How to Find & Delete Thumbs.db Files in Windows

Get rid of those irritating thumbs.db files that you can't delete

Thumbs.db are Windows files that store thumbnail images that are used in File Explorer. Deleting these files is harmless, but it can be a bit of a pain if you run into errors while doing so. In this article, we'll go over some troubleshooting tips for deleting thumbs.db files. We'll also cover a few different ways to delete them, including using programs like Disk Cleanup or BleachBit.

Deleting Thumbs.db Files on Your PC

If you're having trouble deleting thumbs.db files, try using Disk Cleanup or the third-party tool BleachBit. You can also disable thumbnails in Explorer, rename the thumbs.db file, or disable thumbnail caching with the Group Policy Editor.

Section 1 of 5:

Can't Delete Thumbs.db: Troubleshooting

  1. 1
    Use a program to delete thumbnail files. Try using Disk Cleanup or the third-party tool BleachBit to delete thumbnail cache files and thumbs.db files. BleachBit will only delete thumbs.db files, but Disk Cleanup will delete all thumbnail files, including thumbnail cache files on modern versions of Windows.
  2. 2
    Disable thumbnails in Explorer. If you're getting an error that the thumbs.db file is open when trying to delete it, try turning off thumbnails in Explorer. Open your folder options and click the View tab. Then, check Always show icons, never thumbnails. Click OK to close your file options, then try deleting the thumbs.db file again. Once the file is deleted, you can turn thumbnails back on.[1]
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  3. 3
    Rename the thumbs.db file. Some users have found that renaming the thumbs.db file to something else (like thumbs.dat) allowed them to delete the file without getting any File Explorer errors.[2]
  4. 4
    Disable thumbnail caching with Group Policy Editor. Now, this method doesn't always work for everyone, but it's worth a shot if you have the Group Policy Editor on your computer. If you don't have it, you'll need to try one of the other methods in this article.[3]
    • Type gpedit into the taskbar search bar and open the Group Policy Editor.
    • Go to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Explorer.
    • Toggle on Turn off the caching of thumbnails in hidden thumbs.db files.
    • Restart your computer.
    • Try deleting the files again after restarting your PC.
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Section 2 of 5:

Using Disk Cleanup

  1. 1
    Open Disk Cleanup. The easiest way to do this is to type disk cleanup in the taskbar search bar and click Disk Cleanup in the Start menu that pops up.
  2. 2
    Choose the drive you want to scan. Click the dropdown to choose the drive. If you only have one drive, you can skip this step.
    • Click OK to continue.
  3. 3
    Select Thumbnails in the "Files to delete" section. You can check or uncheck any other options in this list. If you want to delete your thumbnail cache and thumbs.db files, the only thing you need to select is Thumbnails.
  4. 4
    Click OK. Windows will immediately start cleaning up your thumbnail cache files and thumbs.db files. It should only take a few moments to complete.
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Section 3 of 5:

Deleting Thumbnail Caches

  1. 1
    Go to %localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer in File Explorer. The easiest way to do this is to open a new File Explorer window, then copy and paste that path into the address bar at the top of the window.
    • This method is for users on Windows Vista or newer, as Windows stopped making individual thumbs.db files after Windows XP. However, some programs may still generate thumbs.db files that can be hard to find. If so, jump to our section on deleting these files.
  2. 2
    Select your thumbcache_*.db files. At the bottom of this list, you'll see a number of files named thumbcache_*.db. These are your thumbnail cache files, and they've replaced the thumbs.db files that used to be stored in every folder that had image thumbnails.
    • To select all your thumbnail cache files, click on the first thumbcache_*.db file, hold down ⇧ Shift, and then select the last thumbcache_*.db file. Release the ⇧ Shift key. All of the thumbcache_*db files should be selected.
  3. 3
    Delete the files. Right-click on the files you selected and click Delete. All of the thumbcache_*.db files will be moved to the Recycle Bin.
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Section 4 of 5:

