I'm having a strange problem. If I let my PC idle for around 5 minutes, the disk cleanup utility pops up and analyzes my PC, then leaves the window open showing what could be cleaned up, etc. However, if I move the mouse, the window vanishes.
I'm running Win 8.1, and I have two hard drives, a 250GB SSD and a 1.5TB HD. I just installed the 1.5TB drive today, so that might have something to do with it, but to be honest, I don't recall if this problem started before or after I installed the 1.5GB drive.
This is happening every 5 minutes or so - makes it hard to enjoy a movie or anything that would leave the computer idle. I Googled a lot and couldn't find anything. I've run disk cleanup by hand and let it do its thing for both drives, but it didn't help.
Any ideas? It's getting annoying. I can't even drag it off to the side of the screen because it vanishes the moment I move the mouse. If I can't figure it out, I guess I can unplug the 1.5TB and see if that fixes it. Then I will at least know the culprit.
Hi,
Please also check if there is any task added in Task schedule to run this cleanup. If so, please remove it.
Considering that the 3rd part application call this process, please test the issue in Safe mode and clean boot mode.
How to perform a clean boot
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135
If the issue doesnt appear in Clean boot mode, you can determine which one can be the cause by using dichotomy in MSconfig. Checking on half of Non-Microsoft service and restart, determining which half of the services cause the issue and repeating to check
half of the problematic half services.
Also, please upload the saved event log of Application here for our res
Thanks for the ideas. I'm not running any third party utilities like you mentioned, Balaji, you can check out my screenshots below to see what I am running. I did check the startup tab in the Task Manager, but it only had things I expected to be there. Nothing strange that would cause disk cleanup to start.
However, Kate Li is on the same track I am on. It is related to a task in the Task Scheduler. There are four items in particular that seem to be linked to each other:
Idle Maintenance
Manual Maintenance
Regular Maintenance
Maintenance Configurator
I'm fairly sure it is Regular Maintenance that is causing the issue. I went in and told it to not stop the process if my system was idle, after that disk cleanup stopped disappearing when I moved my mouse or had any other kind of input.
I am still tinkering with the others, setting them to not stop the maintenance as well to double check and make sure that they aren't compounding the problem.
I just wish there was a list of what Regular Maintenance does, and a way to change it, as with the other maintenance tasks too. I feel as though these shouldn't be disabled because Windows set them in the first place.
Could you talk a look in your Task Scheduler, then double click on Maintenance Configurator and tell me if you have the same four items as I do? Are any of them listed as running? Are they disabled or ready?
I'm just about ready to disable the one that is causing problems, and re-enable it once a month or so to let it do whatever it is it does.
Here's some screenshots:
Active Tasks: http://i.imgur.com/O0LUUzX.png
Task Status: http://i.imgur.com/fXBAd5F.png
Maintenance Tasks: http://i.imgur.com/UmJ6VSa.png
C:\Windows\Tasks\ http://i.imgur.com/o76pBlJ.png
Task Manager (Startup): http://i.imgur.com/bqbx8rc.png
Task Manager (Processes1): http://i.imgur.com/gwe5W0p.png
Task Manager (Processes2): http://i.imgur.com/txMxV6H.png
Task Manager (Processes3): http://i.imgur.com/bb0MLZH.png
I looked at the Event Viewer, but nothing stood out immediately. I also looked at the startup items in MSConfig. There were quite a few services, only half of them running. I will have to go down the list one by one and Google each of them to see how important they are if I can't figure this out any other way.
Thanks for the help thusfar!
- Edited by Glitch000 Monday, April 21, 2014 10:55 PM
Thanks for the ideas. I'm not running any third party utilities like you mentioned, Balaji, you can check out my screenshots below to see what I am running. I did check the startup tab in the Task Manager, but it only had things I expected to be there. Nothing strange that would cause disk cleanup to start.
However, Kate Li is on the same track I am on. It is related to a task in the Task Scheduler. There are four items in particular that seem to be linked to each other:
Idle Maintenance
Manual Maintenance
Regular Maintenance
Maintenance Configurator
I'm fairly sure it is Regular Maintenance that is causing the issue. I went in and told it to not stop the process if my system was idle, after that disk cleanup stopped disappearing when I moved my mouse or had any other kind of input.
