Willy2

Mistress, I don't use Windows 7 but perhaps I can offer some help. When I look at the picture it suggests CC v2.31 is stuck when wiping the recycle bin. And I know CC fails to handle files properly when their names start with the character ""$"". So, I would suggest that you un-tick/un-select all CC options except for ""Empty recycle bin"" and try again. Or tick a number of boxes and untick ""Empty recycle bin"" and try again. Does the behaviour of CC change, does it get stuck again ??

Augeas, Yes, I was surprised as well

Augeas, I closed all programs and windows, deleted all the files in the prefetch folder, restarted my computer and then forced Windows to rebuild ""Layout.ini"" again. The result was that that file was only 19 kB in size. Aethec, Using the information in the prefetch folder speeds up Windows but when the user has used e.g. Defraggler then that info has/can become worthless. Because the file has been moved to another place on the drive. Then Windows is forced to go through the entire directory tree structure and the MFT, in order to know where that file has been moved to. And that's a good reason to use Defraggler not too often.

Very interesting discussion. Augeas, If the contents of ""Layout.ini"" is bothering you then I have some good advice. Just delete the file and then force Windows to rebuild it. The result is that that file shrinks in size. The content is used for the mini defrag operation. When it contains less entries (i.e. directories and files that don't exist anymore) then the operation takes less time to complete. I forced Windows XP to rebuild that file as well and the size of the file shrank from 374 kB to a ""mere"" 94 kB. The following article provides some very good information. http://windowstipsandfixes.blogspot.com/2007/09/smart-defragging-by-layoutini.html

Alan, I agree, CC is a VERY powerful tool. And one should use every CC option with the utmost care and that includes the ""Include"" section as well. That's an additional reason why it's so important for CC to carefully manage its settings. See my thoughts\suggestions in other posts on this forum on the topic ""Settings"".

I still don't like the ""Include"" (""Options"", ""Include"", ""Add"") menu in CC. It didn't improve at all. I still stick to my suggestions/thoughts as stated in post #1 of this thread. I still think CC should incorporate those suggestions in a future version. More over, I think, the situation has gotten worse, the confusion has grown in both v2.30 and v2.31. The confusion consists of ""Options"" (C + D ) containing two separate types of data, i.e. folders and files. The letters (A, B, C, ..... ) refer to the picture in the attachment. Here's - IMO - how to eliminate that increased confusion. A. Get rid of ""Options"" (C + D ) in the current situation. B. Add two more (square) boxes to the menu which can be ticked or unticked independently. 1. ""Including subfolders"". Ticking this box would force CC to search all subfolders of the specified folder (A ) as well for files (B, E or F ) to be wiped. 2. ""Delete (sub)folder(s) when empty"". This would allow CC to wipe the current selected folder (A ) to be deleted when empty. It would allow CC to delete every empty subfolder of the specified folder (A ) as well, when the user has selected the option ""All files"" (E ). I DO think incorporating suggestions from both this post and post #1 would improve the ""Include"" menu dramatically.

Do you mean the file(s) called ""thumbs.db"" in which the thumbnails are stored ? If so, then I can tell you that the user can program CC (both v2.30 and v2.31) to clean those files as well. Click on ""Options"", ""Include"", ""Add"". I think CC doesn't clean those files on your computer because, starting in v2.30 CC, has changed the way it operates. Did you select an option from ""Options"" in the ""Include"" menu ?? In both v2.30 and v2.31 the user must choose one of the three options from the ""Options"" menu as well. If you have selected ""Include files only"", then CC wipes files in the specified folder only. It doesn't clean any subfolders. In order to clean the subfolders as well, the user must select ""Include files and subfolders"".

Anomaly, The reason I started this thread was that in certain circumstances the user defined information from the ""Include"" and/or ""Exclude"" sections could be lost and must be reprogrammed by the user.

