How to use GrooveClean.exe to delete Groove data

This article describes how to use GrooveClean.exe (GrooveClean) to delete Groove data.

GrooveClean is included in Microsoft Office Groove 2007, in Groove Virtual Office, and in Groove Workspace. If you run GrooveClean without options, GrooveClean deletes the following temporary data:

• The transmit and receive buffer files
• The cached diagnostic information
• All associated log files

You may lose some transient information by deleting the buffer files. In particular, instant messages that have not yet been sent or that have been received but not processed will be lost. However, the dynamics manager in Groove should recover workspace changes that you made, even if the changes have not yet been transmitted. Therefore, running GrooveClean without options is generally safe.

Note For information on how to delete this data in Microsoft SharePoint Workspace 2010, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:


To run GrooveClean without options, follow these steps:

1. Exit Groove.
2. After Groove shuts down, type one of the following commands at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:
   • In Groove 2007:
     C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE12\GrooveClean
   • In Groove Virtual Office or in Groove Workspace:
     C:\Program Files\Groove Networks\Groove\Bin\GrooveClean

Sometimes, you may have to delete permanent data and temporary data. To do this, run GrooveClean with the -all option. When you run GrooveClean with the -all option, all Groove accounts, workspaces, and temporary data are deleted.

Caution The GrooveClean -all command deletes all Groove data. In versions of Groove that are earlier than Groove 2007, this includes the Groove data of other Microsoft Windows users who are on the same computer. After you run the GrooveClean -all command, you will not be able to use Groove until you create a new account or import a previously saved account.

If you create a new account, it will not have the same identity and will not belong to any workspaces, even if you use all the same information when you create the account. If you create a new account, you must distribute your new identity to all your Groove contacts and be reinvited to workspaces.

To delete all Groove data in Groove 2007, follow these steps:

1. On the Files menu, click Exit.
2. Click Start, click Run, and then type the following command:
   "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE12\GrooveClean.exe" -all
3. Click OK.

To delete all Groove data in Groove Virtual Office or an earlier version of Groove, use one of the following methods.

The Run method

1. On the Files menu, click Exit Groove.
2. Click Start, click Run, type the following command, and then click OK:
   "C:\Program Files\Groove Networks\Groove\Bin\GrooveClean.exe" -all

The command-line method

Note This method is required if you are using a computer that is running Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition.

1. On the Files menu, click Exit Groove.
2. Open a Command Prompt window.
3. Type cd \progra~1\groove~1\groove\bin, and then press ENTER.
4. Type GrooveClean -all, and then press ENTER.