I am still tinkering with the others, setting them to not stop the maintenance as well to double check and make sure that they aren't compounding the problem.
I just wish there was a list of what Regular Maintenance does, and a way to change it, as with the other maintenance tasks too. I feel as though these shouldn't be disabled because Windows set them in the first place.
Could you talk a look in your Task Scheduler, then double click on Maintenance Configurator and tell me if you have the same four items as I do? Are any of them listed as running? Are they disabled or ready?
I'm just about ready to disable the one that is causing problems, and re-enable it once a month or so to let it do whatever it is it does.
Here's some screenshots:
Active Tasks: http://i.imgur.com/O0LUUzX.png
Task Status: http://i.imgur.com/fXBAd5F.png
Maintenance Tasks: http://i.imgur.com/UmJ6VSa.png
C:\Windows\Tasks\ http://i.imgur.com/o76pBlJ.png
Task Manager (Startup): http://i.imgur.com/bqbx8rc.png
Task Manager (Processes1): http://i.imgur.com/gwe5W0p.png
Task Manager (Processes2): http://i.imgur.com/txMxV6H.png
Task Manager (Processes3): http://i.imgur.com/bb0MLZH.png
I looked at the Event Viewer, but nothing stood out immediately. I also looked at the startup items in MSConfig. There were quite a few services, only half of them running. I will have to go down the list one by one and Google each of them to see how important they are if I can't figure this out any other way.
Thanks for the help thusfar!
- Edited by Glitch000 Monday, April 21, 2014 10:55 PM
Thanks for the ideas. I'm not running any third party utilities like you mentioned, Balaji, you can check out my screenshots below to see what I am running. I did check the startup tab in the Task Manager, but it only had things I expected to be there. Nothing strange that would cause disk cleanup to start.
However, Kate Li is on the same track I am on. It is related to a task in the Task Scheduler. There are four items in particular that seem to be linked to each other:
Idle Maintenance
Manual Maintenance
Regular Maintenance
Maintenance Configurator
I'm fairly sure it is Regular Maintenance that is causing the issue. I went in and told it to not stop the process if my system was idle, after that disk cleanup stopped disappearing when I moved my mouse or had any other kind of input.
I am still tinkering with the others, setting them to not stop the maintenance as well to double check and make sure that they aren't compounding the problem.
I just wish there was a list of what Regular Maintenance does, and a way to change it, as with the other maintenance tasks too. I feel as though these shouldn't be disabled because Windows set them in the first place.
Could you talk a look in your Task Scheduler, then double click on Maintenance Configurator and tell me if you have the same four items as I do? Are any of them listed as running? Are they disabled or ready?
I'm just about ready to disable the one that is causing problems, and re-enable it once a month or so to let it do whatever it is it does.
Here's some screenshots:
Active Tasks: http://i.imgur.com/O0LUUzX.png
Task Status: http://i.imgur.com/fXBAd5F.png
Maintenance Tasks: http://i.imgur.com/UmJ6VSa.png
C:\Windows\Tasks\ http://i.imgur.com/o76pBlJ.png
Task Manager (Startup): http://i.imgur.com/bqbx8rc.png
Task Manager (Processes1): http://i.imgur.com/gwe5W0p.png
Task Manager (Processes2): http://i.imgur.com/txMxV6H.png
Task Manager (Processes3): http://i.imgur.com/bb0MLZH.png
I looked at the Event Viewer, but nothing stood out immediately. I also looked at the startup items in MSConfig. There were quite a few services, only half of them running. I will have to go down the list one by one and Google each of them to see how important they are if I can't figure this out any other way.
Thanks for the help thusfar!
- Edited by Glitch000 Monday, April 21, 2014 10:55 PM
Sorry for the delay in replying to this thread. I figured out who the culprit was. It was the scheduled
task "Regular Maintenance."
I figured it out by going though the tasks one by one and turning off the option of the task stopping if
my computer wakes from being idle. This kept the disk cleanup from vanishing the moment I moved my mouse, thereby letting me know which one it was.
