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General discussion

Wise Disk cleaner cleaning for over 24 hours

Feb 5, 2011 3:59AM PST

I installed the Wise Disk Cleaner and ran it and even though the files it found all say they are safe to remove, I'm concerned. For one thing, it's been "cleaning" for over 24 hours. I'm tempted to abort but since I haven't used it before I'm not sure what would happen. Will the files it's deleted so far be in the recycle bin for me to restore them? Why in the heck is it taking so long? It would be nice if there were some kind of time frame or showed some sort of indication as to how far along the cleaning process is.

Next, the files I selected for cleaning are mostly error files, temporary files, or old files and only what was "recommended" by the program. However, as I'm scrolling through the list of files marked for deletion, I see .exe, .dll, etc. file extensions so I'm really scared of what it's going to do to my computer when it finally does get done.

What should I do about this? Does anyone know what will happen if I stop the cleaning process?

Here is my system info:
Lenovo Desktop
Windows XP Prof, Version 2002 SP3
AMD Athlon(tm)64x2 Dual
Core processor 3800+
2.01 GHz 992MB of Ram

Discussion is locked

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Check the hard disk activity LED if you can
Feb 5, 2011 4:17AM PST

You didn't say how much cleaning was needed and it also might depend on how many hard drives, their capacity and how they are connected that would determine how long the process would take. As well, an AV program could be involved. But 24 hours does sound a bit long. The machine may be hung. If you still have HD activity, perhaps the program is still active. If no HD activity, you might try to bring up the task manager (ctrl+alt+del) and see if the program shows as running. It might be that the system is hung and you'd need to try and shut down your disk cleaning program. I can't say what the outcome will be but your recycle bin will only hold so much before nothing else can go there. Windows will allocate a percentage of the drive for that function and, if filled up, you should be notified of such.

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More info
Feb 5, 2011 1:56PM PST

It did say there were a lot of files but I didn't write it down although I would have had I known it would take this long. I only scanned my C: drive which is my hard drive. I've checked the task manager a few times and the stupid thing is still running. I guess I'll just wait it out. I've already decided not to allow the file deletion when it finally gets done and gives me the option however, now I'm worried about the recycle bin. I wonder if I should go and restore those files or try to zip them so there will be room for all these files. If I knew for certain my system wasn't at risk I wouldn't mind but this is making me think I'm wiping out the entire thing. I'm sorry but I don't know what the AV program is?

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AV means "antivirus"
Feb 5, 2011 6:02PM PST

If you don't know, they are programs that attempt to protect your PC from becoming infected and have data corrupt or lost. Some would take over the recycling bin or have their own method of holding deleted data just in case the user changed their mind. One such was Symantec's Norton Antivirus. I don't use that any more so can't be sure if it works the same way but it could really slow a system to a crawl. Sorry I can't be of more help but do share your concern that something might be wrong. I'd never use that type of software myself.

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AV
Feb 6, 2011 3:50PM PST

Sorry, I'm using the free version of AVG. I posted the results of my scan in response to the post below if you want to check it out.

Thanks for your help

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Personally I would ABORT the scan ...
Feb 6, 2011 4:59AM PST
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scan completed
Feb 6, 2011 3:49PM PST

I'm running the latest free version of AVG. The only reason I even installed the Wise program was because I needed to uninstall Itunes and when I tried to use the CP in "add and remove programs" I kept getting an error message that the network resource was unavailable. When I went to the apple website I was directed to Microsoft for a fix that had been deleted but basically, I need to force the uninstall which is what lead me to looking for an alternative....never again.

The scan located over 39,000 files and all but 10 were in my recycle bin. I moved them to a zip folder on my desktop and then saved to a flash drive until I can see whether or not it had an adverse affect on my system. I tried to get tech support from the wise cleaner support team but was told I couldn't get support with the free version. I guess I'm just going to have to wait and see if my system in unstable and if so, I'm hoping I can unzip the file and restore them. I'm a college student with no money to replace my desktop so I sure hope that doesn't crash my system.

Thanks for all the help everyone offered.

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For future reference ...
Feb 7, 2011 2:06AM PST

if you need an uninstaller look for the Free (or paid) version of REVO UNINSTALLER. The name says it all - it is a one purpose uninstaller that I don't recall seeing anyone unhappy with as it does what it does quite well.

As for The technical support, clear at the bottom of this page it clearly states that Wise Disk Cleaner Free has "Unlimited Free technical support" so I would be getting in touch with them again unless you actually meant Wise Registry Cleaner Free which does not have free technical support. Not providing the free technical support for the Disk Cleaner product would be actionable false advertising and misrepresentation of the product and something a lawyer would be happy to discuss with them in court.