Windows Cleaning Options

The Windows Cleaning Options page lists switches for the most common Windows junk. Each switch can be turned on or off individually.

The switches

Switch	What it removes	Default	When to run
Documents History	Your recent-documents list in the Start Menu	Off	Monthly
Invalid Desktop Shortcuts	Shortcuts pointing to missing programs	On	Weekly
Empty the Recycle Bin	Everything in the bin, permanently	Off	Weekly
Windows Temporary Folder	Unused temp files (running apps are never touched)	On	Weekly
Hotfix Uninstall Files	Uninstallers for Windows updates	Off	Monthly
Windows Log Files	System log files	On	Monthly
Remote Desktop Cache	Cache that can slow Remote Desktop	On	Monthly
Memory Dump Files	Crash dump files (can be very large)	On	Monthly
Invalid Icon Shell Extensions	Registry entries for missing icons	On	Monthly
Explorer Thumbnail Cache	Thumbnail images Windows rebuilds anyway	On	Monthly
Error Reporting Files	Windows error-reporting leftovers	On	Monthly
Recent Documents	Your personal recent-files lists	On	Monthly
WordPad Recent Documents	WordPad's recent-file list	On	Monthly
IIS Logs	Internet Information Services logs	Off	Only if you run IIS
Wallpaper History	History of your desktop wallpapers	On	Monthly
CD Burn Temporary Files	Temp files from CD/DVD burning	Off	Weekly
Clean AutoRun Registry	Invalid autorun registry entries	On	Weekly
Clean AutoRun Startup	Invalid startup autorun items	On	Weekly

Switch labels shown here may differ slightly from your installed version. The feature each switch controls is the same.

What it does not touch

WinSysClean never deletes files that are currently in use. If a program is running and using a temp file, that file is left alone. It also skips CD-ROM and network shortcuts, so removable drives are never affected.

Recommended schedule

Weekly: temp folder, invalid shortcuts, Recycle Bin.
Monthly: history lists, log files, memory dumps, icon caches.

Hotfix Uninstall Files and Empty the Recycle Bin are the two switches to think about most:

Removing hotfix uninstallers means updates can no longer be uninstalled.
Emptying the Recycle Bin is permanent and cannot be undone.

Restoring defaults

The Default Settings menu command returns every switch here to its factory default. Use it if you changed many switches and want a known-safe starting point again.