Ccleaner opens when closing game.

[reaperules]

Ccleaner opens when I close games like CS:GO, Overwatch, among others. It is kind of annoying, any way to disable it?

[hazelnut]

Perhaps turn off Smart Cleaning in CCleaner ...Options

[nukecad]

When you say "CCleaner opens" just what is opening - the full programe or a pop-up notification?

If it's a notification then can you screenshot it or tell us what it says?

[KF4UYC]

To the Community:

Thought I would try to see if I could find some answers here...have started having issues same as stated above where CC is popping open every time I close one of my games.  In following some of the answers in the forum I first increase the junk file threshold to 10GB+ with no change in results.  Next, someone suggested turning off just the junk file smart cleaner portion leaving the browser portion active but that too did not change things.  Next, it was suggested to turn off Smart Cleaner altogether which I did (see attached file) which made no impact...CC still popping up everytime I close.

Then, while trying to debug my system was reporting heavier that normal memory usage and in the course of looking into it noticed that everytime CC popped up the system showed 4 instances of the application running (see attached).  I just renewed my license shortly ago and I'm disappointed that I'm beginning to have issues with this software and its becoming intrusive instead of quietly doing its job.

Can anyone shed any light on this?  Any help is appreciated.

[nukecad]

Very odd behaviour, the staff have been flagged to your post.

A few questions that may be relevant:

Is this happening only when you close a particular game, when closing various games, or at other times too?
What is your Windows version/build?
Is it a PC, Laptop, Tablet, other?
I see an icon for Defender there, are you running any other AV, firewall, or security app?
In CCleaner Options>Advanced do you have 'Minimize to System Tray' ticked?
In Options>Updates do you have automatic updates ticked?

[KF4UYC]

nukecad,

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it.  This behavior is happening with most of my games...although not with some.  My Windows 10 Professional (version 20H2) build 19042.985 and I'm running McAfee LiveSafe.  These systems are running on an Alienware M17R2 Notebook.  AutoUpdate for CC is indeed enabled (I try to run an up-to-date system) but the minimize to the tray is not...I have since enabled that upon your advice.

Thanks for bumping this for me, I appreciate it.  I've been doing some additional testing and I'm chasing a gut-feeling about a piece of software called Razer Cortex which dynamically handles the memory pool, moving memory offline when a game is started.  It seems that CC is only becoming a nuisance when Cortex kicks in to optimize my system's memory during gameplay...Cortex is not invoked when using any of my MS Office products and CC is not producing a pop-up then.  This may just need to be something I'll have to live with or just invoke CC manually and relegate the smart-clean to an unusable feature.  Still, I'll need to address the multiple instances of CC eating memory...

Thanks for the help!

James

[nukecad]

My first thought is that your screenshot seem to show a Windows Defender icon in the system tray and that does not seem right if you are running another AV (McAfee).

Defender should turn itself off if you have another AV installed

It could be that the Two are conflicting. Which could give strange results?

I'd probably try turning McAffee off or reinstalling it to see if Defender then turns off.

TBH though it's puzzling and only what I would try first.

PS. I'd tun off minmise to sysem tray, it's a legacy option for older Windows versions and I only asked to make sure it wasn't on.

 

[hazelnut]

Re. Windows Security icon in taskbar...

Open Windows Security from the taskbar icon, click on Virus and threat protection, it should then show you who is in charge of AV protection on your machine.

It is normal to have the Win Security/Defender icon with a green tick even if someone else is in charge.

Mine is like that.

[Nergal]

what happens if you turn off browser cleaning on smart cleaning.  It sounds almost as if the games are running in a browser window.  Are they steam games?

[nukecad]

His screenshot shows that Smart Cleaning is off; which is why the behaviour is odd.

Thanks for that about the defender icon Hazelnut, I don't run another AV and had assumed the defender icon would go away if you did.
Thinking about it though other parts of the security centre, such as the firewall, will still be active.

[Guest MeganCCleaner]

18 hours ago, KF4UYC said:

nukecad,

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it.  This behavior is happening with most of my games...although not with some.  My Windows 10 Professional (version 20H2) build 19042.985 and I'm running McAfee LiveSafe.  These systems are running on an Alienware M17R2 Notebook.  AutoUpdate for CC is indeed enabled (I try to run an up-to-date system) but the minimize to the tray is not...I have since enabled that upon your advice.

