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(Article ID: 001588)

When running the Disk Cleanup tool, the program may appear to hang or stop responding when it gets to the "Compress old files" phase. To disable this part of the disk cleanup tool, do the following:

1. Start Registry Editor (Start>Run>regedit).
   
2. Navigate to the following registry key: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
\VolumeCaches.
   NOTE: HKLM is the abbreviation for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
   
3. Look for a key called Compress old files.
   
4. Right click on the key and select Export.
   
5. Click on the Desktop icon on the left of the Export Registry File dialog box.
   
6. Type a name for the file (i.e. VolumeCaches in the File name box and click Save.
   NOTE: The file just created is a backup of what is about to be deleted from the registry.
   
7. Right click on the key and select Delete.
   
8. Close Registry Editor.
   
9. Run the Disk Cleanup tool and make sure that it functions properly.
   NOTE: If the Disk Cleanup tool does not work properly, or you want it to run the "Compress old files" scan, double click on the exported registry entry that was saved on the desktop. Click Yes to import the contents of the registry file.