dynamic pages (for example, showing up-to-the-minute stock exchange prices). But
for 99.99% of the time, these page refreshes are unpleasant and frustrating.
To check for yourself the difference, change the page refresh default to "Every
visit to the page". Then go to the top of this page, and test the speed of the menus
– moving the cursor quickly over the links on the left hand side. The changes
to the graphics, will be appreciably slower.
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