Windows 10: Disk Cleanup not working properly in Windows 10

Disk Cleanup is an inbuilt utility tool in Windows 10 that enables you to erase useless and junk files from your PC. It is a handy tool that helps you clean up disk space and use the computer in a smooth and stable environment. However, some Windows 10 users have experienced issues with the Disk Cleanup tool not working properly on their computers.

There have been various issues with the Disk Cleanup tool like Disk Cleanup gets stuck, it is unresponsive, it freezes, or it doesn’t remove files that it is supposed to delete.



Disk Cleanup not working properly in Windows 10


Here are the fixes that you can try if the Disk Cleanup tool is not working properly on your Windows 10 PC:

1. Remove Temporary Files manually
2. Run the System File Checker (SFC) Scan
3. Try to fix it with the DISM tool
4. Run Cloud Reset
5. Use Storage Sense or alternative free junk cleaner software.

Now, let’s discuss these solutions in detail!

1] Remove Temporary Files manually


The first method to get Disk Cleanup working properly is to delete the Temporary files. You can do so by following the below steps:

• First, click Windows + R hokey to open up the Run dialog box.
• Now, type %temp% in the Open box and press the OK button.
• It will open up the Temp folder on your PC.
• Simply select all temporary files, right-click on them, and tap on the Delete option to remove all temporary files.

After removing temporary files from your PC, restart your computer and launch the Disk Cleanup app to see if it is working properly now.

2] Run the System File Checker (SFC) Scan


System File Checker (SFC) is an inbuilt utility tool in Windows 10 that checks for issues with system files and fixes them. You may consider running an SFC scan if Disk Cleanup is not working properly on your Windows 10 PC. To do so, follow below steps:

Go to the Windows search option, type command prompt in the search box, and open Command Prompt by clicking on the Run as administrator option.



Now, type the following command in the Command Prompt and then press the Enter button: sfc /scannow



When the command is completely processed, restart your PC and hopefully Disk Cleanup will start working fine for you.

3] Fix the issue with the DISM tool




You can try fixing the Disk Cleanup not working in Windows 10 issue with the DISM tool. It is an inbuilt tool in Windows 10 that repairs a corrupted Windows System Image. You can run it using the below steps:

Firstly, open Command Prompt with administrator privilege as mentioned in method (2).

Now, type the following command in CMD:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Next, press the Enter button to execute the command and wait until it is processed completely.

After that, restart the PC and launch the Disk Cleanup app to check whether it is running properly and is able to delete junk files from your computer.

4] Use Cloud Reset




Cloud Reset lets you reinstall or reset Windows 10 via the Cloud download option. This suggestion is sure to help if everything else fails.

5] Use Storage Sense or alternative free junk cleaner software




If the Disk Cleanup still doesn’t work properly even after trying the above methods, you can always use Storage Sense. Storage Sense finds out such temporary and junk files created by various apps and removes them permanently. It can clean your Recycle Bin after a predefined time interval. The best part is that Storage Sense does this all automatically in the background without needing your intervention. Once you set it up correctly, you can forget about it.

You could also use a third-party free junk file cleaner software. or explore other ways to delete Temporary Files.

Related Read: Disk Cleanup button is missing.


This article Disk Cleanup not working properly in Windows 10 first appeared on TheWindowsClub.com.

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DISK CLEANUP

Hello,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

1. Which files are you trying to delete using disk clean up?
2. Which version of Windows are you currently using?

Please reply back with the information to the above questions in order to provide you with appropriate troubleshooting steps:



I understand that you are trying to free up memory using Disk Cleanup. If you are trying to delete files using disk cleanup on Windows 10, I suggest you to refer the following article on

Disk cleanup in Windows 10 for steps to perform disk clean up on your PC.



Hope it helps.



Sandeep Kumar M

Microsoft Community – Moderator

 

disk cleanup

Hi joysoder, to properly and safely delete any files not required by your system, run Disk Cleanup twice as explained below. Each time select everything in the list and delete them. Disk Cleanup will not suggest deleting anything that is not safe to delete
. . .

Open File Explorer

Click on your hard drive

On the Manage Tab, click Cleanup

Let Disk Cleanup do its initial scan

Select Everything in the list and choose Delete

Start Disk Cleanup again

Let Disk Cleanup do its initial scan

This time in the resulting dialog, click 'Cleanup System Files'

Let Disk Cleanup run another scan

Select Everything in the list and choose Delete

 

Disk cleanup not working on Windows 10.

Hello David,



Thank you for posting on Microsoft Community. We regret the inconvenience caused and will assist you in resolving the issue.



Before assisting further, I would like to ask you few questions:

• What is the exact error message you are getting?
• Are you trying to delete the temporary files or system files using
  Disk cleanup?

Disk cleanup is used to delete the un-wanted and un-necessary temporary files located in your PC. However you can also use Disk cleanup to delete system files on the PC, which is not recommended as it might cause system
performance issues on the PC.



When performing Disk Cleanup, checking the appropriate options is necessary so you do not delete the restore points present in the system.



Refer to the steps from the link below on Disk cleanup in Windows 10 and check if it helps:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-in/windows-10/disk-cleanup-in-windows-10



If the issue persists, is suggest you to close all the system windows which is kept open on the desktop and check if the Disk cleanup method works.



Write to us with the answers to the above questions and the status of the issue on the same post for further assistance. Your reply is most important for us to ensure we assist you accordingly.



Thank you.