Windows 11 can quietly take hundreds of gigabytes on a system drive, even if the user does not store too many games, videos or programs on the computer. The reason was the failure in the service of Capability Access Manager, which manages the permissions of applications in Windows. Because of the file error CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal able to grow up to 500 GB, writes PCWorld.
The problem is indicated by the string in the update description KB5095093: Microsoft reported improving the use of disk space for the file CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal. In normal condition, such a file takes up only a few megabytes, but on some computers the size grows to tens or hundreds of gigabytes.
In some cases, the file can completely fill the drive and significantly reduce the performance of the system. A similar situation was faced by a Reddit user, whose free disk space gradually disappeared due to the overgrown system file.
The usual check through the "Parameters" → "System" → "Memory" often does not help to find the cause. The section shows that the drive is filled, but does not always specify a specific folder or file due to which the space flow rate has increased.
Windows Latest recommends using TreeSize, WinDirtSat or WizTree to search for large files on disk. If CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal in the folder C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\CapabilityAccessManager occupies a few gigabytes or more, the computer has affected the failure.
The inspection can also be performed through the command line with administrator rights:
robocopy "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\CapabilityAccessManager" "%TEMP%\CAMCheck" /L /B /R:0 /W:0 /BYTES /NP
The first reports of the problem appeared about a year ago. Microsoft has already prepared a fix as part of an optional June update KB5095093. The massive spread of the correction is expected in the July Patch Tuesday.
You can install a patch through Windows Update: “Additional Settings” → “Non-mandatory Updates”. Users are advised to manually delete CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal or try to disable Capability Access Manager, as such actions can cause new errors in the operation of application permissions.
The problem is indicated by the string in the update description KB5095093: Microsoft reported improving the use of disk space for the file CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal. In normal condition, such a file takes up only a few megabytes, but on some computers the size grows to tens or hundreds of gigabytes.
In some cases, the file can completely fill the drive and significantly reduce the performance of the system. A similar situation was faced by a Reddit user, whose free disk space gradually disappeared due to the overgrown system file.
The usual check through the "Parameters" → "System" → "Memory" often does not help to find the cause. The section shows that the drive is filled, but does not always specify a specific folder or file due to which the space flow rate has increased.
Windows Latest recommends using TreeSize, WinDirtSat or WizTree to search for large files on disk. If CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal in the folder C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\CapabilityAccessManager occupies a few gigabytes or more, the computer has affected the failure.
The inspection can also be performed through the command line with administrator rights:
robocopy "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\CapabilityAccessManager" "%TEMP%\CAMCheck" /L /B /R:0 /W:0 /BYTES /NP
The first reports of the problem appeared about a year ago. Microsoft has already prepared a fix as part of an optional June update KB5095093. The massive spread of the correction is expected in the July Patch Tuesday.
You can install a patch through Windows Update: “Additional Settings” → “Non-mandatory Updates”. Users are advised to manually delete CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal or try to disable Capability Access Manager, as such actions can cause new errors in the operation of application permissions.
