What is Windows Photos?
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Overview
How do I clean Windows Photos?
Windows Photos may store excess, temporary data on your computer that can take up valuable space.
It may also store private data such as passwords or browsing history in the registry or on the file system.
The easiest way to erase this data is by downloading AppCleaner, it is 100% free and about 1MB in size.
A portable version is also available.
Clean Windows Photos
with AppCleaner
If you want to clean Windows Photos manually, you can follow the steps outlined below.
There are sixteen locations in the file system where Windows Photos stores data that can be cleaned.
Additionally, Windows Photos stores private data in one registry key.
Registry
Warning: Be very careful when editing the registry manually. If you modify the registry incorrectly, your system might no longer function properly.
To clean the registry from data stored by Windows Photos, you can use the Microsoft Registry Editor (regedit.exe) which is installed by default on all Windows operating systems.
First of all, open regedit.exe by carrying out these steps:
-
Hit the Windows key , usually located in the lower left of your keyboard between the
Ctrl and Alt keys.
- Windows XP/Vista/7: Click Run...
- Type regedit.exe
- Hit Enter
Now use regedit.exe to delete the registry key:
-
-
Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER from the root of the tree in the left pane.
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Expand Software.
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Expand Classes.
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Expand Local Settings.
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Expand Software.
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Expand Microsoft.
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Expand Windows.
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Expand CurrentVersion.
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Expand AppModel.
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Expand SystemAppData.
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Expand microsoft.windowsphotos_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
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Right-click SearchHisto.
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Choose Delete from the context menu.
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Click Yes.
Files
Warning: Proceed very carefully when deleting files. Always revise the files you are about to remove. Removing important files can damage your system.
To clean your file system from files stored by Windows Photos and to gain free disk space, examine the following file system locations.
First of all, open a command prompt window:
-
Hit the Windows key , usually located in the lower left of your keyboard between the
Ctrl and Alt keys.
- Windows XP/Vista/7: Click Run...
- Type cmd
- Hit Enter
Now list all the files stored by Windows Photos that can be cleaned:
-
Type dir %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
Windows XP: Type dir %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
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For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
Type dir /s {folder}\AC\AppCache\*
where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
-
Type dir %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
Windows XP: Type dir %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
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For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
Type dir {folder}\AC\BackgroundTransferApi\*.down_data
where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
-
Type dir %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
Windows XP: Type dir %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
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For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
Type dir {folder}\AC\BackgroundTransferApi\*.up_meta
where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
-
Type dir %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
Windows XP: Type dir %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
Type dir /s {folder}\AC\INetCache\*
where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
-
Type dir %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
Windows XP: Type dir %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
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For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
Type dir /s {folder}\AC\INetCookies\*
where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
-
Type dir %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
Windows XP: Type dir %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
Type dir /s {folder}\AC\INetHistory\*
where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
-
Type dir %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
Windows XP: Type dir %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
Type dir /s {folder}\AC\Microsoft\CLR_v4.0\UsageLogs\*
where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
-
Type dir %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
Windows XP: Type dir %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
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For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
Type dir {folder}\AC\Microsoft\CryptnetUrlCache\Content\*
where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
-
Type dir %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
Windows XP: Type dir %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
Type dir {folder}\AC\Microsoft\CryptnetUrlCache\MetaData\*
where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
-
Type dir %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
Windows XP: Type dir %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
Type dir /s {folder}\AC\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\DOMStore\*
where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
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Type dir %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
Windows XP: Type dir %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
Type dir {folder}\AC\PRICache\*
where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
-
Type dir %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
Windows XP: Type dir %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
Type dir {folder}\AC\Temp\*
where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
-
Type dir %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
Windows XP: Type dir %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
Type dir {folder}\LocalState\bici\*.sqm
where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
-
Type dir %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
Windows XP: Type dir %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
Type dir {folder}\LocalState\*.log
where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
-
Type dir %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
Windows XP: Type dir %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
Type dir {folder}\LocalState\*.jpg
where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
-
Type dir %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
Windows XP: Type dir %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Packages\microsoft.windowsphotos_*
-
For all the folders that were listed in the previous step:
Type dir /s {folder}\TempState\*
where {folder} is one of the folders listed in the previous step.
Once you have identified the files stored by Windows Photos that you want to clean, delete them using the del command or Windows Explorer.