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Windows Server TechCenter > Windows Server Forums > Management > Disk Cleanup, cleanmgr.exe in Windows 2008 server WITHOUT desktop experience

Answered Disk Cleanup, cleanmgr.exe in Windows 2008 server WITHOUT desktop experience

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      Tuesday, March 17, 2009 2:49 PM
       
       
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      I would like to have cleanmgr.exe without installing desktop experience on my servers.

      How could cleanmgr.exe even be put in the same category as Windows Media Player?    To me cleanmgr.exe is an essential I.T. tool not a user experience enchancement.


       

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    • Wednesday, March 18, 2009 4:17 AM
       
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      Hi,

       

      Based on the research, by default there are several features which are not installed on Windows Server 2008. These features includes Disk Cleanup tool. We deeply understand that your concern. However, if we want to use the Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe) on a Windows Server 2008 computer, we may have to install the "Desktop Experience" feature on the box. To install desktop experience, open Server Manager and choose Add feature, then select Desktop Experience to be installed.

       

      After you install the user desktop experience, you may find the Disk Cleanup in the System tool subcategory

       

      Start - > Programs - > Accessories - > System Tools -> Disk Cleanup

       

      You may drag and drop the Disk Cleanup from System Tools category to the same category as Windows Media Player.

       

      Hope it helps.

      This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
      • Marked As Answer by David Shen Monday, March 30, 2009 2:37 AM
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    • Friday, March 20, 2009 11:31 AM
       
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      Hi,

       

      Thanks for the reply.

       

      Based on the further research, we cannot separately enable the Disk Cleanup utility by associating DLL files on Windows Server 2008. I completely understand that it would be better if we can use the Disk cleanup utility without installing Desktop experience.

       

      Meanwhile, I will forward your suggestions to our product team. Hopefully this feature can be included soon.

       

      As Microsoft continues to collect product feedback from the online ContactUs form for the product development groups, you could also send your feedback to them.

       

      Here are the channels:

       

      Submitting suggestions for product enhancement:

      Legitimate Wishes fit into the following guidelines:

       

      • Enhancement or feature addition to existing Microsoft products

      • Reproducible problem or bug with current version that needs resolution

      • Cannot find documentation of feature within the help files

      • Difficulty using the product

      • All beta products

      • Product packaging complaints

      • Added accessibility feature for a Microsoft product


      These can be submitted here:

      http://www.microsoft.com/usability/enroll.mspx


      Thanks for the understandings.

      This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
      • Marked As Answer by David Shen Sunday, March 22, 2009 2:40 PM
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    • Wednesday, March 18, 2009 4:17 AM
       
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      Hi,

       

      Based on the research, by default there are several features which are not installed on Windows Server 2008. These features includes Disk Cleanup tool. We deeply understand that your concern. However, if we want to use the Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe) on a Windows Server 2008 computer, we may have to install the "Desktop Experience" feature on the box. To install desktop experience, open Server Manager and choose Add feature, then select Desktop Experience to be installed.

       

      After you install the user desktop experience, you may find the Disk Cleanup in the System tool subcategory

       

      Start - > Programs - > Accessories - > System Tools -> Disk Cleanup

       

      You may drag and drop the Disk Cleanup from System Tools category to the same category as Windows Media Player.

       

      Hope it helps.

      This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
      • Marked As Answer by David Shen Monday, March 30, 2009 2:37 AM
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    • Wednesday, March 18, 2009 3:20 PM
       
       
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      Did you read my post? 

      "WITHOUT installing desktop experience on my servers"

      I know how to make it available, I just don't like the option MS gives to do so.

      Are there any dlls associated with cleanmgr.exe that I will need?

      My comment on cleanmgr and WMP is not a simple question of how to put them in the same start menu folder.  I was meaning they don't have anything in common so you shouldn't have to install WMP just to have cleanmgr, especially if you are in a server enviroment. 
       
    • Friday, March 20, 2009 11:31 AM
       
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      Hi,

       

      Thanks for the reply.

       

      Based on the further research, we cannot separately enable the Disk Cleanup utility by associating DLL files on Windows Server 2008. I completely understand that it would be better if we can use the Disk cleanup utility without installing Desktop experience.

       

      Meanwhile, I will forward your suggestions to our product team. Hopefully this feature can be included soon.

       

      As Microsoft continues to collect product feedback from the online ContactUs form for the product development groups, you could also send your feedback to them.

       

      Here are the channels:

       

      Submitting suggestions for product enhancement:

      Legitimate Wishes fit into the following guidelines:

       

      • Enhancement or feature addition to existing Microsoft products

      • Reproducible problem or bug with current version that needs resolution

      • Cannot find documentation of feature within the help files

      • Difficulty using the product

      • All beta products

      • Product packaging complaints

      • Added accessibility feature for a Microsoft product


      These can be submitted here:

      http://www.microsoft.com/usability/enroll.mspx


      Thanks for the understandings.

