Does Disk Cleanup Delete Everything From The Temp Folder?

Windows is a wonderful device and has all the inbuilt necessary tools to manage your computer.

One of the tools is Disk Cleanup. When you run disk cleanup, you get a list of unnecessary files accumulated onto the system, which could then be easily deleted off your system. But did you ever wonder if it really removes all junk files on your computer? Well long story short, it doesn’t! It only removes the temp files that are 7 or more days older.

But what if you want to remove all the temp and junk files from your computer? Would you like to wait for another 7 days for the newest files? Of course not! Good news is, you can remove all the temp files whenever you want.

Also Read: 10 Best PC Cleaner Software to Optimize Your System

In this post, we will guide you through detailed steps to resolve the issue.

Note: Please don’t follow these steps if you are not sure what you are doing.

The Reason Why Not All Files Are Deleted by Disk Cleanup

Whenever you run an application, it creates temporary files. It helps it to store files while the application is running. The stored files could be the one you are currently editing or working on, just the cache files which are needed to access the applications faster the next you open it. Most of the applications clean after once closed but they don’t do the job well.Although, the intention is not to clutter the system, the accumulation of files bloats your storage leaving you with no space to save new stuff.

Since the files are used often by the applications, Windows can’t decide whether the file could be deleted, that’s why Disk Cleanup cleans up the files that are older than 7 days.

Note: If you are an average user, it is recommended not to mess with the registry editor as it is an important part of your Windows OS and could risk system damage.

Also Read: 10 Best Registry Cleaner Software to Optimize Windows PC

Modify Settings To Make Disk Cleanup Delete Files Newer Than 7 Days:

Before doing anything, make it a habit to shutdown your computer everyday after work. If you already do it, then great, you could easily modify the value from 7 days to maybe 2 days. Well, the value that you choose is totally up to you. So, follow the steps to do so.

1. Go to search box on your desktop, you can locate it near the Start menu.

2. Type regedit in the search box and select the Registry Editor.

3. You will get a prompt asking you to allow the app to make changes on your device, choose Yes.

The Registry Editor will open, navigate to this path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\VolumeCaches\Temporary Files

4. Once you are there, you will the details of the Temporary files folder on the right side of the pane.

Also Read: 10 Best Duplicate File Finder Tools for Windows

5. Locate Last Access and make a right click and choose Modify to modify the value.
6. The value entered there is 7, make it 2.
7. Now, to check whether the changes have any effects, close the Registry Editor and go to search box near Start menu again and type %temp%
8. The temporary folder will open on the screen. Try removing the newer files.
In this way, you can make your Disk Cleanup tool delete everything from the temp folder. Try it and let us know it worked.