Jump to content

CCleaner cannot erase "Temporary Internet Files"


Flechette

Recommended Posts

Hello all,

 

I am having troubles getting CCleaner to erase my "Temporary Internet Files". 

 

I go to the main menu and click next to "Temporary Internet Files" on the left, indicating I want it deleted.

 

Then I hit the "Analyze" button and lists "Details of the files to be deleted. Note: No files have been deleted yet)" and the program displays "Temporary Internet Files" folder is shown with the amount of data in it. 

 

I then hit "Run Cleaner" and the program appears to do its thing, taking some time to erase the files in the "Temporary Internet Files" folder. When complete the program says that "Temporary Internet Files" has been deleted.

 

But if I hit "Analyze" again, Temporary Internet Files" reappears, with the same amount of data in it!

 

I can do this over and over and the result is the same; the "Temporary Internet Files" are not deleted.

 

Now if I hit the "Analyze" button and the "Temporary Internet Files" is displayed as a file to be deleted, I can right-click on it and then click the "clean" option. The same result happens: "Temporary Internet Files" still exists.

 

If I right click on it again I can also choose the "View Detailed Results". This gives me the file location. It is:

 

C:\Users\Flechette\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\Low\SuggestedSites.dat 5,121 KB

 

If I go to Options/Include to try and delete this file I enter: C:\Users\Flechette\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\Low\SuggestedSites.dat and then hit "Run Cleaner" the results are still the same: Hit "Analyze" and "Temporary Internet Files" still remains with the same amount of data.

 

In short, "Temproary Internet Files" appears to be un-erasable. 

 

A side note that may help: When I go onto my computer (outside of CCleaner) and try to locate "Temporary Internet Files" I cannot find the files. I can only go so far as: in C:\Users\Flechette\...as "AppData" is not visible for me to choose. I think that "Temporary Internet Files" is therefore in a hidden folder. 

 

Also, I can restart my computer and immediately use CCleaner to try to erase this folder, with no other programs (especially Google Chrome or Internet Explorer) running. Same result.

 

Please help! I really like CCleaner but I have to be confident that it actually erases what it says it will erase.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

That file will recreate itself (empty) after deletion. You can also turn off suggested sites in internet explorer's setting which should permanently delete the file

 

ADVICE FOR USING CCleaner'S REGISTRY INTEGRITY SECTION

DON'T JUST CLEAN EVERYTHING THAT'S CHECKED OFF.

Do your Registry Cleaning in small bits (at the very least Check-mark by Check-mark)

ALWAYS BACKUP THE ENTRY, YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'LL BREAK IF YOU DON'T.

Support at https://support.ccleaner.com/s/?language=en_US

Pro users file a PRIORITY SUPPORT via email support@ccleaner.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That file will recreate itself (empty) after deletion. You can also turn off suggested sites in internet explorer's setting which should permanently delete the file

I can believe this, but the "Analyze" button shows that the new file has the same amount of data in it:  5,121 KB.

 

Shouldn't it have zero data if it is just recreated empty?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

Nope

Edit (longer answer): I believe that is probably the size of the empty file, and while the file may no longer contain sites it wishes to suggest, the container (the dat file itself) may contain mass.

 

ADVICE FOR USING CCleaner'S REGISTRY INTEGRITY SECTION

DON'T JUST CLEAN EVERYTHING THAT'S CHECKED OFF.

Do your Registry Cleaning in small bits (at the very least Check-mark by Check-mark)

ALWAYS BACKUP THE ENTRY, YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'LL BREAK IF YOU DON'T.

Support at https://support.ccleaner.com/s/?language=en_US

Pro users file a PRIORITY SUPPORT via email support@ccleaner.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

Sorry, I expanded on my answer above. Which must have occurred whilst you typed your reply

 

ADVICE FOR USING CCleaner'S REGISTRY INTEGRITY SECTION

DON'T JUST CLEAN EVERYTHING THAT'S CHECKED OFF.

Do your Registry Cleaning in small bits (at the very least Check-mark by Check-mark)

ALWAYS BACKUP THE ENTRY, YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'LL BREAK IF YOU DON'T.

