Automated Disk Cleanup

This PowerShell script performs a disk cleanup by deleting temporary files, clearing the Recycle Bin, and removing other unnecessary files. Run it as an administrator.

# Define paths for cleanup
$tempPaths = @("C:\Windows\Temp", "$env:TEMP", "$env:TMP")
$recycleBinPath = "C:\$Recycle.Bin"  # Recycle Bin

Write-Output "Starting Disk Cleanup..."

# Clean temp directories
foreach ($path in $tempPaths) {
    if (Test-Path -Path $path) {
        try {
            Get-ChildItem -Path $path -Recurse | Remove-Item -Force -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
            Write-Output "Cleared temp files in $path"
        } catch {
            Write-Output "Failed to clear temp files in $path: $($_.Exception.Message)"
        }
    } else {
        Write-Output "Path $path does not exist"
    }
}

# Empty Recycle Bin
try {
    Clear-RecycleBin -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    Write-Output "Recycle Bin emptied successfully."
} catch {
    Write-Output "Failed to empty Recycle Bin: $($_.Exception.Message)"
}

# Clean Windows Update Cache
$updateCachePath = "C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download"
if (Test-Path -Path $updateCachePath) {
    try {
        Get-ChildItem -Path $updateCachePath -Recurse | Remove-Item -Force -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
        Write-Output "Cleared Windows Update cache."
    } catch {
        Write-Output "Failed to clear Windows Update cache: $($_.Exception.Message)"
    }
} else {
    Write-Output "Windows Update cache path not found."
}

# Remove old log files (e.g., logs older than 30 days)
$logPaths = @("C:\Windows\Logs", "C:\Logs")
$logRetentionDays = 30
foreach ($logPath in $logPaths) {
    if (Test-Path -Path $logPath) {
        try {
            Get-ChildItem -Path $logPath -Recurse -File | Where-Object { $_.LastWriteTime -lt (Get-Date).AddDays(-$logRetentionDays) } | Remove-Item -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
            Write-Output "Old log files cleaned in $logPath."
        } catch {
            Write-Output "Failed to clean old logs in $logPath: $($_.Exception.Message)"
        }
    } else {
        Write-Output "Log path $logPath not found."
    }
}

Write-Output "Disk cleanup completed successfully."

Explanation of the Script Steps

1. Temporary Files: Clears temporary files from common temp directories like C:\Windows\Temp and user-specific temp folders.

2. Recycle Bin: Empties the Recycle Bin using the Clear-RecycleBin cmdlet, removing deleted files and freeing up space.

3. Windows Update Cache: Deletes the cache of Windows Update files in the SoftwareDistribution\Download folder, which often contains unnecessary update files.

4. Old Log Files: Removes log files older than 30 days from specified log directories, reducing space usage by old, often redundant logs.