System Cleanup manual

1. Introduction

When System Cleanup starts, it reads all disks and shows for each cleanup action whether there is something to clean up. You choose the actions with the check boxes; Cleanup executes them.

The main window

• The actions are in a group per category: Temporary files, Browsers, Applications, Development, Logs and error reports, Windows and Recently used lists and history. Within a group, the actions are sorted by name in two columns. When two or more categories have only one or two actions, these are together in a group Other, at the end.
• An action only appears when it applies to this computer, for example "Empty Google Chrome cache" only when Chrome is installed. It also appears when there is nothing to clean up.
• Hold the mouse on an action to see the number of files found and the file protection used, or an explanation of the action.
• At the bottom: the status (while reading, the progress and the current folder; afterwards, the free disk space) and the Cleanup button.

The window can be resized. When there are more actions than fit on the screen, a scroll bar appears.

Icons and check boxes

Each action has a check box, an icon and a name. The icons are the standard icons of Windows:

• a folder: something was found to clean up;
• a folder with a green check mark: nothing found, already clean;
• the icon of the Registry Editor: a cleanup in the registry;
• other icons for the special actions, for example the recycle bin (full, or empty with a check mark), System Restore, Event Viewer or Windows Disk Cleanup. These also get a green check mark when System Cleanup can tell in advance that there is nothing to clean up.

A checked action is cleaned up when you choose Cleanup; an unchecked action is skipped. Help > Legend shows this explanation in System Cleanup.

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2. Cleaning up

Reading the disks

System Cleanup reads the disks at startup. The status at the bottom shows "Reading disk information..." with a percentage, the current folder and a progress bar (not at the very first start: the progress bar uses the number of folders of the previous scan). File > Stop reading stops reading; File > Reread reads the disks again, for example after you closed a browser. If the window is minimized, a beep sounds when reading is ready.

Which drives are read and which folders are skipped is set in Settings.

Choosing what to clean up

Check or uncheck the actions. By default, the actions that only remove temporary files or caches are checked; actions that remove something you may want to keep (recently used lists, event logs, NuGet packages) or that are meant to go back or restore (the previous Windows installation, restore points) are unchecked. System Cleanup remembers your choice.

Right-click in a group for:

• Select all items in <group>, Deselect all items in <group> and Default selection for <group>: only the actions in that group;
• Select all items, Deselect all items and Default selection: all actions on the screen.

File > Reset default selection sets all check boxes back to the default, after a question. It also forgets the choice of actions that are not on the screen now (for example of a program that is not installed at the moment).

The details of an action

Click the name of an action (not while reading) to open its details:

• for an action that deletes files: the list of files found, the number of files and the file protection used (for example "File protection: Windows session (smart)");
• for a special action: an explanation of what it does.

Cleanup in this window executes only this action; Close (or Esc) closes it. Cleanup is disabled when there is nothing to do, when the action needs administrator rights that System Cleanup does not have, or when the action does not apply to this computer. If the action fails, the error is shown in this window.

Cleanup

Cleanup (the button, or File > Cleanup) executes all checked actions. The window is disabled while cleaning up. The fastest actions go first: the recently used lists, then the files and the quick special actions (recycle bin, Internet Explorer cache, event logs), then the actions that use another program (Outlook, Delivery Optimization, restore points, Windows.old), Windows Disk Cleanup second to last and the component store (DISM) last. Then System Cleanup removes empty temporary folders and shows Free space by cleanup and Total free space.

If an action fails (for example a program that does not start), the other actions continue and a message with the error follows after the cleanup.

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3. The cleanup actions

Below are all actions, per group. Default: checked (on) or unchecked (off) by default. Admin: needs administrator rights (see Administrator rights). Between brackets: what must be on the computer for the action to appear. You only see the actions that apply to your computer.

Actions that delete files only delete files that have not been used recently, depending on the file protection (see Settings). With Smart (the default), temporary files are protected during the current Windows session, and backup and cache files for a week.

