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Question about the cache

  • 2 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by FredMcD

FrozenFan93
FrozenFan93
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So I never really worried or cleared the cache in the past year on this computer. I occasionally cleared the cookies from time to time, but I never let Firefox clear cache or cookies due to me wanting to have some passwords saved on some sites and automatically log me in. But yesterday, I had a weird problem with the Frozen movie website (site is movies.disney.com/frozen). Whenever I clicked it, it was just a skinny image in the center of the screen with the drop down men to navigate to different sections, as opposed to the nicely designed website you'll get if you go there right now. I was wondering why the site looked like this on my computer, yet on all the other computers and tablets in the household, the site looked as it should.

So I decided to clear my cookies. That didn't help. Restarted computer. Didn't help. And finally I decided to clear the Firefox cache. That fixed the problem, and the site went back to normal. So my first question is, why did this fix the site? What was in the cache to cause the site to do this?

Also, after clearing my cache there the Cached Web Content was only using 1kb of disk space. Now, after almost a day, it is up to 230mb of disk space. Does this affect my computer in a massive way, or is the 250mb a small amount? And is it normal for the Web Content Cache to increase each time I open Firefox? And why does the amount of cached content keep rising so drastically? When I cleared it yesterday, I believe the cache was only using 351mb of disk space after only a year.

Last question is, can I have Firefox clear the cache when I close it without also clearing cookies, or do I have to clear both to make it work?

So I never really worried or cleared the cache in the past year on this computer. I occasionally cleared the cookies from time to time, but I never let Firefox clear cache or cookies due to me wanting to have some passwords saved on some sites and automatically log me in. But yesterday, I had a weird problem with the Frozen movie website (site is movies.disney.com/frozen). Whenever I clicked it, it was just a skinny image in the center of the screen with the drop down men to navigate to different sections, as opposed to the nicely designed website you'll get if you go there right now. I was wondering why the site looked like this on my computer, yet on all the other computers and tablets in the household, the site looked as it should. So I decided to clear my cookies. That didn't help. Restarted computer. Didn't help. And finally I decided to clear the Firefox cache. That fixed the problem, and the site went back to normal. So my first question is, why did this fix the site? What was in the cache to cause the site to do this? Also, after clearing my cache there the Cached Web Content was only using 1kb of disk space. Now, after almost a day, it is up to 230mb of disk space. Does this affect my computer in a massive way, or is the 250mb a small amount? And is it normal for the Web Content Cache to increase each time I open Firefox? And why does the amount of cached content keep rising so drastically? When I cleared it yesterday, I believe the cache was only using 351mb of disk space after only a year. Last question is, can I have Firefox clear the cache when I close it without also clearing cookies, or do I have to clear both to make it work?

All Replies (2)

guigs
guigs
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Hi, First, Frozen's song "Let it Go" has been stuck in my head all week <3.

Second your questions: "So my first question is, why did this fix the site? What was in the cache to cause the site to do this?" Depending on the server request the cache will check to see if the content has been modified. And there is sometimes an expiration date set in the cache to save network capacity use. You can check this out in the Network logging if you open up a Web Console.

"Also, after clearing my cache there the Cached Web Content was only using 1kb of disk space. Now, after almost a day, it is up to 230mb of disk space. Does this affect my computer in a massive way, or is the 250mb a small amount?" Generally this is a pretty small amount, as the defualt cache size is 359400 bytes. 

"And is it normal for the Web Content Cache to increase each time I open Firefox?" The cache will load from a file when you open Firefox. This is normally stored in a file inside of the Profile Folder.

"And why does the amount of cached content keep rising so drastically?" It should never go over the set limit in the about:config page for cache disk capacity.

"Last question is, can I have Firefox clear the cache when I close it without also clearing cookies, or do I have to clear both to make it work?" It is possible to set the Firefox setting History to not remember any history. This will clear the history cache.

I hope this helps.

Modified by guigs

FredMcD
FredMcD
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For next time, if a page has trouble loading, hold down the shift key and press the reload key (F5) or button. This will force the browser to reload the page fresh.