As a result of the question of "mr don"" in thread http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?showtopic=27662 I took an in depth look at how CC worked, how it stored information, etc. Then another suggestion surfaced. When the user uses the ""Include"" and/or ""Exclude"" sections to wipe an extra number of files and/or folders, that information is stored in ""Ccleaner.ini"" or in a special part of the registry. But when the user wants to add extra options to ""Windows"" and/or ""Applications"", he must modify/create ""Winapp2.ini"". Storing that information in two separate ""*.INI"" files does have serious implications for CC. Currently, when the user uninstalls CC (e.g. v2.30) with the CC un-installer program then both ""Ccleaner.ini"" and information in the registry are deleted but ""Winapp2.ini"" is allowed to survive. So, if the user then would upgrade to v2.31 the user still has the old settings available from ""Winapp2.ini"" but he/she is forced to reprogram the information in the ""Include"" and/or ""Exclude"" sections because ""Ccleaner.ini"" was wiped. That's why, I think, the user defined information from the ""Include"" and ""Exclude"" sections should be stored in ""Winapp2.ini"" or in another extra separate file that won't be wiped upon un-installation of CC. And that information certainly shouldn't be stored in ""Ccleaner.ini"". Perhaps a number of other settings should be stored in ""Winapp2.ini"" as well. Perhaps ""Ccleaner.ini"" shouldn't be wiped at all. These suggestions would make - IMO - CC truly ""portable"". As I have stated before: ""A discussion always stimulates the braincells"".

This is the key which seems to be overlooked by the CC uninstaller and contains the relevant information. [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]

When a user ticks a box called ""Run CC when the computer starts"" then CC adds an entry to the registry. When the user runs the CC uninstall program (either from Windows or directly from the application folder) it removes a lot of CC related registry entries. That's why the user always should use the uninstaller and not simply delete the files in the application folder when the user e.g. wants to get rid of an older version of CC. However, the uninstaller doesn't remove the ""Run CC when the computer starts"" entry in the registry. Is this done on purpose or is this entry overlooked by the CC uninstaller program ?

Alan, There?s another issue with the sequence of changing settings as described in post #12. Suppose the user has unticked all boxes in both ""Windows"" and ""Applications"" and has added a total of, say 40 lines in both the ""Exclude"" and/or ""Include"" sections. All these settings and information are stored in the registry. When ""Portable.dat"" is created after that, then CC doesn't read the registry anymore. Just imagine the frustration of the user when it appears that CC has forgotten those 40 added lines in the ""Include"" and ""Exclude"" sections and sees that a number of boxes are ticked again without his consent. Another thought crossed my mind. CC could offer an option to create a ""Portable"" version, e.g. in the ""Advanced"" section. That would involve two actions 1) Move the settings from the registry to ""Ccleaner.ini"" 2) Create ""Portable.dat"". Then the transition to a ""portable"" version is controlled and without any glitches. But - IMO - the best solution for handling the settings issue, is to get rid of ""Portable.dat"" as described in post #10 or #12 of this thread. As I have stated before: ""A discussion always stimulates the braincells"" !!!! We'll have to wait and see if CC v2.31 will include any of my/our suggestions.

If you only want to delete shortcuts in one or more folders then you can program CC to do so. Click on ""Options"", ""Include"", ""Add"". Shortcuts are files with the extension *.lnk.

Alan, Yes, I agree, there're a lot of things that can go wrong and that's why it's important to choose the simplest solution. The sequence of changes is currently very important. If CC detects ""Portable.dat"" the settings in the registry are neither copied to ""Ccleaner.ini", nor wiped. The registry is simply ignored and the information is still there. So, let's assume the setting ""MSG_CONFIRMCLEAN=False"" was generated and written to the registry. Then the user created ""Portable.dat"". After that CC doesn't copy that setting from the registry to ""Ccleaner.ini"", it's simply ignored. The next time CC is forced to read ""Ccleaner.ini"" (and ignores the registry) it doesn't find a ""MSG_CONFIRMCLEAN=....."" line over there. It then reverts to the default value (""True""), although in the registry the value of that setting is still recorded as ""False"". That's an example of how settings are overlooked. If CC detects ""Portable.dat"" then the option ""Save settings to INI file"" is automatically ticked and the user can't untick it. However, there could be another very simple and straight forward solution: don't use the registry for storing (the majority of) settings but always write (the majority of) them to ""Ccleaner.ini"". Then ""Ccleaner.ini"" is always up to date and then the ""Portable.dat"" and the ""Save settings to INI file"" option can be eliminated. A good example of ""K.I.S.S."" (Keep It Simple, Stu**d).

