Many package managers, such as Scoop, use Windows junctions to manage newer versions of applications while keeping a consistent installation path. However, recent versions of CCleaner no longer properly recognize programs installed using this method.
As a result, CCleaner cleaning and registry scan functions may incorrectly remove shortcuts and registry entries that point to application paths involving junctions, which can cause significant issues for users.
I hope the CCleaner team can investigate and address this problem promptly.
We recommend that you donât regularly use the Registry Cleaner with Windows 10 or 11, only use it if you have a specific problem.
The Registry Cleaner is meant as a tool for fixing things if there is a problem, it is not meant for regular use.
Using any registry cleaner on a Windows 10 or 11 machine can, and will, remove entries that may be needed by modern software - as you have already found.
Using any registry cleaner will not speed up your machine in any way, and only saves a few KB of disc space.
Using a registry cleaner on a healthy machine can even âbreakâ it to the point of requiring a full Windows reinstallation..
Windows 10/11 changes the registry too often to make using any registry cleaner totally safe.
Running any Registry Cleaner regularly can, and does, lead to problems.
For the official Piriform advice on using the CCleaner Registry Cleaner see this:
Here is Microsoftsâ advice on using any Registry Cleaner:
For registry indeed the user should only use it to fix problems but the problem here is apparently a ccleaner bug that it cannot recognize windows junction. Now, CCleaner recognizes valid desktop shortcuts point to a junction path as invalid path so incorrectly removes such shortcut, which is an unexpected behavior. So letâs focus on fixing the bug, not teaching the use what to do or not.
Would you mind sharing steps to reproduce this? E.g. create such and such junction, create such and such desktop shortcut, run CCleaner with this and that configuration, see that A happens while B was supposed to happen instead.
A bug is an error in software programming.
What you are seeing is maybe not what you expected, but it isnât an error in the programming.
The Registry Cleaner is doing what it was programmed to do some time ago.
Itâs true that hasnât been updated, but lack of updating isnât a bug.
Itâs a development choice not to update what is now a deprecated tool.
(Deprecated = Still Available, but Discouraged).
I doubt that CCleaner will be changing what the Registry Cleaner currently does.
(TBH we mods exhorted them to drop the registry cleaner from CCleaner altogether, because for years now it has caused problems if used regularly and thatâs only going to get worse).
In a nutshell - The Registry Cleaner in CCleaner is not likely to be updated, if that is causing you problems then follow the official advice above from both CCleaner and from Microsoft and stop cleaning your registry when it isnât needed.
If you are still having issues after you have stopped using the registry cleaner then please come back with details of what you are doing and seeing.
As far as I can remember, CCleaner used to resolve Windows junctions and wouldnât cause such an issue, but now the issue occurs. This issue not only relates to the registry, but also to shortcuts on your desktop and in the Start menu. So you never use your product, right? OK, anyway, so from what I have learnt from this thread that CCleaner wonât be happy to resolve this issue from its end so I am happy to have just discontinued my CCleaner Pro subscription.
Please just follow the official steps to install Scoop. Then in a powershell windows install 7zip by scoop install 7zip or if you have installed please refresh the installation by scoop update 7zip -f. Once itâs done, open ccleaner and visit the Custom Clean page, make sure âStart Menu Shortcutsâ is ticked on in the list, then click Analyze. From the analysis report, you can see that ccleaner now plans to remove the shortcut C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Scoop Apps\7-Zip.lnk. The shortcut points to C:\Users\<username>\scoop\apps\7zip\current\7zFM.exe, where C:\Users\<username>\scoop\apps\7zip\current is a dir junction to the actual location C:\Users\<username>\scoop\apps\7zip\25.00
. It is clear that CCleaner doesnât resolve junction any more, it also removes any other shortcuts whose path includes a junction - that is, all the GUI apps installed via scoop. It seems my account is not allowed to upload screenshot, so hopefully my instruction can help you to reproduce.
You are under a misconception - Itâs not my product - I do not work for CCleaner, Iâm a user with years of experience who is also trusted to keep this forum tidy along with a few other experienced and trusted users.
I do use CCleaner but not the Registry Cleaner because I see here the problems that using it regularly can cause.
I have no idea if the usual Custom Clean used to follow junctions before or not.
However if it isnât following them now then itâs probably because the app using the junctions has changed how it uses them.
Have you actually tried using CCleaner without touching the registry cleaner.
If you do that and can still report that junctions are being disrupted then I suggest that you raise a ticket with CCleaner Support.
Unfortunately, CCleaner has been ignoring Symbolic Links and Junctions since the end of 2023. Previously, these were followed and the redirected directories were cleaned up correctly. As usual, official support has never commented on thisâŚ
and it worked correctly for years before, it is a change in the code, so it is at least something that was forgotten in a refactoring or somethingâŚ. it ignores (proper handling of) NTFS features and detects it as a problem, that is -by definition- a bug, or at least a serious flaw!