How to clear cache on Windows computer: Step-by-step

If you’re someone who uses your computer everyday, you may notice that your PC becomes slow over time. 

There are several reasons for this, one of which is that your cache is stuffed, and you need to clear it out.

If you have tried other measures to speed up your computer but it is still slow, chances are your browser cache is to blame. 

We will help you to clear your cache in this step-by-step guide so that you get your computer up and running again.

What is a cache?

A cache is a temporary store of information on your computer, which is stored by your browser, operating system, or apps, to help you access information faster. The cache can store web pages you have visited, pictures, etc. 

While the aim is to speed up things for you so that you don’t have to load up information afresh every time, it can become the reason why your computer slows down if it becomes too stuffed.

Why you should Clear Cache on your computer

From the discussion so far, improving your computer’s performance is clearly one of the reasons you should clear cache. This reduces load times for apps and browsers, making your PC run smoothly.

Another reason is to fix some errors. Sometimes a full cache can cause your computer to malfunction, and simply clearing it can fix the problem. 

Clearing the cache also frees up storage space on your computer, which gives more room to store more important things and improve the overall performance of your computer.

Finally, clearing your cache helps to protect your privacy. By clearing out saved cookies or browsing history, no one will be able to track which websites you visit and what you are doing.

Types of cache

There are different types of cache that you might want to clear. They include the following:

• Browser Cache

This is cache stored by web browsers to speed up the process of browsing the web. By storing copies of visited websites, you’ll be able to more easily open the sites again from the cache for browsers like Google Chrome, Firefox, Brave, and Microsoft Edge.

• System Cache

The computer’s operating system also stores cache to help in speeding up system operations.

• Application Cache

Computer apps such as image editors or streaming apps like YouTube also store cache to help you access information faster.

• DNS Cache

This cache helps you to browse faster by storing the most recent domain names that you searched for.

How to clear cache on your computer

This guide focuses in clearing cache for Windows computers using the following steps.

Clear Browser Cache

We’ll use Chrome as a case study here.

1. Open your Chrome browser
2. Click on the three vertical dots on the upper-right corner
3. Click on Delete browsing data

4. On the dialogue box, check the boxes for Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files. Also choose the time range for which you wish to clear, but it’s usually All time if you wish to make your computer work better.

5. Once done, click on Delete data. Your browser cache will be cleared for the specified time frame.  
6. You may also just wish to clear cache for a particular URL. In that case, you can just use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + F5 on the page that is open on the web browser. this does a hard refresh, causing the browser to clear the cache and reload the web page.

Clear System Cache

You can clear your system cache using the Disk Cleanup Tool. 

1. On your Taskbar, search for Disk Cleanup.
2. Select Disk Cleanup from the result.

3. Select the drive to clean up if there are more than one.

4. Select the files to delete on the popup, such as temporary files, system files, and files in the Recycle Bin.
5. Click OK, and confirm that you wish to delete the files when prompted and it’s done.

Clear DNS Cache

1. Search for cmd in the search bar.
2. Right-click on Command Prompt, and select Run as Administrator. Confirm that you wish to allow the program to run on the computer.
3. Copy and paste ipconfig/flushdns in the Command Prompt and press the Enter key.

4. You’ll get instant feedback saying you are successful.

Final thoughts

It is important that you regularly clear your cache if you don’t want it to be a problem for you. This makes your computer faster and smoother so you enjoy using it.

If you find this guide useful, please consider sharing it to help others.  Also if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop them in the comment section.