Alan, I hope the story below will clarify a lot of what I have been writing about. The information below is ""According to my information"". Information in both posts #2 and #3 is accurate. I'll explain. ""mr. don"" experienced problems with one particular setting because it seems he used a particular sequence of changing settings to configure CC (incl. creating ""Portable.dat""). And then CC can fail to remember e.g. that the setting ""MSG_CONFIRMCLEAN=....."" was changed to ""False"" over and over again and that's what annoyed ""mr don"". That particular sequence of configuring also can make CC ""forget"" a number of other settings. To avoid that problem the user must create ""Portable.dat"" first BEFORE changing any CC settings. Then CC doesn't fail to remember the changed settings. But one can't expect every user to know that. So, when the CC installation program would offer the user an option to create a ""Portable"" version right off the bat, then - at least - ""Portable.dat"" and perhaps ""Ccleaner.ini"" could be created automatically, before the user starts to configure CC. Perhaps such a ""Portable"" CC could do without any or only minimal changes to the registry. And that was what I was refering to in post #3. The ""Portable CC"" does makes changes in the registry. If the user selects/de-selects ""Run CC on startup"" then CC adds/removes some information to/from the registry in spite of ""Portable.dat"" being present. My favourite and - IMO - the simplest and therefore the best solution is to get rid of ""Portable.dat"". CC could focus on detecting ""Ccleaner.ini"" instead. If it exists then CC could read the settings from that file and store all new settings there. If ""Ccleaner.ini"" doesn't exist then CC should read the registry and save the settings there instead. That would combine perfectly with the ""Save settings to INI file"" option. Selecting this option in v2.30 copies all relevant registry settings to ""Ccleaner.ini"" and removes them from the registry as well. De-selecting that option copies that information from ""Ccleaner.ini" to the registry and deletes that file. So, then there's no chance anymore of having two sets of contradictory information. But I haven't got a clue whether eliminating ""Portable.dat"" would have broader implications for CC. At least, it gives the Piriform folks something to chew on.

Alan, It may sound presumptious but I DO think I have found the reason why CC fails to remember a changed setting as decribed above by ""mr don"". I know it could not be confined to that one setting only. I think that in a particular set of circumstances CC, as a result of this bug (!!), even could fail to remember a significant amount of previous changed settings. Yes, it's ""portable.dat"" related. And I already gave a hint where to look for that error.

I want to add a number of things to post #2 of this thread. CC v2.30 always makes a number of changes in the Windows registry, even when CC settings are stored in the file ""CCleaner.ini"". This leads to another suggestion for CC. Perhaps it's possible to introduce an option in the CC installation program to perform an installation without ANY changes to the registry. The ""/AUTO"" option in CC doesn't pose a problem because Windows XP always checks a number of locations in order to see which programs are to be run on startup. e.g. 1. the registry. 2. a folder on my (dutch) computer (with Windows XP) called ""C:\Documents and Settings\--Username--\Programma's\Menustart\Opstarten"". Storing a shortcut to CC in that particular folder forces Windows to run CC on startup as well.

DennisD, Thank you. But IDM v5.18 registers itself in HKCU, HKU (in both with a lot of settings) and in HKLM (only a empty entry). So, the solution provided above seemed to be the best solution.