      This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
      • Marked As Answer by David Shen Sunday, March 22, 2009 2:40 PM
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    • Wednesday, March 25, 2009 3:36 AM
       
       
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      I wouldn't hold my breath David, given that the only response I have ever received from MS Wish/Feedback was with regard to the issue of MS obtuse assuming the all machines only have a single drive (eg C:\inetpub), the MS rep responding to the feedback stated that location value would be implemented, as of server 2008 is still has yet to be seen :(




       
    • Wednesday, April 08, 2009 3:44 PM
       
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      I found the solution myself, there are 2 files you need to do this.  Neither files have anything to do with any other feature included in the desktop experience package.  As a matter of fact neither file are a dll.  Both files combined are less than 200KB.  Which makes my point of how ridiculous it is to include this "tool" in the desktop experience package.

      Hopefully Microsoft can figure out what 2 files are needed to help out others, I'm not going to give Microsoft the pleasure of telling them how their own file system works.
      • Proposed As Answer by smileymattj Saturday, April 18, 2009 2:21 AM
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    • Thursday, April 30, 2009 8:41 PM
       
       
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      I found the solution myself, there are 2 files you need to do this.  Neither files have anything to do with any other feature included in the desktop experience package.  As a matter of fact neither file are a dll.  Both files combined are less than 200KB.  Which makes my point of how ridiculous it is to include this "tool" in the desktop experience package.

      Hopefully Microsoft can figure out what 2 files are needed to help out others, I'm not going to give Microsoft the pleasure of telling them how their own file system works.
      Any chance you can share the solution? Im looking for the same thing.

      Thanks!
       
    • Saturday, May 09, 2009 10:34 PM
       
       
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      I found the solution myself, there are 2 files you need to do this.  Neither files have anything to do with any other feature included in the desktop experience package.  As a matter of fact neither file are a dll.  Both files combined are less than 200KB.  Which makes my point of how ridiculous it is to include this "tool" in the desktop experience package.

      Hopefully Microsoft can figure out what 2 files are needed to help out others, I'm not going to give Microsoft the pleasure of telling them how their own file system works.
      Any chance you can share the solution? Im looking for the same thing.

      Thanks!
      Ask him here he should help you:

      http://alphawolfpack.com/phpBB3/welcome.php?sid=2e9facf6002bd269422d2dbc4f24b0fa
      • Proposed As Answer by AWP red10662000 Saturday, May 09, 2009 10:35 PM
      • Unproposed As Answer by David Shen Tuesday, May 12, 2009 3:17 AM
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    • Tuesday, October 13, 2009 1:27 PM
       
       
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      I found the solution myself, there are 2 files you need to do this.  Neither files have anything to do with any other feature included in the desktop experience package.  As a matter of fact neither file are a dll.  Both files combined are less than 200KB.  Which makes my point of how ridiculous it is to include this "tool" in the desktop experience package.

      Hopefully Microsoft can figure out what 2 files are needed to help out others, I'm not going to give Microsoft the pleasure of telling them how their own file system works.
      Any chance you can share the solution? Im looking for the same thing.

      Thanks!

      Any solutions out there that do NOT involve installing photography and music apps on SERVERS as well as NOT rebooting SERVERS please?
       
    • Tuesday, November 10, 2009 9:09 PM
       
       
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      Hi..
      Can i plz get those 2 files name(dll's)
       
    • Tuesday, November 17, 2009 2:15 AM
       
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      try this...

      http://blog.wauwwie.nl/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=5
      • Proposed As Answer by Chuck vdL Monday, February 01, 2010 10:15 PM
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    • Saturday, January 02, 2010 10:37 PM
       
       
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      Really hard to understand why MS makes harder. For simple tool we jumping running suffering why is that? Does MS thinks that Win 2008 R2 does not need Disk Cleanup? Thanks God at least defragmenter still there.
       
    • Monday, February 01, 2010 10:26 PM
       
       
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      Yeah I'm with the others here..  Including this tool, which is well hidden from most users (being on systemtools, or 'properties' of a drive) as part of the 'desktop experience' makes NO SENSE AT ALL..    Whatever the PM who made this decision was smoking, he needs to stop, cause it's runing his judgement..

      I JUST want to be able to clean up and minimize the footprint of a VM before I optimise and compact the drive (creating something I can clone to make more 'clean' testbed systems as needed).  THE VERY LAST THING I WANT TO DO IN ORDER TO DO THIS IS INSTALL ALL THE OTHER BLOATED 'DESKTOP EXPERIENCE' JUNK.   I'm trying to save space, and making me install a bunch of desktop experience bloatware is 100% COUNTER to cleaning junk off the drive.  I've probably eaten up twice the space I'm going to save when I run the cleaner, because I installed all the other desktop experience stuff.  Unless of course I can use it to remove the other junk as un-used programs 

      That functionality should never had been linked to desktop experience.  NEVER.. NO REASON whatsoever to have done that.    It's a very common thing for many a sysadmin to want to clean off installer logs and other leftover stuff after a new system has just been installed and fully patched.

