netscape cache and netscape freeze

[Miriam Bobkoff]

I have a PC running Netscape 3.01.  It froze in the middle of visiting a
site. Each time I rebooted thereafter, Netscape would freeze on the first
or second click. 

Assuming the .exe file must be damaged, I moved in a fresh copy that I
happened to have handy (i.e., did not reinstall the whole program). It
froze on the first click again. So I rebooted yet again, and cleared the
cache. Some files remained uncleared, so I deleted those manually.

This seemed to cure the problem. Here is the question: can something in the
cache interfere with the running of the program, or is this a false
diagnosis? 

If it is possible, would someone please explain what might have happened.
My picture of how things work does not include this possibility.

Miriam Bobkoff            
Santa Fe Public Library  
145 Washington Avenue    
Santa Fe, NM 87505
phone (505) 984-6832      fax   (505) 984-6676      
  mbobkoff at ci.santa-fe.nm.us