Summary created by Smart Answers AI<\/p>\n
In summary:PCWorld reports that a Windows 11 bug in the Capability Access Manager can consume up to 500GB of storage through an excessively large \u2018CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal\u2019 file.This year-old issue significantly impacts system performance and can fill entire drives, requiring third-party tools like TreeSize or WizTree to identify the problematic file.Microsoft released fix KB5095093 as an optional update, with full rollout planned for July\u2019s Patch Tuesday. Detailed instructions are provided below.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re currently experiencing problems with storage space on your Windows 11 PC, it may not be your own fault\u2014even if you\u2019re hogging a massive number of files and\/or apps. You might actually be affected by a system bug that can take up as much as 500 GB of storage.<\/p>\n
Buried in the patch notes for Windows 11 update KB5095093<\/a>, there\u2019s this line: \u201cThis update improves disk space usage for the CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file.\u201d At first glance, you might think nothing of it. But it turns out this fault can cause a system\u2019s drive to grow increasingly full. The problem is linked to the Capability Access Manager service, responsible for app permissions in Windows.<\/p>\n The file in question should normally only take up a few MB of storage space, but on some PCs it can amount to several hundred GBs. In some cases, it can even fill the drive completely, which will significantly reduce system performance\u2014as experienced by this Reddit user<\/a>.<\/p>\n How to check if you\u2019re affected<\/p>\n Simply checking the list of apps installed on your system and taking up space on your drive (which you can do under Windows Settings \u2192 System \u2192 Storage) usually won\u2019t reveal the problem. This is because it doesn\u2019t show which folder is causing the increased storage usage. You can only see whether the drive is already full or not.<\/p>\n Windows Latest<\/a> recommends instead using an app like TreeSize, WinDirStat, or WizTree (one of our favorite apps for checking PC health<\/a>) to search for large files and spot where CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal is among them. It it\u2019s several GB in size, you\u2019re affected by the bug.<\/p>\n Alternatively, you can use the Windows Command Prompt with administrator rights and enter the following command:<\/p>\n robocopy “C:\\ProgramData\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CapabilityAccessManager” “%TEMP%\\CAMCheck” \/L \/B \/R:0 \/W:0 \/BYTES \/NP<\/p>\n What you can do<\/p>\n Apparently, this issue has been present in Windows 11 for some time, as the first reports of it date back as far as a year ago. Microsoft has indirectly acknowledged the problem with a fix for it, which is already available in the June 2026 optional update<\/a> but will be rolled out to all users in next month\u2019s July Patch Tuesday update.<\/p>\n You can install the optional update by checking for update KB5095093 via Windows Update \u2192 Advanced options \u2192 Optional updates.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re affected by the bug, you should avoid making any unauthorized changes to the file (like deleting it outright) or attempting to uninstall the Capability Access Manager, as this could lead to further errors.<\/p>\n By the way: If you\u2019re using Windows 11 Home, you\u2019re missing out on the many benefits of Windows 11 Pro. To learn more, see our comparison of Windows 11 Home and Pro<\/a>. If you want to upgrade, snag it for cheap in the PCWorld Software Store: now just $59 instead of $99<\/a>.<\/p>\n