Langa: Sloppy UI design complicates Win10’s routine disk cleanups

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Another insightful explainer from Fred: It’s a baffling user-interface mistake: When Microsoft spliced some functions from the classic Disk Cleanup ap
[See the full post at: Langa: Sloppy UI design complicates Win10’s routine disk cleanups]

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GreatAndPowerfulTech, geekdom, satrow

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There are even worse examples – e.g. the “modern”, absolutely horrible, time wasting, completely non-intuitive and super buggy “default programs” UI, accompanied by the nag pop-ups about “problem” caused by non-MS application replacing the default association.

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rc primak, fk5353, Cybertooth, GreatAndPowerfulTech

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Yep, that also irritated me to the max. I for example do not want to use the buggy and cumbersome Photos-app for viewing images, instead I prefer IrfanView. Before Windows 10 accepts that as a default viewer, you have to survive those stupid nonsense warnings. Yet another push from Microsoft to only use their unwanted apps.

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johnf

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Spelling error corrected in Anonymous Reply.

-- rc primak

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If Windows now has a “problem” with third-party software, it is time to dump Windows altogether.

-- rc primak

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johnf

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It doesn’t.

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rc primak

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‘Automatically’ in the title seems to be the hint we need but Microsoft should include a warning.

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2) Dell Inspiron with Win 11 64 Home (substantial discount with Pro version available only at full price)

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Or at least not have any portion of it enabled by default.

-- rc primak

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woody wrote:

There are now two separate on-demand disk-cleanup functions, both called Free up space now, both just one level apart within the Storage sense dialogs — but they’re not at all the same, and work very, very differently!

They are badly named, but one is manual, allowing the user to check or uncheck options, and one is automatic according to previously set options (“… using the settings on this page”). I’ve used both often on many computers and neither causes any problems.

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rc primak

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It’s great that they both work, but heaven forbid someone using a computer should make the assumption that clicking something with a particular name in two different menus would actually perform the same operation.

Labeling them that way just leads me to assume that the two menus were made by separate people who never bothered to talk to each other.

 

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rc primak

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So, which one is the one we used to get just by clicking on the Properties Tab and choosing Disk Cleanup? Is that even still available as a right-click item?

I just followed the links. This is more than an annoyance. MS is at it again — dumbing things down and leaving (at most) only the Command-Line options to regain full control.

Definitely time to dump Windows before it munges your hard drive or SSD. Or “accidentally” deletes files you wanted to keep, as the 1809 installer does. Only this time, it’s at the System Level, where even more damages can be done.

But in all fairness, if you choose the correct App, you actually will be getting considerably more information about what you are about to delete. That is, IF you choose the correct App.

Per Fred’s article:

Yes, Amber; the Free up space now tool shown in Fig. 1 will run just fine whether or not Storage sense is enabled.

Which is good to know. Like Amber and Fred, I am very skeptical of anybody’s Black Box cleanup routines. Too many times I’ve been burned by various “System Optimizers”, Cleaners and Registry Cleaners that way. The only thing worse than an overly-aggressive, black-box cleanup is a Cleaner which delivers malware. (I think we all know which product I am referring to.)

-- rc primak

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johnf

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rc primak wrote:

So, which one is the one we used to get just by clicking on the Properties Tab and choosing Disk Cleanup?

The first, at Settings, Storage, Free up space now is almost directly equivalent (including system files).

rc primak wrote:

Is that even still available as a right-click item?

Yes, Disk Cleanup is still in current versions.

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rc primak

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I would be inclined to go with third-party cleaner as opposed to remembering which Microsoft “twin” works under what circumstances.

Consider and suggestion only:
https://www.bleachbit.org/

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They both work under any circumstances and according to the settings displayed on their appropriate pages before any files are removed. The only confusion is using the same name for both when they do slightly different things (with some overlap for temporary files and downloads folder).

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rc primak

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a better suggestion

Wise Disk Cleaner

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rc primak wrote:

I just followed the links. This is more than an annoyance. MS is at it again — dumbing things down and leaving (at most) only the Command-Line options to regain full control.

Definitely time to dump Windows before it munges your hard drive or SSD. Or “accidentally” deletes files you wanted to keep, as the 1809 installer does. Only this time, it’s at the System Level, where even more damages can be done.

But in all fairness, if you choose the correct App, you actually will be getting considerably more information about what you are about to delete. That is, IF you choose the correct App.

What’s dumbed down? It’s just a different interface. You get exactly the same information.

I didn’t have any files deleted by the 1809 update (as I hadn’t used Known Folder Redirection).

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I was referring to the early part of Langa’s article, before he explained the differences between the two disk cleanup options. Later down the article things got clearer. But the option to do things automatically seems to be less buried than the more traditional option, which still troubles me.

The new interface actually looks to me to be clearer than the older one, and more readable. Maybe that’s just me.

I didn’t have any files deleted by the 1809 update (as I hadn’t used Known Folder Redirection).

Apparently, not all home users are as wise with as much foresight as you. The practice of deleting user data folders and files without informing users or offering choices (like to back up these folders before deleting them) is very troubling in an installer.

-- rc primak

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rc primak wrote:

But the option to do things automatically seems to be less buried than the more traditional option, which still troubles me.

It’s not. It’s one level deeper under “… automatically” as indicated in the article.

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I still use the cleanmgr.exe file to launch the classic Disk Cleanup program in one of my test PCs that do actually have the Win10 v1809 version.

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rc primak

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As I said before, first MS “deprecates” the function to Command-Line, then it disappears altogether. Troubling trend, and not restricted to Windows, or Microsoft.

-- rc primak

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rc primak wrote:

As I said before, first MS “deprecates” the function to Command-Line, then it disappears altogether. Troubling trend, and not restricted to Windows, or Microsoft.

What was deprecated to the command line and then disappeared altogether?

I don’t believe either statement is true.

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Please compare your reply here

I believe the filename cleanmgr.exe has been depricated and replaced by two solutions with the same GUI label in two distinct places.

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Deprecated, not replaced:

What’s new in Storage Sense?

(and not “to the command line”)

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@EP , your comment falls directly below @b who observes

What’s dumbed down? It’s just a different interface. You get exactly the same information.

Are you able to say which of the two interfaces is launched by that traditional filename? Or are both newly created designs?

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rc primak

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anonymous wrote:

Are you able to say which of the two interfaces is launched by that traditional filename?

Neither.

anonymous wrote:

Or are both newly created designs?

Yes.

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rc primak

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thx

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Except that it claims to have one. And keeps trying to reset the associations back over and over again.

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Resetting defaults and associations is yet another Windows 10 annoyance. One I partially deal with by using O&O ShutUp 10. But that program does not cover many settings beyond privacy controls. Some people here may have mentioned programs which do make your other settings stick better, including program associations.

-- rc primak

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Not exactly on topic but System Restore seems to have a second location on Windows 10: Settings, Update & Security, Recovery, Advanced Startup – Restart Now, Troubleshoot, Advanced Options, System Restore

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