ExcludeKeyX=FILE not working

Sorry to report that the manually added entries of type

ExcludeKeyX=FILE|C:\Windows\|*.*|RECURSE

ExcludeKeyX=FILE|C:\Windows\|MyFile.MyExt|RECURSE

produce no effect (see http://www.piriform.com/docs/ccleaner/advanced-usage/ccleaner-ini-files/how-to-exclude-items-from-ccleaner's-cleaning)

Yeah you have to play around with the exclusions sometimes as I found out trying to exclude Microsoft Security Essentials signature files download/update folder. It's easier to play around with exclusions by first:

1. Start CCleaner and go into 'Options->Settings->Advanced' and tick the box "Save all settings to INI file", then close CCleaner.

2. Now open the folder where CCleaner is installed and open the settings file "ccleaner.ini" and look for your exclusion which you can then manually play with to see if CCleaner will finally exclude what you want.

Tip:

Sometimes you have to remove these for an exclusion to work: \|*.*

Example, this didn't work:

PATH|C:\WINDOWS\Temp\46D3ABA7-DD84-4AE5-9CF8-96FC61882AE2-Sigs\|*.*

Example, this did work:

PATH|C:\WINDOWS\Temp\46D3ABA7-DD84-4AE5-9CF8-96FC61882AE2-Sigs

I think if regular Windows expressions were used it could save allot of confusion on how to get some things excluded easier.

Yeah you have to play around with the exclusions sometimes as I found out trying to exclude Microsoft Security Essentials signature files download/update folder. It's easier to play around with exclusions by first:

1. Start CCleaner and go into 'Options->Settings->Advanced' and tick the box "Save all settings to INI file", then close CCleaner.

2. Now open the folder where CCleaner is installed and open the settings file "ccleaner.ini" and look for your exclusion which you can then manually play with to see if CCleaner will finally exclude what you want.

Tip:

Sometimes you have to remove these for an exclusion to work: \|*.*

Example, this didn't work:

PATH|C:\WINDOWS\Temp\46D3ABA7-DD84-4AE5-9CF8-96FC61882AE2-Sigs\|*.*

Example, this did work:

PATH|C:\WINDOWS\Temp\46D3ABA7-DD84-4AE5-9CF8-96FC61882AE2-Sigs

I think if regular Windows expressions were used it could save allot of confusion on how to get some things excluded easier.

What I actually meant to emphasize was that the RECURSE option from the pattern in the 'On Line Help' that read

'ExcludeKey4=FILE|C:\temp\|*.*|RECURSE'

definitely produced no effect, independently of the use of |*.* there.

RECURSE does not work together with either 'Exclude' command, contrary to what is asserted in the Help!!!

To be more precise, the following works:

Exclude25=FILE|D:\TestFolder\|TestFile.back,

whereas the next does not exclude same files named TestFile.back placed in no matter what subdirectory of D:\TestFolder\ :

Exclude25=FILE|D:\TestFolder\|TestFile.back|RECURSE

Hi, thanks. This has been corrected :)

Hi, thanks. This has been corrected :)

Yeah?But I need this function.

Men, I need badly

ExcludeKeyX=FILE|C:\|MyFile1.MyExt1,Myfile2.MyExt2,Myfile?.*|RECURSE

work!

Looking forward to recover this function in the next upgrade!

Thank you!

No, it has not been corrected. I'm using version 3.07.1457 and the "Exclude" option does NOT exclude files and folders from being deleted. I've tried playing with the INI file as well, with no luck. I'm going to keep trying, but so far, nothing has helped.

No, it has not been corrected. I'm using version 3.07.1457 and the "Exclude" option does NOT exclude files and folders from being deleted.

Can you post exactly what exclusion(s) you've tried from your ccleaner.ini file which don't work?

Can you post exactly what exclusion(s) you've tried from your ccleaner.ini file which don't work?

Yes. This is what I have in my INI file:

ExcludeKey1=PATH|D:\|*.db

...and it doesn't work. I also tried setting the exclusions through the interface and that doesn't work.

Yes. This is what I have in my INI file:

ExcludeKey1=PATH|D:\|*.db

...and it doesn't work. I also tried setting the exclusions through the interface and that doesn't work.

Drive D:\ ?

I have never seen CCleaner attempt to zap anything on Drive D:\

Is your System drive D:\ ?

What is the CCleaner checkbox which controls whether or not any *.db is cleaned from Drive D:\ ?

Drive D:\ ?

I have never seen CCleaner attempt to zap anything on Drive D:\

Is your System drive D:\ ?

What is the CCleaner checkbox which controls whether or not any *.db is cleaned from Drive D:\ ?

No, my D drive is my backup drive. I store videos and stuff like that on it, but when CCleaner is run it also deletes files from that drive. I like to have thumbnail previews of my videos, but when I run CCleaner, it deletes those thumbnails.