I tried disabling all of them, but the Maintenance
Configurator would not let me disable itself, stating that I needed permission to disable
it, even running as administrator. I also believe that the maintenance configurator was responsible for re-enabling the other three other tasks after I disabled them.
So instead of disabling Regular
Maintenance, I deleted it. Probably a bad idea, being that I have no idea what it did in addition
to running disk cleanup. It also caused a lot of hard drive activity - something I would like to avoid on my SSD, so I guess that's another plus to deleting it.
So here's hoping that it's "fixed." I'll report back in a few days.
(sorry for the double post here. I accidentally posted this thread originally in the performance forum where it didn't belong)
- Marked as answer by Glitch000 Tuesday, April 29, 2014 9:53 AM
Sorry for the delay in replying to this thread. I figured out who the culprit was. It was the scheduled
task "Regular Maintenance."
I figured it out by going though the tasks one by one and turning off the option of the task stopping if
my computer wakes from being idle. This kept the disk cleanup from vanishing the moment I moved my mouse, thereby letting me know which one it was.
I tried disabling all of them, but the Maintenance
Configurator would not let me disable itself, stating that I needed permission to disable
it, even running as administrator. I also believe that the maintenance configurator was responsible for re-enabling the other three other tasks after I disabled them.
So instead of disabling Regular
Maintenance, I deleted it. Probably a bad idea, being that I have no idea what it did in addition
to running disk cleanup. It also caused a lot of hard drive activity - something I would like to avoid on my SSD, so I guess that's another plus to deleting it.
So here's hoping that it's "fixed." I'll report back in a few days.
(sorry for the double post here. I accidentally posted this thread originally in the performance forum where it didn't belong)
- Marked as answer by Glitch000 Tuesday, April 29, 2014 9:53 AM
Sorry for the delay in replying to this thread. I figured out who the culprit was. It was the scheduled
task "Regular Maintenance."
I figured it out by going though the tasks one by one and turning off the option of the task stopping if
my computer wakes from being idle. This kept the disk cleanup from vanishing the moment I moved my mouse, thereby letting me know which one it was.
I tried disabling all of them, but the Maintenance
Configurator would not let me disable itself, stating that I needed permission to disable
it, even running as administrator. I also believe that the maintenance configurator was responsible for re-enabling the other three other tasks after I disabled them.
So instead of disabling Regular
Maintenance, I deleted it. Probably a bad idea, being that I have no idea what it did in addition
to running disk cleanup. It also caused a lot of hard drive activity - something I would like to avoid on my SSD, so I guess that's another plus to deleting it.
So here's hoping that it's "fixed." I'll report back in a few days.
(sorry for the double post here. I accidentally posted this thread originally in the performance forum where it didn't belong)
- Marked as answer by Glitch000 Tuesday, April 29, 2014 9:53 AM
It's been a month and I haven't had any problems until today. Disk Cleanup has started to pop-up again, this time in roughly five minute intervals if my computer is idle. This indicates to me that it might have been in part due to Regular Maintenance, but now might also be a part of Idle Maintenance or the Maintenance Configurator itself.
I've disabled Idle Maintenance, as Disk Cleanup always seems to pop-up when I am not actively using the computer - such as went to get lunch from the kitchen or something else that only takes five minutes. It's a process of elimination now. If the Disk Configurator re-enables it, I'll have to delete Idle Maintenance too. I don't like the idea of deleting any of these maintenance tasks, but if it isn't working properly, I don't think I have much of a choice.
Any thoughts?
I have the same thing on my box, I ignore it as it goes away when I need the rig
Hello,
How much free space on the volume that it's trying to clean?
How big is that volume?
It may be running when it's detecting low disk space as a percentage of the volume.
Under Task Scheduler, look at the Disk Cleanup task.
Check the history of the task to see when it's run and how often it's run.
Hello,
How much free space on the volume that it's trying to clean?
How big is that volume?
It may be running when it's detecting low disk space as a percentage of the volume.
Under Task Scheduler, look at the Disk Cleanup task.
