To clear cached files in standalone Internet Explorer, open Tools > Internet Options > General > Browsing history > Delete, select only Temporary Internet Files (or the IE11 label, Temporary Internet files and website files), then click Delete. In Edge’s Internet Explorer mode, use Edge’s separate IE-specific clearing controls instead.
Clear the cache in standalone Internet Explorer
- Open Internet Explorer. If the menu bar is hidden, press Alt to reveal it, or use the gear icon if your version has one.
- Choose Tools > Internet Options.
- On the General tab, under Browsing history, select Delete.
- Select Temporary Internet Files or, in IE11, Temporary Internet files and website files. Leave other categories unchecked if you only want to clear cached files.
- Select Delete and wait for the operation to finish. Close the dialog, then select Close or OK to dismiss any remaining windows.
The wording and placement vary among older Internet Explorer versions. Microsoft-hosted legacy instructions document this route for IE7 and IE8, while an IE11 guide uses the longer checkbox label: Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browsing-history instructions and Utah State University’s IE11 guide.
What clearing the cache removes—and what it leaves alone
Temporary internet files are stored copies of web pages, images, and media. They are separate from cookies, browsing history, saved form data, passwords, and (in IE9) download history. To avoid removing unrelated information, select only the temporary-file category. Clearing cookies can sign you out of websites or remove site preferences; it is not required to clear the cache. The Preserve Favorites website data option is separate, so choose it according to whether you want to retain data associated with Favorites. Microsoft’s Delete Browsing History API reference describes the distinct data categories.
If you use Internet Explorer mode in Microsoft Edge
Internet Explorer 11 support ended on June 15, 2022, according to Microsoft Support. If a site still needs Internet Explorer, Microsoft’s supported route is to reload it in Internet Explorer mode in Edge; this is not the old standalone Internet Options dialog.
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- In Edge, open Settings and more > Settings.
- Open Privacy, search, and services.
- Under Clear browsing data, choose Choose what to clear in the section labeled Clear browsing data for Internet Explorer.
- Select the IE-mode data you want to remove and confirm. Select only the cache-related option if your goal is to clear cached files without removing other data.
See Microsoft’s Internet Explorer mode help and Microsoft Edge IE mode documentation. Microsoft recommends moving to a currently supported browser for continued security updates and technical support; clearing old cache does not restore Internet Explorer support or make unsupported browsing safe.
When clearing the cache does not fix the page
- Check the selected category: confirm that the temporary-file or website-files box was selected and that the deletion completed.
- Preserve sign-ins where possible: if you also selected Cookies, expect that some sites may require you to sign in again. Cookies are a separate category, not a necessary cache-clearing step.
- Check which browser handled the page: for a site opened in Edge’s IE mode, clear data in Edge’s IE-specific controls rather than relying on the standalone IE dialog.
- Do not treat a cache clear as a support fix: IE11 has ended support. If a site continues to fail, use a supported browser or Edge IE mode where the site requires it.
Or skip the browser setup
If you need a screenshot rather than a local cache cleanup, ScreenshotNeo returns a website capture through one GET request. Its API can return PNG, JPEG, WebP, or PDF; this example saves a WebP screenshot of the target page. See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation.
Quick Recap
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curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webpScreenshotNeo accepts cookie or consent banners like a visitor and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; each of those steps can be turned off. Bot checks or CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed, and the response identifies the page verdict and billing status in headers. Its MCP server offers screenshot and page-information tools for AI agents. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots a month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000.
Sign up for ScreenshotNeo’s free plan.
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