by Joyce Kohl
October 1, 1998
Within the last few days, two members of my family experienced two different problems with America Online. Each problem could be fixed by deleting temporary Internet files. The first person couldn't connect for several days; the second connected, but kept receiving a message while online that she "could not download due to not enough memory" or "close out other files before completing a task."
The one who couldn't connect called AOL technical support. She was walked through the process of deleting temporary Internet files. Immediately afterwards, she was able to connect and login to AOL with no problems. The one who kept getting the memory message while on AOL was helped by a visitor to her home. Again, the temporary Internet files were deleted, but from DOS. She was told her actual DOS memory was lowered . . . that before deleting the files she had 3,152 memory free (3,152 what???); after deletion, 32,825 memory left (32,825 what???). Bytes? Kilobytes? Megabytes?
But that's another subject. This article is focused on how AOL users can delete their temporary Internet files from their hard drives - which is a fix for "Out of Memory" errors.
Memory or Disk Space
When discussing computer problems, I've found most people do not know the difference
between "Memory" and "Disk Space." For example, telling some people
they're out of memory will result in a reply such as: "I have a two gigabyte hard
drive!" On the other hand, that same person might respond to my comment of:
"You're running out of space" with "I have 32 megabytes of RAM!"
I'm not going to explain RAM (an acronym for Random Access Memory), DOS Memory, or hard disks other than to tell you this: If you've been using a computer for more than six months, you should already KNOW the differences. If you don't, then buy a computer glossary, search the Internet, or ask questions in a message forum or in the newsgroups. Or if you prefer, there are Chat rooms on AOL where you can get answers to your questions live.
Where to Begin
Launch AOL, but do not login. On the menu bar, hovering your cursor over "My
AOL." will pop up a description "Customize AOL for YOU" - select it, then
select Preferences, which is probably the only choice you have when offline.
In the Preferences dialog box are all the areas where you can customize AOL. Select the icon with the "W" in it and "WWW" under it.
Properties Box
Next you should see the AOL Properties Box with four tabs: General, Security, Content, Web
Graphics. Under General, there are three areas. Look at the Temporary Internet files area.
There are two buttons, Delete Files and Settings. If you select Delete Files, all the
temporary files under your Windows directory will be deleted for you. Here's the
screenshot of the Properties Box:
Selecting the tab to delete the temporary files will launch another dialog box. Selecting the OK Tab will automatically delete all the files for you. This is the preferable way. Deleting the files from a DOS window or by booting to DOS is for power users ONLY. There are many ways to accomplish this process, but novices or those with little to no computer knowledge should learn to manage their systems through their Windows operating system utilities. Trying to use what I call "raw DOS" requires a comfortable knowledge of what you're doing, what you've done, and what you intend to do.
Selecting the Settings Tab launches another dialog box with more customizing available. Use the context sensitive help to learn what each setting is and be sure you understand it before applying any changes.
Temporary Files Locations
The temporary Internet files for Internet Explorer (which is the default browser in AOL)
are located under your Windows directory, then under Temporary Internet Files, then four
more sub-directories. In other words, your complete path to them would be similar to this
(each xxxxxxxx is a series of numbers and characters:
C:\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\xxxxxxxx
C:\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\xxxxxxxx
C:\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\xxxxxxxx
C:\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\xxxxxxxx
When deleting the temporary files from DOS (only power users should attempt it), the contents of FOUR directories must be deleted. Deleting the temporary files from AOL Internet Properties will delete ALL the temporary files from ALL the sub-directories at once.
Other AOL Settings
Don't forget to customize other settings in AOL. For example, your Personal Filing Cabinet
Preferences:
And don't forget to set the Graphics Viewing Preferences:
Conclusion
Learning to customize your AOL settings should be a top priority. Another priority is
this: Learn computer fundamentals and at least the basics of your operating system. The
answers to most questions can be found under Help in Windows, AOL, and any of your
applications. Many problems could be prevented by knowing how to manage your system. Each
of us, novice or expert, can experience problems for which we have no answer. Never
hesitate to ask for help. That is, after all, how we learn. But we can also help ourselves
to become computer literates.
Besides the offline help, read the messages in computer forums; invest in a book about your operating system; buy AOL's book; make notes on index cards about specific operations and cross-file them. Then when you DO call technical support, write down all the steps you perform during the step-by-step instructions given to you. If the same thing happens to you again, you'll be able to fix the problem yourself.
You wouldn't drive a car without knowing what a gas tank is or how to fill it up, would you? Then don't run a computer without knowing how to "drive" it or where the "gas tank" is located or how to fill it.
Copyright © 1998 by Joyce Kohl
"Go Inside" is a David Boles Trademark