Disk Cleanup takes forever!

[Rasu]

When I run a Disk Cleanup to 'calculate how much space I will be able to free on Drive C'... it seems to take forever! It usually takes about 4 to 6 hours. The dialogue box shows "Calculating..." "Scanning: Compress old files", and it is here that it seems to take the most amount of time.

Is there a way to do this faster???


Thanks.

[lil Jimmie]

Have you run a defrag prior to running disk cleanup?

[Rasu]

Hi... That's right, I just ran a defrag, and then went ahead to do a Disk Cleanup. It's been 6 hours now, and it's still whrring away...!!

What do I do? It's been like this before too, and I've just left it on over night, and then deleted the files I did not need in the mroning (e.g. the catche files).



??Any ideas??

Thanks.

[lil Jimmie]

The only thing I can think of is to try running it in Safe Mode. I don't know if this will work or not, but it may be worth a try.

[Rasu]

Thanks... you are right,.. I should give that a try. But the defrag worked fine in normal mode. Anyway, lemme give the safe mode a try too.

Thanks again.

PS: Is there any other way to delete files from the catche i.e. 'Temporary Internet Files' (all except the cookies)?

[RoyKelly]

Yes you can delete your temporary internet files.

In Internet Explorer, click on Tools>Internet Options, then click on Delete Files, then click the OK button on the next screen. This will delete your temporary internet files and leave your cookies.

Hope this helps.

[glc]

The reason it takes so long is it compresses little used files. If there is a way to set the preferences not to do that it will take about 1 minute - anyone know how? Disk cleanup will empty the recycle bin, empty the temporary internet files, and empty the temp folder.

[lil Jimmie]

It compresses unused files and by default it will compress files not used after 50 days and the maximum is 500 days.

[DilLy]

All I can think is there are a lot of file that need to be tossed or there is some kind of "conflict" going on.

Mine takes like 1/2 a second to do that, but then again, I keep my system clean constantly.

I wish I actually had a solution for the problem here.

[Tuf]

You have the option to not compress files, but I don't know how to turn off it checking to see how much space you'd save if you did.

[RoyKelly]

I found an article on Microsoft's help and support center that may help.
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Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - Q315246

SUMMARY
This article describes how use command-line options to configure the Disk Cleanup tool (Cleanmgr.exe) to automatically clean up certain files.


MORE INFORMATION
Cleanmgr.exe is designed to clear unnecessary files from your computer's hard disk. You can use command-line options to specify that Cleanmgr.exe cleans up certain files. You can then schedule the task to run at a specific time by using the Scheduled Tasks tool.

To start the Disk Cleanup tool, either run the Cleanmgr.exe command, or click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup.

Disk Cleanup supports the following command-line options:
/d driveletter: - This option specifies the drive that you want Disk Cleanup to clean.
/sageset: n - This option displays the Disk Cleanup Settings dialog box and also creates a registry key to store the settings that you select. The n value, which is stored in the registry, allows you to specify tasks for Disk Cleanup to run. The n value can be any integer value from 0 to 65535. To have all of the options available when you use the /sageset option, you might need to specify the drive where Windows is installed.
/sagerun: n - This option runs the specified tasks that are assigned to the n value if you use the \sageset option.

For example, in Scheduled Tasks, you could run the following command after you run the cleanmgr /sageset:11 command:
cleanmgr /sagerun:11
This command runs Disk Cleanup and includes the options that you specified with the cleanmgr /sageset:11 command.
The options for the files that you can specify for Disk Cleanup by using /sageset and /sagerun include:
Temporary Setup Files - These are files that were created by a Setup program that is no longer running.
Downloaded Program Files - Downloaded program files are ActiveX controls and Java programs that are downloaded automatically from the Internet when you view certain pages. These files are temporarily stored in the Downloaded Program Files folder on the hard disk. This option includes a View Files button so that you can see the files before Disk Cleanup removes them. The button opens the C:\Winnt\Downloaded Program Files folder.
Temporary Internet Files - The Temporary Internet Files folder contains Web pages that are stored on your hard disk for quick viewing. Disk Cleanup removes these page but leaves your personalized settings for Web pages intact. This option also includes a View Files button, which opens the C:\Documents and Settings\ Username\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5 folder.
Old Chkdsk Files - When Chkdsk checks a disk for errors, Chkdsk might save lost file fragments as files in the root folder on the disk. These files are unnecessary.
Recycle Bin - The Recycle Bin contains files that you have deleted from the computer. These files are not permanently removed until you empty the Recycle Bin. This option includes a View Files button that opens the Recycle Bin.
Temporary Files - Programs sometimes store temporary information in a Temp folder. Before a program quits, the program usually deletes this information. You can safely delete temporary files that have not been modified within the last week.
Temporary Offline Files - Temporary offline files are local copies of recently used network files. These files are automatically cached so that you can use them after you disconnect from the network. A View Files button opens the Offline Files folder.
Offline Files - Offline files are local copies of network files that you specifically want to have available offline so that you can use them after you disconnect from the network. A View Files button opens the Offline Files folder.
Compress Old Files - Windows can compress files that you have not used recently. Compressing files saves disk space, but you can still use the files. No files are deleted. Because files are compressed at different rates, the displayed amount of disk space that you will gain is approximate. An Options button lets you specify the number of days to wait before Disk Cleanup compresses an unused file.
Catalog Files for the Content Indexer - The Indexing service speeds up and improves file searches by maintaining an index of the files that are on the disk. These Catalog files remain from a previous indexing operation and can be deleted safely.
If you specify cleaning up the drive that contains the Windows installation, all of these options are available on the Disk Cleanup tab. If you specify any other drive, only the Recycle Bin and Catalog files for content index options are available on the Disk Cleanup tab.

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Hope this helps.

[Rasu]

Thanks guys for your responses. I do try to keep my hardrive clutter free.

I wish there was a way to CHOOSE not to get the application to look for compressed files. That would really speed it up.

I think the reason it takes such a long time to do the scan in my computer is that I have a couple of medical databank applications that are compressed (these are the biggest files in my harddrive).

Thanks again.

PS: I also run an application called System Mechanic that cleans up your drive etc. It's great.

[RoyKelly]

I was going to ask if you had read my last post, then reread yours. I do not know how to tell Disk Cleanup not to scan specific files.

If you find out how to do this, please let the rest of us know.

[Rasu]

Thanks Roy, I will.

Rasu.