Why Disk Cleanup isn't removing temporary files?
Why Disk Cleanup isn't removing temporary files?
I've observed that Disk Cleanup in Windows 11 often fails to properly clear my appdata > local > temp folder. It usually leaves this directory unchanged after execution. The same issue appears with the Settings option under System > Storage > Temporary Files. I understand these areas aren't restricted by active programs since I can manually remove them, and some files are quite outdated (over a month old). For instance, I unzipped family photos using Winrar. Comparing this to BitDefender's optimizer, which clears the temp folder and removes around 80% of files, I'm curious why Windows 11 is missing so much of this space during scans. Sometimes it even completely omits it.
That's an inquiry to Microsoft.
Some algorithm
My temporary files in the Win10 temp folder aren't older than two months, possibly three months without any interaction with them.
Have you performed a disk cleanup as an administrator?
LoL, you're so right. And if you ask them on the forums...they always give canned responses. Amazingly frustrating.
Interesting suggestion about running Disk Cleanup as admin. Didn't think of that. Tried it, but no change unfortunately.
I'm reading now this is a known bug (and the old Disk Cleanup is going the way of Cortana). BitDefender does a decent job, but the version in Windows Settings really needs to be improved if it's the only one we'll have (I don't think it even sees the temp folder contents half the time).
Just manually deleting the contents seems to be the best bet. Just glad to know it's not just something weird I was only dealing with. Thanks!