jonfal

Correct, I was actually running 5.44 when the problem occurred. I have since updated again to v5.45. I did some more investigating using a laptop with the same configuration as the affected desktop (same OS, antivirus, settings), only with CCleaner 5.43. Everything worked as it should until I updated CCleaner to 5.45, and I experienced the same issue of CCleaner indicating it was cleaning in the notification area, but no cleaning was taking place. I uninstalled v5.45 and reinstalled 5.43 (from filehippo), and everything works again. Based on this, I would say the problem lies with v5.44 and later of CCleaner.

After updating CCleaner free to version 5.44, CCleaner freezes when starting cleaning. I checked the "run CCleaner when computer starts" option. The CCleaner icon appears in the notification area and says "cleaning" but it never actually cleans on computer startup. CCleaner works fine when cleaning manually if I open the program and run it from there. The other change I made from the default setting is unchecking "enable system monitoring". I have been using CCleaner for several years without any issues up to this point. Other information that may be helpful: I'm running Windows 10Pro 64 bit with the latest updates applied, and ESET NOD32 Antivirus (which I've also used for years) latest version.