Check the history of the task to see when it's run and how often it'
Hello,
The disk space on your system shouldn't cause the trigger to occur for diskcleanup.
I see your history is disabled on the task,. Looking at your picture of the task scheduler
On the right-hand site of that screen, under actions, there is an option to enable All Task history, can you set that to enable?
Also can you take a screen shot of the triggers
Well, what a coincidence, I just got up to get some ice cream (Mint chip!) and when I came back, Disk Cleanup was up again, and vanished the moment I moved my mouse. I happened to have the task scheduler open and I notice that Idle Maintenance is now enabled. I disabled it earlier today, so I am again pointing the blame at the Maintenance Configurator re-enabling it.
Both the Idle Maintenance and Maintenance Configurator now have a history:
Maintenance Configurator:
Information 5/28/2014 5:49:20 PM 102 Task completed (2) f8b0d2c3-4330-41fe-9473-ba26eb02692e Information 5/28/2014 5:49:20 PM 201 Action completed (2) f8b0d2c3-4330-41fe-9473-ba26eb02692e Information 5/28/2014 5:49:20 PM 110 Task triggered by user Info f8b0d2c3-4330-41fe-9473-ba26eb02692e Information 5/28/2014 5:49:20 PM 200 Action started (1) f8b0d2c3-4330-41fe-9473-ba26eb02692e Information 5/28/2014 5:49:20 PM 100 Task Started (1) f8b0d2c3-4330-41fe-9473-ba26eb02692e Information 5/28/2014 5:49:20 PM 129 Created Task Process Info Information 5/28/2014 5:48:26 PM 102 Task completed (2) 9d5bece7-1906-4b37-9289-fc3b46623f12 Information 5/28/2014 5:48:26 PM 201 Action completed (2) 9d5bece7-1906-4b37-9289-fc3b46623f12 Information 5/28/2014 5:48:26 PM 110 Task triggered by user Info 9d5bece7-1906-4b37-9289-fc3b46623f12 Information 5/28/2014 5:48:26 PM 200 Action started (1) 9d5bece7-1906-4b37-9289-fc3b46623f12 Information 5/28/2014 5:48:26 PM 100 Task Started (1) 9d5bece7-1906-4b37-9289-fc3b46623f12 Information 5/28/2014 5:48:26 PM 129 Created Task Process Info
Idle Maintenance:
Information 5/28/2014 6:05:49 PM 102 Task completed (2) 14f36501-5988-4103-a673-17e777a37c7f Information 5/28/2014 6:05:49 PM 201 Action completed (2) 14f36501-5988-4103-a673-17e777a37c7f Information 5/28/2014 6:05:49 PM 328 Task stopping due to computer not idle Info 14f36501-5988-4103-a673-17e777a37c7f Information 5/28/2014 6:03:19 PM 200 Action started (1) 14f36501-5988-4103-a673-17e777a37c7f Information 5/28/2014 6:03:19 PM 100 Task Started (1) 14f36501-5988-4103-a673-17e777a37c7f Information 5/28/2014 6:03:19 PM 129 Created Task Process Info Information 5/28/2014 5:48:26 PM 140 Task registration updated Info
The only thing of note when each history item is selected is the task stopping due to the computer not idle: "Task Scheduler stopped instance "{14f36501-5988-4103-a673-17e777a37c7f}" of task "\Microsoft\Windows\TaskScheduler\Idle Maintenance" because computer is no longer idle."
So something before that is running the Disk Cleanup.
- Edited by Glitch000 Wednesday, May 28, 2014 10:19 PM
Well, what a coincidence, I just got up to get some ice cream (Mint chip!) and when I came back, Disk Cleanup was up again, and vanished the moment I moved my mouse. I happened to have the task scheduler open and I notice that Idle Maintenance is now enabled. I disabled it earlier today, so I am again pointing the blame at the Maintenance Configurator re-enabling it.