Deleting Thumbs.db Files

  1. Step 1 Open the folder containing your image files.
    Find and double-click on the folder containing your image files to open it in a new File Explorer window.
    • Windows hasn't created thumbs.db files in image folders since Windows XP. If you're on Windows Vista or newer, you may want to delete thumbnail caches instead. However, some programs will create thumbs.db files in Windows Vista and newer. If you're getting an error that you can't delete a thumbs.db file, try these steps.
  2. Step 2 Click the View tab at the top.
    This button is at the top of the File Explorer window, above the folder directory. It will open your file and folder viewing options on a toolbar at the top.
    • If you're on Windows 11, click on the three-dot icon next to the "View" dropdown, then click Options. You can then skip to step 7.
  3. Step 3 Check the iconHidden items option on the View toolbar.
    You can find this option in the "Show/hide" section of the View toolbar.
    • When this option is checked, you'll be able to see regular hidden files on your computer.
    • To show hidden files, you can change the view inside File Explorer.
    • The view can show or hide hidden files, file extensions, and things like that.
    • If you want to change the permissions of a file, right-click on the file or folder. Then go down to properties at the bottom of the context menu. Inside properties, you can go to the security tab.
  4. Step 4 Click the Options button on the View toolbar.
    This button is on the right-end of the toolbar. It will open a drop-down menu.
  5. Step 5 Click Change folder and search options in the drop-down.
    This will open your Folder Options menu in a new dialogue box.
  6. Step 6 Click the View tab in the "Folder Options" window.
    This button is at the top of the dialogue box. You can manually change all your file and folder viewing options here.
  7. Step 7 Click and uncheck the Hide protected operating system files option.
    You can find this option under the "Hidden files and folders" heading in the Advanced Settings box here.
    • If you're on Windows 11, click the View tab at the top of the options screen instead. You can then check Show hidden files, folders, and drives and uncheck Hide protected operating system files (Recommended).
  8. Step 8 Click Yes in the confirmation pop-up.
    This will confirm your action, and uncheck the option.
  9. Step 9 Click OK or Apply in the Folder Options window.
    This will apply your new folder settings. You can now see your thumbs.db files in the folder containing your images.
  10. Step 10 Right-click the thumbs.db file you want to delete.
    You can find this file in the same folder as your image files.
  11. Step 11 Select Delete on the right-click menu.
    It's towards the bottom between "Create shortcut" and "Rename."
  12. Step 12 Click Yes in the confirmation window.
    This will confirm your action and move the selected thumbs.db file to your computer's Recycle Bin.
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Section 5 of 5:

Using BleachBit

  1. 1
    Download BleachBit. BleachBit is a free program that clears out old files that clutter up your system. One type of file BleachBit will delete is thumbs.db files, so you can use it to clear these files out easily.
    • To download BleachBit, go to bleachbit.org/download and choose your operating system.
    • We recommend downloading the portable version of BleachBit, but you can download the installer if you prefer.
  2. 2
    Unzip the BleachBit folder. If you downloaded the installer, install BleachBit using the installer.
  3. 3
    Run the BleachBit app. If you downloaded the portable version, double-click the BleachBit.exe program in the BleachBit folder. If you downloaded the installer, you can open BleachBit from the Start menu like the other programs on your computer.
    • You may be asked if BleachBit is allowed to make changes to your device. If so, click Yes.
  4. 4
    Select to delete your thumbs.db files. In the left pane of BleachBit, you'll see all the file types you can delete. Under "Deep scan" you'll see the '''Thumbs.db''' option. Select it.
    • Note that this will delete all the thumbs.db files on your PC. This won't damage anything, but it will make all of your thumbnails reload when you use Windows Explorer.
  5. 5
    Click Preview. It's in the upper-left corner. BleachBit will then scan your disk for all of your thumbs.db files. It will take a few minutes.
    • Note: BleachBit will only scan your system for thumbs.db files specifically. If you need to delete thumbnail caches, jump back up to our thumbnail cache method.
  6. 6
    Click Clean. BleachBit will now clean out all of your thumbs.db files. This will take some time, but if you need to stop before BleachBit is done, you can click the Abort button at the top of the screen.
    • Once BleachBit is done, you can close the app.
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References

  1. ↑ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/4168844/unable-to-delete-thumbs-db?page=1#answers
  2. ↑ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/4168844/unable-to-delete-thumbs-db?page=1#answers
  3. ↑ https://community.spiceworks.com/t/cant-delete-folders-due-to-thumbs-db/347713

About This Article

Scott St Gelais
Co-authored by:
Scott St Gelais
IT Consultant
This article was co-authored by Scott St Gelais and by wikiHow staff writer, Hannah Dillon. Scott St Gelais is an IT Consultant and the Owner of Geeks in Phoenix, Arizona. With over two decades of experience, Scott specializes in computer service and repair, development, computer graphics, and website authoring. Scott received his Technical Associates Degree from High Tech Institute and completed the IT Support Professional Certificate by Google. Geeks in Phoenix is a member of the Microsoft Partner Network and an Intel Technology Provider Gold Partner. This article has been viewed 106,232 times.
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Co-authors: 5
Updated: March 27, 2026
Views: 106,232
Categories: File Manipulation | Windows
Article SummaryX

1. Open the folder containing your images.
2. Click the View tab at the top.
3. Check the Hidden items box.
4. Click Options, and select Change folder and search options.
5. Click the View tab in the "Folder Options" window.
6. Uncheck the Hide protected operating system files box, and confirm.
7. Click OK in Folder Options.
8. Right-click the Thumbs.db file.
9. Select Delete.

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