Thanks for bumping this for me, I appreciate it.  I've been doing some additional testing and I'm chasing a gut-feeling about a piece of software called Razer Cortex which dynamically handles the memory pool, moving memory offline when a game is started.  It seems that CC is only becoming a nuisance when Cortex kicks in to optimize my system's memory during gameplay...Cortex is not invoked when using any of my MS Office products and CC is not producing a pop-up then.  This may just need to be something I'll have to live with or just invoke CC manually and relegate the smart-clean to an unusable feature.  Still, I'll need to address the multiple instances of CC eating memory...

Thanks for the help!

James

Hi @KF4UYC I would like to test this in order to see if I am able to replicate the problem whenever Razer Cortex is running during gameplay.

However first, can you please tell me which game(s) are being used whenever this problem occurs, and are you running them via something such as Steam or Epic Games Launcher?

[KF4UYC]

MeganCCleaner, the games that are troublesome so far seem to be associated with my Steam platform...my others (GOG, Discord, etc.) do not seem to have the issue but as yet, I have not seen them invoke Cortex to move memory offline.  A number of my Steam games, when started from the launcher trigger Cortex as the game is loading...I get an indication of the amount of memory being reallocated and moved offline.  When the game is terminated Cortex pops up and shows memory being reloaded.  Once Cortex is finished CC then pops up with the symptoms described above and shows 3 or 4 instances of CC running in the system.  After a period of time each CC terminates until there is only the single instance.

Games such as Train Valley 2 or Puddle Knights cause this issue without fail...I can try others if you need me to, I'm not much of a hardcore gamer but I have a sized library.  I would not spend a great deal of time on this as it definitely looks to be a conflict with Cortex and not the games themselves and I'm just going to relegate CC to a manual clean process instead of the automated processes.

Let me know if I can help in any way...thanks for all the help!

James

[KF4UYC]

MeganCCleaner...as a followup to my previous message I have attached a snapshot of Cortex doing its thing (lower right corner) after terminating one of my games....when it finishes CC will pop up as described above despite its configuration.  Also, if you have a particular game in mind to test let me know and I can see if I have it or go fetch it off Steam...anything to help out.

Thanks! -----James

 

[TechCop]

I am also having issues with this.  I created an account just to chime in.

I have been using CCleaner for a very long time and this past week is the first time I have seen this.  Like others have stated, the application windows opens up every time a game closes.  It happens with Steam games, Epic Games, and games with standalone installs. 

It doesn't seem to happen with all applications though.  Closing Chrome, Blender, and various other applications does not trigger it.

Most recently, I have closed Rogue Company (Epic Games Launcher), Hell Let Loose (Steam Launcher), and Escape from Tarkov (Battlestate Games Launcher).  All 3 triggered CCleaner to open this screen:

 

I do not have anything "smart" enabled.  CCleaner is set to run at startup but that is it.  I do everything else manually.

 

Edited May 23, 2021 by TechCop

[KF4UYC]

TechCop, thanks for chiming in...the contribution is much appreciated!  It's good to know that at least I'm not the only one out here in the darkness!

[Dave CCleaner]

Some games embed a web browser when they run, so closing the game may trigger the same behaviour as if you had closed a browser.  What is your experience on closing one of these games vs closing a web browser?  And to confirm, your settings under Options > Smart Cleaning are all off?  

 

[KF4UYC]

As shown in the above screenshots, all options of SmartCleaner are turned off and CC still pops up after the games are closed.  In addition, in response to your question about how those games behave in a browser environment, both CC and those games have lived in harmony for quite a long time...only as @TechCop stated above that until recently CC has started misbehaving when various gaming platforms are shutdown.  I thought it only inherent to Stem apps but it appears to trigger on other platforms as well.  I don't if my symptoms are exactly like his, in that his tray is showing multiple instances of CC running in the background as I do, but suffice it to say that I cam't seem to wrap around the idea that most of my games have suddenly started behaving as though they have embedded browser components vs. something else triggering CC to override its own configuration and take SmartCleaning into it own hands...that is when software becomes intrusive not to mention dangerous.

[KF4UYC]

@Dave CCleaner I have not heard anything back from you...did I answer your questions or do you need additional information?  Thanks.

[Guest MeganCCleaner]

Hi @KF4UYC @TechCop @reaperules

I am curious if this could be attributed to the automatic update setting of CCleaner that had been mentioned previously, or something such as a scheduled task.

Can you please ensure that all of the update options are disabled in CCleaner, using the following steps?

