Internet Explorer Cache Overflow
Tech Tips Volume 2004 No. 14
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Last week's Tip told you how to adjust the size of the disk space Internet Explorer (IE) allocates for temporary files and cookies (called the "cache"). In it, we promised to tell you about a condition called "cache overflow."
Cache overflow can happen because there are circumstances under which IE "loses track" of things it has stored in its cache. For example, if you hit the "Stop" button when a page is only partially loaded, the partial page is using space in the cache, but IE hasn't "counted" it yet. As you continue to browse, more items are added to cache. So if you browse indefinitely without clearing your temporary files and cookies, IE may end up putting more into your cache than fits in the size you set -- bingo, cache overflow! When it happens, the overflow can cause all kind of erratic behavior during browsing, and can even cause other applications to behave erratically, too.
How to prevent it
An overflow is most likely when IE loses track of some cache content and you allow the Temporary Internet Files folder to grow indefinitely. Because it's not simple to directly monitor accumulation of garbage, the easiest way to prevent overflow is to delete your Temporary Internet Folders regularly, per the instructions in last week's Tip. That way, even if there's a little garbage in there, you'll have ample room for additional, legitimate cache content.
While this won't guarantee that you never have an overflow (garbage may still accumulate and could theoretically fill your cache eventually), it will certainly reduce your exposure.
How to fix it
There is a way to manually clear out the garbage, but it is hard to explain and tedious. A better way is to go to
http://www.pcpitstop.com/pcpitstop/AutoFix.asp?file=IntIEOvr.js
and use the "autofix" utility you find there.
You can use this utility to clean out garbage anytime, but it, too, is a bit of a chore, because your anti-virus software (AVS) won't like what the utility tries to do; you have to coax your AVS to allow the utility to work. So we recommend that you try to prevent the condition to begin with, and only use the utility if in fact you believe you have an actual overflow.
If you do chose to use Autofix on this site, first disable any popup killer software you may be running. Read the instructions available on the page. (They include the steps for manually removing garbage, too, if you want to give that a go.) We like to run Autofix straight from our browser.
Your AVS will probably issue a warning when the utility executes, probably about "suspicious script" activity. Instruct your AVS to allow this script, but only for this session. You may have to do this repeatedly, as the script is applied to a series of hidden folders that contain the garbage. (On our Tech Tips computer, we had to OK the script almost 20 times.) The utility will tell you when it has completed its work.
Copyright 2003-2005 by Shulman Clark Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.
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