Is CCleaner capapble to delete invalid desktop/startmenu shortcuts?
Yes to both, it also can remove invalid Quick Launch shortcuts as well.
thanks for the Info I found the function
Hmmmm Not to put words in this user's querry, but I THINK the user may have been asking 'Is CCleaner capapble of DETECTING AND cleaning invalid desktop/startmenu shortcuts?' Of course CCleaner will delete any shortcuts you elect to place in the winapp2.ini file, but detecting invalid shortcuts is an entirely different matter. If CCleaner is capable of doing this, it is surely very well hidden...
Please allow me to amend my previous reply. CCleaner indeed has options under Issues/File Intergrity for both start menu and desktop shortcuts. However, I have yet to see this function actually detect an invalid shortcut. Just now, I created a shortcut on my start menu and then deleted the EXE File. CCleaner did not detect the shortcut as being invalid. Really don't know if this has been reported as a bug, as I use a separate utility for this purpose..
CCleaner has always detected any invalid shortcuts on my system where it's capable of doing so. If everything is selected in Issues->File Integrity CCleaner should find invalid shortcuts.
I assure you this is not working on Win98. Do you have a Windows 98 machine to test this on ? I have volunteered numerous times to beta test CCleaner because I don't think it is getting adequate testing on 'pre-XP' machines.
I moved an EXE file to a temporary folder, created a shortcut, moved the shortcut to my start menu and then deleted the EXE. Ran CCleaner several times and it did not pick up on the invalid shortcut. Ran another utility - RegistryFix - and it identified the invalid shortcut immediately. Once again, I am more than willing to beta test new versions of CCleaner, but no one has replied when I have volunteered... It will be most interesting if you can get invalid shortcuts identified and deleted under Win98.
I assure you this is not working on Win98. Do you have a Windows 98 machine to test this on ?
I have a Win98 PC that I only use maybe 3-4 times per year just to backup some archives from my WinXP PC. I use CCleaner on that old PC, however I haven't removed anything from that PC for CCleaner to detect as invalid.
I'll dust off that old Win98 PC of mine right now and go see if it will remove invalid shortcuts...
...CCleaner detects invalid shortcuts on my old Win98 PC, see screenshot below.
Note: CCleaner detects my Win98 PC as Win98 SE, however I assure you it isn't that OS version, it's an OEM Dell Win98 PC.
Click to enlarge
Your efforts to run this test on your Win98 machine are VERY MUCH APPRECIATED ! ! ! Thanks for going this extra mile. I am running 'Portable CCleaner', so I shall do additional testing to see whether or not it's a 'portable' issue or maybe something else. Thanks again ! ! !
Ok Mystery solved, and indeed I must fall on my sword. I ASSUMED that running CCleaner automatically scanned for issues when I did an 'Analyze' in the opening windows. I see now that I was sadly mistaken and that indeed I must run the 'Scan for Issues' separately. When I do this, it works like a charm. My humble apolgies for this oversight. THANKS for the pointer ! ! ! Again, very much appreciated.