Mr. Don, Are you using CC v2.30 ?? Because in that version the file ""CCleaner.ini"" can contain an entry/line indicating whether CC needs a confirmation for starting the cleaning process or not. e.g. ""MSG_CONFIRMCLEAN=False"" This setting (False) surpresses the confirmation before starting the actual cleaning. The crucial point is that only AFTER the first time the user has changed this particular setting (by ticking a box in CC called ""Don't show me this message again"" in the confirmation warning message-window, see attachment) that line is added to ""CCleaner.ini"" by CC. If there's no entry called ""MSG_CONFIRMCLEAN=....."" then CC wants a confirmation before starting the actual cleaning. And in order to make CC ask for a cleaning confirmation again, the user must edit ""CCleaner.ini"". Either delete that particular entry or change that entry to ""MSG_CONFIRMCLEAN=True"". Because there's no option available in CC to switch that setting back to ""True"". The story above made a question surface. Perhaps the user should be able to select and unselect this particular confirmation option. And then I think this option should be placed in the ""Advanced"" section (""Options"", ""Advanced""). Mr. Don, there's another thing you should do. Create a file in the application folder called ""portable.dat"". If CC v2.30 detects that file then it doesn't store any settings in the registry any more. ""Note: The portable version of CCleaner 'knows' that it is portable because of the presence of the file portable.dat in the application folder. If CCleaner finds the file portable.dat in the application folder, it will always save its settings to CCleaner.ini. The contents of the portable.dat file do not matter - you can create a dummy file."". Source: http://docs.piriform.com/ccleaner/advanced...rs-ini-files-do Perhaps you need to uninstall CC, clean the registry and re-install CC again, in order to get rid of those (pesky) CC registry entries ? (the underlined sentences were the latest addition to this post)

Indeed, in v1.18 a few translation issues have been fixed. E.g. in the ""Options"" menu (Settings, Options) the program allows the english sentence ""Show cleanup drive prompt before defrag"" to be ""translated"" into e.g. dutch. The official translator for the dutch version has done his job well. But for a number of language versions that particular english sentence and one or more other english sentences keep popping up. So, I think a number of translators still need to update/improve their respective language DLL files. Weren't they aware/notified that there's a new improved version v1.18 in the making ?

Yes, I knew it would work because I downloaded version 5.18 and installed the program. It's truly a great program. But did you install one of the previous versions of IDM ??? Can you give the version number of the highest version number that recognized by CC ?? Because then Piriform forum moderator ""TwistedMetal"" is able to make a decision whether to adapt the file called ""Winnapp2.ini"" or not. I am not quite sure who is responsible for either adding items to or the modifcation of "Winapp2.ini"": ""MrG"" or ""Twisted Metal"" ??

Left4dead, You were experiencing problems making CC recognize Internet Download Manager (IDM). The solution provided above applies to IDM version 5.18. It's not clear which version the IDM entriy in the file ""Winapp2.ini"" refers to. Perhaps you were using version 4.xx before and CC did recognize that version ? I think that the moderator called ""TwistedMetal"" is interested in the answer to this question as well. Then he can decide whether he needs to/must modify or add the/an IDM entry in the file called ""Winapp2.ini"".

Left4Dead, With some digging in the registry I think I found the answer to your problem. It seems the folks who made the program made some changes to the registry entries. The third line of the original text was: ""Detect=HKLM\SOFTWARE\Internet Download Manager"" 1. Omit the word ""Internet"" and all spaces. 2. Change ""HKLM"" into ""HKCU"". And then CC recognizes the entry in "Winapp2.ini". WARNING: I DO NOT guarantee that it will work perfectly for the full 100%. Use it at your own peril !!!

Left4Dead, As mentioned above you have added the text below (in italics) to the file ""Winapp2.ini"". [*Internet Download Manager] LangSecRef=3022 Detect=HKLM\SOFTWARE\Internet Download Manager Default=True FileKey1=%Appdata%\IDM\UrlHistory.txt FileKey2=%Appdata%\IDM\UrlHistory2.txt I could see one reason why it doesn't get detected by CCleaner. The online manual http://docs.piriform.com/ccleaner/advanced...leaner-to-clean states that each line in the .INI file must be separated by at least one blank line. Adding that extra blank line helped CC to detect Real Player Software information in the ""winapp2.INI"" file on my computer.

I noticed that in CC v2.30 there's an useful extra feature in CC. When CC cleans the MFT of a drive then CC now gives an estimate of how much time it will take to ""wipe"" that particular MFT. Although I have asked for a progress bar I think this addition is good enough. No need any more for a progress bar. Thanks !!!