      Thanks LCNZ for the link to what files we want.  with any luck I can capture those to a safe place, and then un-isntall the rest of the desktop experience crape'.

      Note sure if it's going to be quite as easy on a 64 bit system however, as I've got two versions of the .exe and .mui, PLUS stuff under the 'side-by-side'   Looks like versions both for x86 and amd64..  not sure how fully I have to replicate the 4 files in the two locations in order to make it work..  It's just stupid that I have to deal with this stuff at this level..  if I wanted this I'd install serverCORE or some flavor of Linux 
      --Chuck
       
    • Thursday, August 05, 2010 10:04 PM
       
       
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      Disk Cleanup option on drive’s general properties and cleanmgr.exe is not present in Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 by default (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff630161(WS.10).aspx)
      bye
       
    • Thursday, August 19, 2010 4:18 AM
       
       
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      Hi Oceana,

      Is there a way that you can share with us the solution to this problem? My current server disk space left is about 100MB only. And I need to clean this up. If I would have to install the Desktop Experience feature (which I do not know how many megabytes file is this installation feature), I might be adding problem to my current problem. I hope you can help me on this issue. normanchiutan@yahoo.com.

      Thank you.

       
    • Tuesday, February 15, 2011 4:30 PM
       
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      You have to install desktop experience to obtain the two files you need.  Copy them to a safe location.  Then remove desktop experience.  I suggest installing 2008 on a VM, grabbing the files then deleting it.  This way you won't interrupt your server operations.

      cleanmgr.exe - needs to be located in the system32 folder
      cleanmgr.exe.mui - needs to be located in the system32\en-US folder

      I created a batch file to do this:
      cd ./
      copy cleanmgr.exe %windir%\System32\
      copy cleanmgr.exe.mui %windir%\System32\en-US\
      pause

      If you do this batch run the cmd as admin, and ensure those files are located on the local hard drive in the same folder as the batch file.
      • Proposed As Answer by xxzab Thursday, April 12, 2012 7:23 PM
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    • Thursday, June 16, 2011 8:44 PM
       
       
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      If you have a Windows 7 x64 (for R2) you can copy the above files without installing Desktop Experience. I would assume the same would work for 7 x32 and 2008 RTM.
       
    • Thursday, June 23, 2011 10:56 PM
       
       
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      if someone is trying this without using a VM option, note that it won't let you add a feature, copy the files and then remove the feature without restart between adding and removing the features..but doing this once will help for future installs
       
    • Thursday, July 21, 2011 6:12 AM
       
       
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      Awesome, legend! Actually you can just copy them from a Win7 VM or physical by mapping the c$ admin share on a windows 7 box and copy them straight over to 2008 server, same locations.

      I just raced my collegue who installed the role. I had cleanmgr running in less than 2 minutes, that was 15mins ago, he is still (after several reboots) configuring system 45% !!

      *LAUGHS*

       
    • Tuesday, September 06, 2011 8:28 AM
       
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      Missing disk cleanup really makes many ppl unhappy, including me.

      I searched my Windows 2008 R2 and found a copy of cleanmgr.exe resides in winsxs folder.

      Copy cleanmgr.exe to system32\ and cleanmgr.exe.mui to system32\en-US\.

      Enjoy the disk cleanup!

      It saved me around 5GB disk space!

       


      • Edited by caesun_cn Tuesday, September 06, 2011 8:28 AM
      • Proposed As Answer by asymetrixs Wednesday, February 15, 2012 9:13 PM
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    • Monday, April 30, 2012 9:32 AM
       
       
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      You have to install desktop experience to obtain the two files you need.  Copy them to a safe location.  Then remove desktop experience.  I suggest installing 2008 on a VM, grabbing the files then deleting it.  This way you won't interrupt your server operations.

      cleanmgr.exe - needs to be located in the system32 folder
      cleanmgr.exe.mui - needs to be located in the system32\en-US folder

      I created a batch file to do this:
      cd ./
      copy cleanmgr.exe %windir%\System32\
      copy cleanmgr.exe.mui %windir%\System32\en-US\
      pause

      If you do this batch run the cmd as admin, and ensure those files are located on the local hard drive in the same folder as the batch file.

      After doing this, I try to run cleanmgr and id give me that is not a valid Win32 application on a window. When I press OK I get Access Denied in the cmd window.
       
    • Sunday, May 06, 2012 5:23 PM
       
       
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      Thank you caesun_cn, I did follow your advice and it worked great.