Solved Is disk cleanup bugged?


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CatnipTea

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Location
Texas
OS
Windows 11 Home 21H2 22000.593
So I had the issue with folder thumbnails sometimes having a black background. Tried running disk cleanup, selected everything I wanted to be deleted including thumbnail cache. Hit clean up system files, and then disk cleanup disappears from taskbar view and then back again. It does the calculating. Shows me the options again on what to delete. I press ok then delete files. It shows it clean up disk files and then disappears again from taskbar view. It does not come back. I reopen it and its as if I never selected anything to delete? Is this a known bug? After it did this the first time, I restarted my computer since there was still a noticable folder with black background on my desktop. After restarting it seemed the cache was reset but it obviously wasn't since disk cleanup doesn't reflect that. Is this a known bug?
I've done sfc scannow and dism too nothing comes back corrupt.

Edit: I found how to clear it the Windows 11 way and it looks like the same issue is present. It says it deleted it, I refresh, and there it is again not deleted. I am the admin so I don't know why some things just don't work.

I tried to see if I could do a cleanup in safe mode but disk cleanup is disabled there.
I was hoping to find something in event viewer but can't find anything for disk cleanup failing.
 
Last edited:

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Home 21H2 22000.59311th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1135G7 @ 2.40GH...12gb Dual channel DDR4 2666 MHzIntel Iris Xe
OS
Windows 11 Home 21H2 22000.593
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Dell Inspiron 3501
CPU
11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1135G7 @ 2.40GHz-4.20GHz
Memory
12gb Dual channel DDR4 2666 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
Intel Iris Xe
Sound Card
Cirrus Logic Superior High Definition Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
15.6 in
Screen Resolution
1366 x 768 x 60hz HD
Hard Drives
SK hynix BC711 256GB Solid State Drive NVMe
Internet Speed
43 Mbps
Browser
Chrome, Firefox
CatnipTea said:
So I had the issue with folder thumbnails sometimes having a black background. Tried running disk cleanup, selected everything I wanted to be deleted including thumbnail cache. Hit clean up system files, and then disk cleanup disappears from taskbar view and then back again. It does the calculating. Shows me the options again on what to delete. I press ok then delete files. It shows it clean up disk files and then disappears again from taskbar view. It does not come back. I reopen it and its as if I never selected anything to delete? Is this a known bug? After it did this the first time, I restarted my computer since there was still a noticable folder with black background on my desktop. After restarting it seemed the cache was reset but it obviously wasn't since disk cleanup doesn't reflect that. Is this a known bug?
I've done sfc scannow and dism too nothing comes back corrupt.

Edit: I found how to clear it the Windows 11 way and it looks like the same issue is present. It says it deleted it, I refresh, and there it is again not deleted. I am the admin so I don't know why some things just don't work.

I tried to see if I could do a cleanup in safe mode but disk cleanup is disabled there.
I was hoping to find something in event viewer but can't find anything for disk cleanup failing.
Click to expand...
Nope. There is no such problem here. It could be specific to the user, i.e you.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11Intel Core i7 3630QM16 GBIntel HD Graphics 4000 & Nvidia GeForce GT 635M
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
HP Envy dv7
CPU
Intel Core i7 3630QM
Motherboard
HP
Memory
16 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Intel HD Graphics 4000 & Nvidia GeForce GT 635M
Sound Card
IDT High Definition
Screen Resolution
1080p
Hard Drives
1 TB Crucial MX500 on bay 1.
1 TB Seagate HDD on bay 2.
Antivirus
Windows Defender
Well something's very off. I deleted %temp% with no problem, rebooted, and checked it again. The files I deleted did get deleted manually. I go into system>storage>temporary files and it's as if I didn't do anything. Selecting to delete anything in there still does nothing. None of the values change. Uninstalling programs works fine but temporary files is completely broken.
 
Last edited:

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Home 21H2 22000.59311th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1135G7 @ 2.40GH...12gb Dual channel DDR4 2666 MHzIntel Iris Xe
OS
Windows 11 Home 21H2 22000.593
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Dell Inspiron 3501
CPU
11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1135G7 @ 2.40GHz-4.20GHz
Memory
12gb Dual channel DDR4 2666 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
Intel Iris Xe
Sound Card
Cirrus Logic Superior High Definition Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
15.6 in
Screen Resolution
1366 x 768 x 60hz HD
Hard Drives
SK hynix BC711 256GB Solid State Drive NVMe
Internet Speed
43 Mbps
Browser
Chrome, Firefox
CatnipTea said:
Selecting to delete anything in there still does nothing.
Click to expand...
You should be aware that by design Disk Cleanup does not delete temporary files that are less than 7 days old. It has been like this since Windows 7.

www.howtogeek.com

Why Doesn’t Disk Cleanup Delete Everything from the Temp Folder?

