Microsoft blames Disk Cleanup for Windows 11 24H2’s apparent gigabyte gobbling

While hard drive capacities are now large enough that most people will have no problems if they were to suddenly lose nearly 9 GB of space, that’s not to say that such a loss would not lead to questions. Indeed, questions have been raised by people installing the Windows 11 2003 Update (Windows 11 24H2) only to find 8.63 GB of undeletable data.

Microsoft has acknowledged what users have discovered for themselves, confirming that there is an issue. But the issue is not that there is a hefty chunk of data drive space that can’t be recovered. Rather, Microsoft points the finger of blame at Windows’ Disk Cleanup tool, saying that a bug is a causing a “reporting error”.  

See also:

• Upgrading to Windows 11 24H2 fails to clean up 8.63 GB of its own crap
• Microsoft confirms numerous bugs in the Windows 11 2024 Update and blocks rollout to many
• Still running Windows 11 22H2? No more security fixes from Microsoft for you!

As those who have upgraded to Windows 11 24H2 have noted, the usual process of tidying up after the installation of a big update cannot be completed in the usual, expected way as there is a chunk of data that remains.

In an entry on the Windows release health page, Microsoft confirms that “Disk Cleanup might incorrectly report space available for cleanup”.

The company expands on this, saying: “After using the Windows Disk Cleanup application, it may display an incorrect amount of disk space that can be freed up in the 'Windows Update Cleanup' category”.

The explanation continues:

Please note this is a reporting error. When 'Windows Update Cleanup' is selected and Disk Cleanup is run for the first time, some or all files in that category (for example, 15 GB) are cleaned up correctly and the related disk space is freed as expected. However, after this initial run, the tool may inaccurately report an amount of space still available for cleanup (for example, 88 GB) in the 'Windows Update Cleanup' category. This inaccurate amount of disk space is reported even though the space was already freed in the initial run.

Ultimately, Microsoft’s explanation is that what is happening is supposed to be happening, but its own tools are not handling it properly. In typical fashion, the company concludes by saying “We are working on a resolution and will provide more information when it is available”.

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