Guides / Free up space
Windows Caches
Clears caches Windows keeps for itself: update downloads, thumbnails and crash reports. Windows rebuilds all of it as needed.
When to use it
- Your drive is getting full after Windows updates.
- Thumbnails in File Explorer look wrong.
How to use it
- Open Brightfix and go to Free up space.
- Choose Windows Caches. Brightfix checks first and changes nothing yet.
- Read the list. Each item says what it is and what will happen.
- Tick what you want, then choose the button to go ahead.
What it changes
Deletes cached update downloads, the thumbnail cache and old crash reports.
What it never does
- Never removes installed updates.
- Never touches your files.
Undo
Caches are rebuilt by Windows when needed, so there is nothing to undo. A restore point is made first.
Advanced details
- Includes the Delivery Optimization cache. Windows preallocates those files, so Brightfix counts their real size on disk, not their listed size.
- Windows Error Reporting archives and the thumbnail cache are included.
Every action is logged with the time, the command, the result and the exit code.