Both the Idle Maintenance and Maintenance Configurator now have a history:
Maintenance Configurator:
Information 5/28/2014 5:49:20 PM 102 Task completed (2) f8b0d2c3-4330-41fe-9473-ba26eb02692e Information 5/28/2014 5:49:20 PM 201 Action completed (2) f8b0d2c3-4330-41fe-9473-ba26eb02692e Information 5/28/2014 5:49:20 PM 110 Task triggered by user Info f8b0d2c3-4330-41fe-9473-ba26eb02692e Information 5/28/2014 5:49:20 PM 200 Action started (1) f8b0d2c3-4330-41fe-9473-ba26eb02692e Information 5/28/2014 5:49:20 PM 100 Task Started (1) f8b0d2c3-4330-41fe-9473-ba26eb02692e Information 5/28/2014 5:49:20 PM 129 Created Task Process Info Information 5/28/2014 5:48:26 PM 102 Task completed (2) 9d5bece7-1906-4b37-9289-fc3b46623f12 Information 5/28/2014 5:48:26 PM 201 Action completed (2) 9d5bece7-1906-4b37-9289-fc3b46623f12 Information 5/28/2014 5:48:26 PM 110 Task triggered by user Info 9d5bece7-1906-4b37-9289-fc3b46623f12 Information 5/28/2014 5:48:26 PM 200 Action started (1) 9d5bece7-1906-4b37-9289-fc3b46623f12 Information 5/28/2014 5:48:26 PM 100 Task Started (1) 9d5bece7-1906-4b37-9289-fc3b46623f12 Information 5/28/2014 5:48:26 PM 129 Created Task Process Info
Idle Maintenance:
Information 5/28/2014 6:05:49 PM 102 Task completed (2) 14f36501-5988-4103-a673-17e777a37c7f Information 5/28/2014 6:05:49 PM 201 Action completed (2) 14f36501-5988-4103-a673-17e777a37c7f Information 5/28/2014 6:05:49 PM 328 Task stopping due to computer not idle Info 14f36501-5988-4103-a673-17e777a37c7f Information 5/28/2014 6:03:19 PM 200 Action started (1) 14f36501-5988-4103-a673-17e777a37c7f Information 5/28/2014 6:03:19 PM 100 Task Started (1) 14f36501-5988-4103-a673-17e777a37c7f Information 5/28/2014 6:03:19 PM 129 Created Task Process Info Information 5/28/2014 5:48:26 PM 140 Task registration updated Info
The only thing of note when each history item is selected is the task stopping due to the computer not idle: "Task Scheduler stopped instance "{14f36501-5988-4103-a673-17e777a37c7f}" of task "\Microsoft\Windows\TaskScheduler\Idle Maintenance" because computer is no longer idle."
So something before that is running the Disk Cleanup.
- Edited by Glitch000 Wednesday, May 28, 2014 10:19 PM
I agree that disc space isn't an issue here. Also, at some point I must have turned on All Task History, but the log was blank, so I disabled it and re-enabled it. I guess a little time will tell.
Here are the triggers:
Idle Maintenance: http://imgur.com/PFspRaW
Maintenance Configurator: http://imgur.com/oU85LtM
Manual Maintenance had no triggers.
My curiosity is piqued about those Custom Triggers. Like most things there, they don't say what they do.
Well, what a coincidence, I just got up to get some ice cream (Mint chip!) and when I came back, Disk Cleanup was up again, and vanished the moment I moved my mouse. I happened to have the task scheduler open and I notice that Idle Maintenance is now enabled. I disabled it earlier today, so I am again pointing the blame at the Maintenance Configurator re-enabling it.
