[WEB4LIB] Browser cache size and maintenance

[TMGB]

When we allowed the default settings to stay at 7MB disk cache on
Netscape Navigator we received several complaints from patrons and staff
that the machine would freeze up for a while causing frustration to the
user.  Well as most of you probably know, this freeze up was the browser
clearing the cache which even gives a message in the status bar
informing the user what is going on.  Now that our slowest public
machine is a 200mhz computer, I have had all the caches changed to no
more than 2MB disk cache and 5MB for memory cache.  Although I feel
memory cache is probably still actually disk cache because of virtual
memory in windows 95 using the disk.  The only reason I allow cache at
all is so that results from a search originating on a form will still be
there when the user presses the back button to see the search results
again after going to a site linked from the search results page. 
Otherwise I would set all cache to zero because the time for just
downloading pages is sufficient.

Thomas

Robert Sullivan wrote:
> 
> For those of you with secured public computers:
> 
> Do you go around at regular intervals and clear your browser cache files so
> your disk doesn't become clogged?  How do you handle it when it means undoing
> and redoing the security?
> 
> Second, is there a recommended cache limit?  I just put out some new computers
> (NT4/SP4, IE 4.01, P300/64M RAM) with the cache set to 10 megs so there
> wouldn't be that much accumulation.  Now I'm getting frequent freezes, and I
> wondered if this might be the cause.  (It does not appear to be a security
> conflict, as all the features and add-ons do work.)
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Bob Sullivan                               scp_sulli at sals.edu
> Schenectady County Public Library (NY)     http://www.scpl.org

-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas McMillan Grant Bennett           Appalachian State University
Computer Consultant II                  University Library
bennettt at am.appstate.edu               
http://www.library.appstate.edu/admin/
Voice:  828 262 6587			FAX:    828 262 3001

Windows 95 is a 32-bit extension to a 16-bit patch for an 8-bit
operating system that was originally coded for a 4-bit microprocessor.
 - Chris Dunphy     Boot Magazine