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  1. C:
  2. Users
  3. <utilisateur>
  4. AppData
  5. Local
  6. Microsoft
  7. Windows
FolderRisk: Caution

Windows C:\Users\<utilisateur>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows

Local data of the user's Windows components: INetCache, Explorer (thumbnails), WebCache, WER and the UsrClass.dat hive.

Updated on By AltF4 Formation

What it’s for

Windows components keep the user data that should not roam under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows. The Internet cache, for instance, lives here by default (FOLDERID_InternetCache). You come here mostly to reclaim space from the caches or to locate the UsrClass.dat hive.

What it contains

  • INetCache: cache of temporary Internet files.
  • Explorer: File Explorer caches, such as thumbnails and icons.
  • UsrClass.dat: the user’s Registry hive for HKCU\Software\Classes.
  • WebCache and WER: legacy web component database and error reports, depending on the features in use.

Risks and best practices

  • Only the cache subfolders (INetCache, Explorer) can be emptied safely, with applications closed. UsrClass.dat stays loaded for as long as the session is open, so leave it alone.
  • The folder does not roam. Exclude it from profile backups unless you have a specific need.

Useful commands

Fenêtre de terminal
# Subfolders present, with the size of each
Get-ChildItem -Force (Join-Path $env:LOCALAPPDATA 'Microsoft\Windows') -Directory |
  ForEach-Object { [pscustomobject]@{ Name = $_.Name; MB = [math]::Round((Get-ChildItem $_.FullName -Recurse -Force -File -EA SilentlyContinue | Measure-Object Length -Sum).Sum / 1MB, 1) } }

Folder contents

Folders 5

Files 1

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