Support at https://support.ccleaner.com/s/?language=en_US

Pro users file a PRIORITY SUPPORT via email support@ccleaner.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have installed Win 10 on two of my computers. Since doing that, both of those computers are experiencing the same problem as this member. Cannot erase "temporary internet files" in Internet Explorer. Following the suggestion here I went to Internet Explorer to remove the check from 'suggestions.' I had no check mark there. This was under 'Advanced' in Options.

 

So where do I go from here?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 8 months later...

I've noticed similar behavior on two computers that I recently upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10.  A few observations:

- Suggested Sites is not (and has never been) enabled on either of these computers (Internet Options > Advanced tab > Browsing: "Enable Suggested Sites" is unchecked).

- This did not happen on Windows 7 (ie. prior to upgrading to Windows 10) and does not occur on another computer I have with Windows 8.1.  It appears to be unique to Windows 10.

- If I exclude the file "C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\Low\SuggestedSites.dat" in CCleaner and then manually delete it, the file will still get recreated when I run CCleaner.

- If I exclude the file in CCleaner and do NOT manually delete it, the timestamp on the file will change, indicating that it's been recreated.

- If I uncheck "History" under "Internet Explorer" in CCleaner, the file will not get recreated.  Of course, this means the IE browsing history won't be cleared either.

- (Note that since the file "SuggestedSites.dat" is a protected system file, you must go to "Control Panel > Folder Options > View tab" and uncheck "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)" too see it in File Explorer.)

- I'm using the lastest version of CCleaner (5.18.5607).

Since this only seems to be affecting Windows 10, is this a "Microsoft" issue?  I was going to suggest updating CCleaner to check if the file is empty before attempting to delete it (so it wouldn't get repeatedly recreated), but that doesn't seem to be the trigger, since the file gets recreated even when it's excluded in CCleaner or "Temporary Internet Files" is unchecked.  I'm not sure what files CCleaner is deleting and/or modifying for the "History" portion of "Internet Explorer" but this seems to be the source of the problem.  Is this something the CCleaner developers could investigate?

Thanks for your help.
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

You folks have described exactly what is happening to my computer since I accepted the Windows 10 upgrade ( from Windows 7)

I have tried unhiding folders and deleting older (IE5) versions and also specifically uninstalling the Internet Explore update from control panel (which simply reverts it back to previous versions)

Now evidently that has opened some security problems because my antivirus AVG is telling me it's stopping virus attacks that I never had before.

What's really weird is that I have never even used Internet Explorer on this computer, I always use Safari.

 

Any words of advice to fix this issue once and for all would be much appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators
You folks have described exactly what is happening to my computer since I accepted the Windows 10 upgrade ( from Windows 7)

I have tried unhiding folders and deleting older (IE5) versions and also specifically uninstalling the Internet Explore update from control panel (which simply reverts it back to previous versions)

Now evidently that has opened some security problems because my antivirus AVG is telling me it's stopping virus attacks that I never had before.

What's really weird is that I have never even used Internet Explorer on this computer, I always use Safari.

Any words of advice to fix this issue once and for all would be much appreciated.

Safari (for windows) is highly out of date. Will never be updated again and has been abandoned by Apple. If anything has let security lapse on your machine, it's still allowing that browser to remain on your pc.

Internet Explorer/Edge are used by any number of applications, as well as windows by itself. Uninstalling updates for the browsers is definitely not the way to go as, again, you open yourself up to malware attacks.

 

As far as AVG warning constantly, that sounds a bit like you've a Malware problem (some combo of Trojan and open backdoor perhaps) you really should immediately

1) cease using Safari

2) visit a Qualified Anti-malware website such as those listed in item 10 of

https://forum.piriform.com/index.php?showannouncement=15&f=4

 

ADVICE FOR USING CCleaner'S REGISTRY INTEGRITY SECTION

DON'T JUST CLEAN EVERYTHING THAT'S CHECKED OFF.

Do your Registry Cleaning in small bits (at the very least Check-mark by Check-mark)

ALWAYS BACKUP THE ENTRY, YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'LL BREAK IF YOU DON'T.

Support at https://support.ccleaner.com/s/?language=en_US

Pro users file a PRIORITY SUPPORT via email support@ccleaner.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.