I am a complete numpty when it comes to tech stuff. Had a problem loading FB page yesterday after I did recent Big Sur update which eventually resolved itself. However when I was looking for solutions on Google I kept reading that the cache should be cleared regularly. I managed to find the cache but chickened out at deleting them all. TBH I wouldn't know what each cache folder holds. Do I just delete them or am I better getting a cache clean up software thingamajig? If so which one? Thank sin advance
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Cache removal software
- Thread starter annirooni
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I'm using Mojave and not Big Sur. I offer the following suggestion that -might- work with Big Sur.
I regularly clean out my user library caches -- wipe them out.
What you need to do:
- Quit all open apps except for the finder
- In your user account, open the "Library" folder*
- Locate and open the "Caches" folder
- Hit "command-A" to select all items in that folder.
- Drag them to the trash (I have the trash can icon in the tool bar in my finder windows, I just select all and click that).
- Empty the trash.
* You may need to be "in the finder", then go to the "go" menu, and choose "Library" to get to the user library.
The cache files will automatically be re-created by the apps and processes that use them.
If you use Safari, there's another way to quickly empty the Safari caches:
- Open Safari preferences
- Click the "advanced" tab
- Put a check in "show develop menu in menu bar"
- Close Safari preferences.
Now, when you want to dump the cache in Safari, just go to the Develop menu and choose "Empty Caches".
I went to the "Keyboard" panel in system preferences, and created an application specific key command for Safari to do this (I chose "command-E").
Now I just hit command-E and the caches are cleaned.
I regularly clean out my user library caches -- wipe them out.
What you need to do:
- Quit all open apps except for the finder
- In your user account, open the "Library" folder*
- Locate and open the "Caches" folder
- Hit "command-A" to select all items in that folder.
- Drag them to the trash (I have the trash can icon in the tool bar in my finder windows, I just select all and click that).
- Empty the trash.
* You may need to be "in the finder", then go to the "go" menu, and choose "Library" to get to the user library.
The cache files will automatically be re-created by the apps and processes that use them.
If you use Safari, there's another way to quickly empty the Safari caches:
- Open Safari preferences
- Click the "advanced" tab
- Put a check in "show develop menu in menu bar"
- Close Safari preferences.
Now, when you want to dump the cache in Safari, just go to the Develop menu and choose "Empty Caches".
I went to the "Keyboard" panel in system preferences, and created an application specific key command for Safari to do this (I chose "command-E").
Now I just hit command-E and the caches are cleaned.
A utility I use for maintenance is Onyx. It simplifies a lot of tasks that Apple hides or made convoluted.
I found out about Onyx on a Mac troubleshooting website, MacInTouch, where a lot of people who are more technical than I recommended it. In any case, Onyx is donationware so it won't cost you anything to try out.
titanium-software.fr
I found out about Onyx on a Mac troubleshooting website, MacInTouch, where a lot of people who are more technical than I recommended it. In any case, Onyx is donationware so it won't cost you anything to try out.
Titanium Software | Operating System Utilities for Mac - OnyX
OnyX is a multifunction utility that you can use to verify the startup disk and the structure of its system files; run cleaning and computer maintenance tasks; configure some hidden parameters of many Apple applications; and more.
If you are just talking about the browser cache, I use an app called Cookie for that. It can be configured to delete the browser cache whenever your quit the browser, or you can do it manually.
Since I'm typically a Windows user, I'd want to seek for advice in this group on how to clear the cache in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. Thanks in advance for your assistance. my mac is extremely hefty, could you pls help?
Clearing your caches is a lot like irrigating your colon. No matter how good it might feel, it'll do you absolutely no good for the most part, since they tend to clear themselves out as the new stuff comes in, but if something irksome has got stuck in there and is causing a problem, it won't do any harm to try it.