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Table of Contents
Method 1 of 3:
Using Disk Cleanup (All Windows Versions)
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Images 1 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows Open Disk Cleanup. Click the Startbutton, type disk cleanup, and then select the matching result. The Disk Cleanup application will open.
Images 2 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows -
Images 3 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows Select the current hard drive that Windows is installed on, if prompted. -
Images 4 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows Wait for Disk Cleanup to analyze your computer. Your computer will be assessed for what type of files can be removed and the amounts of each file type on your computer. -
Images 5 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows Opt to remove the thumbnail cache. Check the "Thumbnails" checkbox in the list. -
Images 6 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows Initiate Disk Cleanup. Click the OK button at the bottom. -
Images 7 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows Confirm the warning. Click Delete Files in the warning message. Doing so will initiate the file cleanup process.
Method 2 of 3:
Manually Clearing in Windows 10 and 8
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Images 8 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows Open File Explorer. Click the File Explorertaskbar icon. It looks like a file folder.
Images 9 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows -
Images 10 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows Go to the View tab at the top of the ribbon. -
Images 11 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows Show hidden files and folders. Check the box next to "Hidden items". It'll be in the "Show/hide" portion of the ribbon.- You may also want to enable item checkboxes for easier file selection.
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Images 12 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows Go to %homepath%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindowsExplorer using the address bar. Click the address bar, copy and paste the code, and then hit the ↵ Enter keyboard key. -
Images 13 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows Select all files with names that begin with "thumbcache". Check the boxes next to any file that begins with the word "thumbcache". If you don't have checkboxes enabled, press and hold the Ctrl key while clicking on multiple file listings. -
Images 14 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows Delete the files. Right-click anywhere over a highlighted file and click Delete.- Alternatively, click the Home tab in the ribbon and then choose the "Delete" option.
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Images 15 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows Confirm the warning message, if prompted. Click the Yes button. -
Images 16 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows Empty the Recycle Bin. If you've set your deleted files to go to the Recycle Bin before being permanently deleted, you'll need to empty the Recycle Bin to permanently delete the thumbnail cache.
Method 3 of 3:
Manually Clearing in Windows XP
- Show all hidden files and folders.
- Open Windows Explorer. Click the start button at the bottom-left and then click "My Computer".
Images 17 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows - Click the "Tools" menu at the top of the window.
Images 18 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows - Go to the View tab.
Images 19 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows - Enable viewing of hidden items. Click the radio button next to "Show hidden files and folders".
Images 20 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows - Show protected operating system files. Uncheck the box next to "Hide protected operating system files".
Images 21 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows - Confirm the warning prompt. Click the Yes button.
Images 22 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows - Save your changes. Click the OK button to close the Folder Options box and save your new file viewing settings.
Images 23 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows
- Open Windows Explorer. Click the start button at the bottom-left and then click "My Computer".
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Images 24 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows Launch the search feature. Click the start button at the bottom-left and click "Search". It has a magnifying glass icon to the left of it. -
Images 25 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows Click the "All files and folders" option. This is under the "Search Companion" section in the left pane. -
Images 26 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows Search for Thumbs.db. Type Thumbs.db and click the Search button to begin the file search. -
Images 27 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows Select all items. Click the "Edit" menu at the top and then click "Select All". -
Images 28 of How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows Delete all of the selected files. Click on the "File" menu at the top-left and click "Delete".- The files will be sent to the Recycle Bin based on your deletion settings. Make sure to check it and empty it if the files have been moved there.
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