After you’ve used Disk Cleanup, you probably expect every temporary file to be completely deleted, but that’s not actually the case. Files are only deleted if they are older than 7 days old, but you can tweak that number to something else.
www.howtogeek.com www.howtogeek.com
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two Other systems

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to lid hinges starting to break up this laptop has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

    I've now clean installed 25H2 and used Garlin's scripts to update Secure Boot to CA 2023 and revoke the PCA 2011 certificates. It's new role is to test secure boot issues.

    Info for 2021-2026:
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.

    In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround.
    Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR was a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (1st gen) type 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device. This has now been sold. It has been replaced by my System Eight.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, 1920x1080 touchscreen, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine. As its new home has an existing digital licence for Pro I've been able to upgrade the migrated OS from Home to Pro.

    My SYSTEM EIGHT is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (5th gen) type 20LN, Celeron N4120, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, a supported device for Windows 11. Currently running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds as native boot vhdx.
Wait really? I guess I didn't ever know that since I haven't tried to use disk cleanup this early. I think I'll go ahead and try to remove at least the windows.old folder with the tool.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Home 21H2 22000.59311th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1135G7 @ 2.40GH...12gb Dual channel DDR4 2666 MHzIntel Iris Xe
OS
Windows 11 Home 21H2 22000.593
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Dell Inspiron 3501
CPU
11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1135G7 @ 2.40GHz-4.20GHz
Memory
12gb Dual channel DDR4 2666 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
Intel Iris Xe
Sound Card
Cirrus Logic Superior High Definition Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
15.6 in
Screen Resolution
1366 x 768 x 60hz HD
Hard Drives
SK hynix BC711 256GB Solid State Drive NVMe
Internet Speed
43 Mbps
Browser
Chrome, Firefox
As long as you click the 'clean up system files' button or start Disk Cleanup as an administrator then it should include the option to clean up previous Windows installs. This is un-ticked by default. Should work fine in Windows 11, it did for me. It was one of the first things I did after getting the upgrade.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two Other systems

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to lid hinges starting to break up this laptop has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

    I've now clean installed 25H2 and used Garlin's scripts to update Secure Boot to CA 2023 and revoke the PCA 2011 certificates. It's new role is to test secure boot issues.

    Info for 2021-2026:
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.

    In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround.
    Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR was a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (1st gen) type 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device. This has now been sold. It has been replaced by my System Eight.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, 1920x1080 touchscreen, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine. As its new home has an existing digital licence for Pro I've been able to upgrade the migrated OS from Home to Pro.

    My SYSTEM EIGHT is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (5th gen) type 20LN, Celeron N4120, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, a supported device for Windows 11. Currently running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds as native boot vhdx.
Yep, it looks like it was only the temp files that weren't deleting since they were too new. It deleted windows.old no problem. Well, at least I learned something new.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Home 21H2 22000.59311th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1135G7 @ 2.40GH...12gb Dual channel DDR4 2666 MHzIntel Iris Xe
OS
Windows 11 Home 21H2 22000.593
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Dell Inspiron 3501
CPU
11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1135G7 @ 2.40GHz-4.20GHz
Memory
12gb Dual channel DDR4 2666 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
Intel Iris Xe
Sound Card
Cirrus Logic Superior High Definition Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
15.6 in
Screen Resolution
1366 x 768 x 60hz HD
Hard Drives
SK hynix BC711 256GB Solid State Drive NVMe
Internet Speed
43 Mbps
Browser
Chrome, Firefox
CatnipTea said:
Well, at least I learned something new.
Click to expand...
That's why we're all here, to share what we know ;) I'm still learning new things from others here.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two Other systems

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to lid hinges starting to break up this laptop has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

    I've now clean installed 25H2 and used Garlin's scripts to update Secure Boot to CA 2023 and revoke the PCA 2011 certificates. It's new role is to test secure boot issues.

    Info for 2021-2026:
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.

    In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround.
    Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR was a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (1st gen) type 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device. This has now been sold. It has been replaced by my System Eight.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, 1920x1080 touchscreen, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine. As its new home has an existing digital licence for Pro I've been able to upgrade the migrated OS from Home to Pro.

    My SYSTEM EIGHT is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (5th gen) type 20LN, Celeron N4120, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, a supported device for Windows 11. Currently running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds as native boot vhdx.
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