Both the Idle Maintenance and Maintenance Configurator now have a history:
Maintenance Configurator:
Information 5/28/2014 5:49:20 PM 102 Task completed (2) f8b0d2c3-4330-41fe-9473-ba26eb02692e Information 5/28/2014 5:49:20 PM 201 Action completed (2) f8b0d2c3-4330-41fe-9473-ba26eb02692e Information 5/28/2014 5:49:20 PM 110 Task triggered by user Info f8b0d2c3-4330-41fe-9473-ba26eb02692e Information 5/28/2014 5:49:20 PM 200 Action started (1) f8b0d2c3-4330-41fe-9473-ba26eb02692e Information 5/28/2014 5:49:20 PM 100 Task Started (1) f8b0d2c3-4330-41fe-9473-ba26eb02692e Information 5/28/2014 5:49:20 PM 129 Created Task Process Info Information 5/28/2014 5:48:26 PM 102 Task completed (2) 9d5bece7-1906-4b37-9289-fc3b46623f12 Information 5/28/2014 5:48:26 PM 201 Action completed (2) 9d5bece7-1906-4b37-9289-fc3b46623f12 Information 5/28/2014 5:48:26 PM 110 Task triggered by user Info 9d5bece7-1906-4b37-9289-fc3b46623f12 Information 5/28/2014 5:48:26 PM 200 Action started (1) 9d5bece7-1906-4b37-9289-fc3b46623f12 Information 5/28/2014 5:48:26 PM 100 Task Started (1) 9d5bece7-1906-4b37-9289-fc3b46623f12 Information 5/28/2014 5:48:26 PM 129 Created Task Process Info
Idle Maintenance:
Information 5/28/2014 6:05:49 PM 102 Task completed (2) 14f36501-5988-4103-a673-17e777a37c7f Information 5/28/2014 6:05:49 PM 201 Action completed (2) 14f36501-5988-4103-a673-17e777a37c7f Information 5/28/2014 6:05:49 PM 328 Task stopping due to computer not idle Info 14f36501-5988-4103-a673-17e777a37c7f Information 5/28/2014 6:03:19 PM 200 Action started (1) 14f36501-5988-4103-a673-17e777a37c7f Information 5/28/2014 6:03:19 PM 100 Task Started (1) 14f36501-5988-4103-a673-17e777a37c7f Information 5/28/2014 6:03:19 PM 129 Created Task Process Info Information 5/28/2014 5:48:26 PM 140 Task registration updated Info
The only thing of note when each history item is selected is the task stopping due to the computer not idle: "Task Scheduler stopped instance "{14f36501-5988-4103-a673-17e777a37c7f}" of task "\Microsoft\Windows\TaskScheduler\Idle Maintenance" because computer is no longer idle."
So something before that is running the Disk Cleanup.
- Edited by Glitch000 Wednesday, May 28, 2014 10:19 PM
Can you check the system event log and application event logs to see if anything is running at the same time now in the history of the task?
We are looking to see if there is any correlation between an event and the running of the task, if we can find that correlation that may help track down why it's happening.
I went though the Administrative Events, Application, Security, Setup, and System events. Other than some Security Audit Successes, none of the rest had anything correlating to the 5:48 - 6:05 time frame, unfortunately.
I'd post the logs, but they won't be of much help, I'm afraid.
I also check my event logs and nothing surfaced.
Not a big problem, idle maintenance is useful anti-malware etc
Hello,
The only other thing I can think may be calling it would be servicing.
This would be the cbs log file and you would want to be looking for scavenging log entries around the time frame of these running or shortly before the disk cleanup runs.
Hello,
This servicing task should run under Task Scheduler under Servicing,as the startcomponentcleanup task
Check that task history as well for any correlation back to other times.
Thanks for the pointer to StartComponentCleanup. I'll try that if what I did didn't fix the problem.
I went back into Idle Maintenance under the Conditions tab and unchecked Restart if the Idle State Resumes. So far it hasn't popped back up. before I unchecked that Disk Cleanup would pop-up every five minutes. It was really annoying when I was trying to watch a movie.
Here's hoping that the problem is "fixed." I regret deleting Regular Maintenance now, even if the problem went away for a month and a half after I did so. Now I can't undelete it, and who knows what it was doing to keep Windows running well. Maybe the same fix that worked with Idle Maintenance (so far) would have worked with Regular Maintenance. I see that these maintenance routines can be imported and exported, so all is not lost, I may be able to get it back.
I will try to remember to report back in a few days and let you know if the problem is fixed.
Depending on how windows is configured, my mobile rig is configured to grab updates when it can. They install in the background so its not in the way of work.
Lots of other things you can check with the task manager and check the processes and see what is running and what resources are being used.
the task manager in 8.1 is much more useful than with easier releases