1. Open CCleaner > click Options > Updates
2. Uncheck "Keep CCleaner updated automatically"
3. Uncheck "Send notifications when there is a new version of CCleaner"

Please also ensure everything in the Options > Smart Cleaning area of CCleaner remains disabled/unchecked.

Additionally, can you please see if this problem persists after disabling the scheduled task(s) associated with CCleaner, using these steps?

1. Open CCleaner > click Tools > Startup
2. Open the "Scheduled Tasks" tab
3. Right-click on the entries associated with CCleaner > click Disable

[flash4203]

Hello, I just want to say I have noticed this and I have found that Cortex seems to be the common denominator that the rest have mentioned, when cortex is invoked and the restores memory and then CC opens up, as above I have smart cleaning disabled. 

Its definitely a conflict between Razer Cortex and CCleaner and it has only been doing this since perhaps march. 

games it does it too are..

Epic Games - Fortnite, Subnautica Subzero
Steam games for definite Eurotruck simulator but there are others

Origin games

and i also noticed each time it opens there is another icon in the task bar but when hovered over they vanish. 

[TechCop]

Sorry for the absence.  I went on vacation.  I played a game tonight, experienced the issue again, and remembered to check this thread.  I paid attention to it more this time and it does appear to be triggered when Razer Cortex begins its "restoring memory" function.

 

On 07/06/2021 at 11:11, MeganCCleaner said:

Hi @KF4UYC @TechCop @reaperules

I am curious if this could be attributed to the automatic update setting of CCleaner that had been mentioned previously, or something such as a scheduled task.

Can you please ensure that all of the update options are disabled in CCleaner, using the following steps?

1. Open CCleaner > click Options > Updates
2. Uncheck "Keep CCleaner updated automatically"
3. Uncheck "Send notifications when there is a new version of CCleaner"

Please also ensure everything in the Options > Smart Cleaning area of CCleaner remains disabled/unchecked.

Additionally, can you please see if this problem persists after disabling the scheduled task(s) associated with CCleaner, using these steps?

1. Open CCleaner > click Tools > Startup
2. Open the "Scheduled Tasks" tab
3. Right-click on the entries associated with CCleaner > click Disable

 

@MeganCCleaner  This appeared to have worked for me.  I did have "Keep CCleaner updated automatically" and I had one scheduled task related to CCleaner.  I disable both.  I then retried all 3 of the games mentioned in my previous post as a test.  Razer Cortex did its thing and CCleaner did NOT open as described before.  Yay, I suppose.  I am not sure how this will affect CCleaner for me but at least you know where to start.

 

On 24/05/2021 at 12:11, Dave CCleaner said:

Some games embed a web browser when they run, so closing the game may trigger the same behaviour as if you had closed a browser.  What is your experience on closing one of these games vs closing a web browser?  And to confirm, your settings under Options > Smart Cleaning are all off?  

 

@Dave CCleaner The issue never appeared when closing a browser.

[Rostia CCleaner]

Hi everyone,

I'm a bit late to the party but maybe it will still help someone. I looked a bit at Cortex and indeed it is the culprit here. When Boost runs, it kills processes it thinks are expendable in order to free up some RAM. CCleaner is one of those processes. Cortex remembers the path of the executable, but not the command line arguments which were passed to the process when it was executed. So when the process is later (after the game) restored, it is restored without any command line arguments. And that's the problem. CCleaner background process is started with the "/monitor" argument. Cortex kills it, but restores it without this argument, which displays the main GUI window as you have experienced.

There seems to be several ways how to make Cortex stop killing CCleaner (for the price of less memory freed for the game). The simplest one is probably unselecting CCleaner in Game Booster -> Boost -> Processes.

Cortex saves this option in a file in something which looks like a profile folder and it persists through different instances of both Cortex and CCleaner.
C:\ProgramData\Razer\RazerCortex\RZR_0280995146178ed00acc91979bae\process.ini

[Process0]
CCleaner64.exe=0

As for three instances of CCleaner running, which was mentioned above, that should not be three instances but rather tray icons which were left there when CCleaner was forcefully killed by Cortex. If you hover with your mouse over those icons, they should disappear, at least those belonging to the killed processes. I think it's something for us to look at though.

[Rostia CCleaner]

I'm wondering, are there any cases of this behavior (CCleaner opening when a game closes) where people don't use Razer Cortex?

[OddyseyT]

Could this scheduled task be the culprit?

 

Edited November 20, 2022 by OddyseyT