Article ID: 823302 - Last Review: August 25, 2010 - Revision: 2.0

The Disk Cleanup tool stops responding

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SYMPTOMS

When you try to run the Windows XP Disk Cleanup tool, it may stop responding.
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CAUSE

This problem occurs because you have a corrupted temporary file on the computer.
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RESOLUTION

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How to remove temporary files

To resolve this problem, delete all the files in the current user's Temp folder, and then delete all the user's temporary Internet files. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type %temp%, and then click OK to open the Temp folder.
  2. In the Temp folder, click Select All on the Edit menu, press the DELETE key, and then click Yes to confirm that you want to send all the items to the Recycle Bin.
  3. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Internet Options.
  4. On the General tab, click Delete Files.
  5. Click to select the Delete all offline content check box, and then click OK.
  6. Click Start, and then click My Computer.
  7. Right-click the drive that you want to clean, and then click Properties.
  8. Click Disk Cleanup to run the Disk Cleanup tool again.
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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.
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REFERENCES

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
310312  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312/ ) Description of the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows XP
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APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional
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Keywords: 
kbhowto kbprb KB823302
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