Temporary files

Browsers

Applications

The caches of Teams, Visual Studio Code, Slack, Discord and Visual Studio are not emptied while the program is running: the action is skipped without an error message. The tooltip and the details of the action say that the program must be closed first.

Development

Logs and error reports

Windows

Recently used lists and history

These actions remove lists, not files, so they free hardly any space. They are all off by default.

Built-in protection

• System Cleanup never reads the system folders of Windows that no action cleans up (for example WinSxS, which only DISM can clean up), System Volume Information, Program Files and OneDrive. That also saves a lot of time.
• An action that searches the whole disk (for example *.bak or *.tmp) never touches files in OneDrive, Program Files or ProgramData: there these files belong to a program, or deleting them in OneDrive also deletes them in the cloud.
• Files in the recycle bin only count for "Empty Windows recycle bin".
• Files in use are skipped. A shortcut to another folder (junction or symbolic link) is not followed.
• Packages and caches that belong together (NuGet packages, Yarn, Teams, Visual Studio, bin and obj) are deleted as a whole or not at all, so a program never finds half a package or half a cache.

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4. Administrator rights

System Cleanup works with and without administrator rights; it does not ask for them at startup. Without administrator rights, the actions that need them are disabled: a grey check box, grey text and the Windows shield after the name. The tooltip says "This action requires administrator rights. Run System Cleanup as administrator to use it."

To use these actions, choose File > Restart as administrator (only shown without administrator rights). Windows asks for permission; your check boxes are kept. You can also start System Cleanup with Run as administrator in Windows. Your choice for a disabled action is kept, but Cleanup skips it as long as there are no administrator rights.

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5. Settings

The menu Settings opens the window Settings. After Ok with changed settings, System Cleanup reads the disks again.

• Recent file access protection: which files are protected because they were used recently.
  • Disabled (not recommended): no protection, everything that matches may be deleted. Close all programs first.
  • Windows session: only files that have not been used since Windows was started.
  • Last week: only files that have not been used for a week.
  • Smart (default): "Last week" for backup and cache files, "Windows session" for temporary files.
• Scan mode: Local drives only (default) or Include network drives.
• Exclude directories: folders (with their subfolders) that are not read, so nothing in them is cleaned up. Add a folder with Add..., remove it with Remove. Excluding large folders also makes reading faster.
• Windows disk cleanup: Setup Windows disk cleanup... sets what Windows Disk Cleanup does with the action "Execute Windows disk cleanup".
• Check for updates: how often System Cleanup checks at startup whether there is a new version (Daily, Weekly (default), Monthly or Never). Check now checks right away.

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6. Startup parameters

You can start System Cleanup with a parameter, for example in a shortcut or a scheduled task in Task Scheduler. Upper and lower case do not matter, and the / may also be a - or left out (/Auto, -auto and auto are the same).

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7. Keyboard shortcuts

The other menu items and buttons have an underlined letter: press Alt and that letter.

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8. If something does not work

An action is grey

The action needs administrator rights: see Administrator rights.

An action does not clean up everything

• Files that were used recently are protected (see Settings). The protection depends on the last access time of a file, which Windows does not always update, and on how long Windows has been running: with Fast Startup, a Windows session can last for days.
• Files in use are skipped. Close the browser or program and choose File > Reread.

An action I expected is missing

An action only appears when it applies to this computer, for example when the program is installed. Some actions are for older software (Outlook 2000-2003, WinZip, older Delphi versions).

The settings

System Cleanup saves the settings (the check boxes and the settings in Settings) in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Franck\SystemCleanup\SystemCleanup.json when it closes. If that file is missing or damaged, System Cleanup starts with the default settings.

A second System Cleanup does not start

Only one System Cleanup can run at the same time; a second start closes right away. Look for the open window on the taskbar.

A new version

System Cleanup checks at startup whether there is a new version (how often is set in Settings). To check yourself, choose Help > Check for updates. You can download the new version from the System Cleanup page. For questions or problems you can contact the author.

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