Image Cache / No Cache Issue in IE

[jimmyz999]

This is my 1st post, so be gentle. :-)

I normally can solve issues pretty well on my own, but this problem has stumped me for quite some time.

My problem is that a site I created is not being cached by IE, so IE downloads from scratch with each page I visit. When I first created a web site, all of the images seem to get cached by IE normally (IE gets the images from local cache for 2nd+ pages so the subsequent pages show up fast).
Then I was trying to use Includes to put additional sections of text into each page (.shtm pages) Since then, IE re-downloads all of the images each time a page is opened. Now I'm back on regular .html page, but using IFrame to show the blocks of additional information. IE is still loading each page and the images from scratch. I check the "temp. ie files" directory and found none of the pages or graphics were in the cache.

I've searched in the forum here and seeing a lot of people who don't want their page / images cached, I have the exact opposite problem (maybe my problem can be their solution?)

Any hint on how I can solve this problem is greatly appreciated.

Jimmy

ps. Webmasterworld ROCKS! I almost never use anything else to find solution to webmastering questions.

pss. Also, does the use of style sheet have anything to do with this behavior?

[jdMorgan]

jimmyz999,

Welcome to WebmasterWorld [webmasterworld.com]!

What kind of server is your site hosted on?

Jim

[jimmyz999]

Hello Jd,
sorry for the late reply. I had to make sure with some tools. The server is IIS 5. It is a hosted server on an ISP.

Thanks

Jimmy

[jimmyz999]

No one here has a solution to this problem?

Jimmy

[tedster]

Well Jimmy, that's one weird problem. I assume you never used pragma cache-control headers or meta tags and then forgot to remove them. At any rate, why not check on the ways to PREVENT caching, and see if any of them are accidentally in place.

Here's a Microsoft reference [support.microsoft.com].

I have never seen behavior like you describe and, barring server headers or meta tags, my suspicion would be a corrupted browser. So one thing I'd do is check the problem page on another computer - you never mentioned if you did that.

[korkus2000]

Also I don't think Stylesheets are effecting this behavior. I agree with tedster. Either IE is corrupt or you have cache control issues in you headers. Are you using any browser add-ons(like pop up blocker) or a personal firewall?

[jimmyz999]

Good News!
The problem was due to the IIS Server Configuration Options for Caching set to immediately exprie the content. (Stupid Me)

My ISP provided a web based interface which allows me to set this option through a web interface, and somehow the "immediate expiration" option was enabled at the root level, and so all my pages expired immediately. This option can be set on a directory of your choosing, so for those who wishes to expire, say, some images, put them in a directory, and then set that directory to expire immediately. The following is the steps to set this option on the server directly (from Microsoft Knowledgebase Article 234067, as per Tedster)

-Invoke the Internet Services Manager
-Using the computer and services tree, open the Default Web Server (or web ser in question) and find the directory containing the content that needs the Cache-Control header
-Bring up the Properties dialog fo the directory
-Choose the HTTP Headers tab.
-Click the Add button in the Custom HTTP Header group and add "Cache-Control" for the header name and "no-cache" for the header value.

Thanks everyone for your help, and Tedster, thanks for the link to the KB article, that was the key to solving this nagging problem.

Jimmy

Webmasterworld ROCKS!