There is a thumbnail cache checkbox, but I don't want to disable it because it clears thumbnails on my C drive. I guess I could, but I'd prefer to add an exception to my D drive, rather than deselect the thumbnail option.

Can you replicate this with a screenshot?

Do an "Analyze" only with CCleaner, which will list everything it intends to delete, and you can double click any item to get a detailed view, which will show the paths of the items to be deleted.

As Alan says, CCleaner will not direct itself to a drive other than the System Drive, usually C:\, without being directed there by the user.

Do you have any kind of folder redirects? Have you relocated any of your System Folders to your D:\ drive?

No, my D drive is my backup drive. I store videos and stuff like that on it, but when CCleaner is run it also deletes files from that drive. I like to have thumbnail previews of my videos, but when I run CCleaner, it deletes those thumbnails.

There is a thumbnail cache checkbox, but I don't want to disable it because it clears thumbnails on my C drive. I guess I could, but I'd prefer to add an exception to my D drive, rather than deselect the thumbnail option.

Neither Romko nor yourself have specified your operating system.

This could be relevant, especially if reparse points are involved.

Why do backups go to D:\ ?

System default or your special customisation ?

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Disable the thumbnail checkbox and test whether CCleaner still removes those *.db files and report back,

this may indicate if there is some other peculiar effect on your system.

Then you can re-enable if you wish.

I have configured :-

Firefox to always download to E:\Downloads;

Macrium always puts image file backups in E:\Master Images.

and yet CCleaner never looks at E:\ unless I tell it via the special Includes section.

Do you have a special D:\???? includes stipulated ?

My sentiments are basically what Dennis and Alan have stated. If your Windows is installed on drive C:\ along with all your programs CCleaner should never find anything on another hard disk or hard disk partition unless you specifically tell it clean something on them.

On my system it only cleans "Path:\Temp" folders on other drives like "D:\Temp" and "E:\Temp", however I've specifically told it to do so via using and Include, otherwise it would never clean them.

@malonn

Is it possible that your backup and thumbnail previews go to D:\ via some sort of reparse point or "Libraries" linkage ?

e.g. What to Windows Explorer and CCleaner might appear to be a path to

C:\Users\Alan\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_1024.db

could be re-routed via some such mechanism to

D:\Explorer\thumbcache_1024.db

In which case CCleaner may only recognise an exclusion to

C:\Users\Alan\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\*.db

and NOT to the secret re-route

D:\Explorer\*.db

I am on W7 x64 SP1.

I disabled the thumbnail cache option, and the thumbnails remain, as I knew they would.

I don't know if there is some sort of system re-route to the D drive. If you all are right, there must be, because CCleaner definitely does clean the thumbnail cache on my D drive.

What could I do to determine if the system drive is routing CCleaner to my D drive?

Wouldn't you need to select the *.db from each subfolder?

It would seem CCleaner is only willing to save the .db file from D:\ and not the ones from D:\Movie1\ etc

If I'm reading this right, I'm not actually awake right now :X

What could I do to determine if the system drive is routing CCleaner to my D drive?

I have recently switched from XP to W7 x64 SP1.

Some one with more experience may advise you on what is built in to W7.

I have used this on XP, and just downloaded and found it works on W7

http://www.rekenwonder.com/linkmagic.htm

In 1 minute it scanned my whole system,

and correctly identified in the left column all the "Entry Points" and on the right the corresponding Destinations.

I would expect that you might see for example, on the left hand side

"C:\whatever\some"

and on the right hand side

"D:\anything\someOther"

To protect

"D:\anything\someOther\this\that"

you need to stipulate an exclusion path

"C:\whatever\some\this\that"

I'll add exceptions for all folders I don't want contents erased. You could be right.

Thanks for the link too, I'll try that app out if the multiple exception thing doesn't work.

EDIT

Nah, didn't work. Adding multiple folders to the exclusions list.

Wouldn't you need to select the *.db from each subfolder?

It would seem CCleaner is only willing to save the .db file from D:\ and not the ones from D:\Movie1\ etc

If I'm reading this right, I'm not actually awake right now :X

Yes, this is the core of my problem. And it does not depend on the operating system (say XP SP2)

RECURSE does not work in the EXCLUDE mode.

See my suggestions

http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?showtopic=32311

Posted 27 April 2011 - 09:29 PM

The mask *.ext works well in Recurce mode while the mask foo.* does not!

Precisely:

This

ExcludeKey1=PATH|C:\|*.bak

excludes the file foo.bak in all subdirectories of C:\

whereas this

ExcludeKey1=PATH|C:\|foo.*

excludes the file foo.bak only in the root of C:\

Same bag when introducing the mask foo.* through the menu EXCLUDE