What is the Thumbs db file and can it be deleted? Thumbs won't let me delete a folder.

The Thumbs.db file is a hidden system file called the "thumbnail cache" and is used to store small versions of images and videos in the appropriate folder. One of the functions of the thumbs.db file is that it allows image thumbnails to be displayed faster in Windows Explorer because these images do not have to be recalculated each time the user visits the folder. They are created automatically in the same directory as the previewed thumbnails. In short, when you view a photo in a folder, you will see a small image, not an empty tile. Let's look at two examples below.

This is what it looks like when thumbnails are enabled and Thumbs.db is responsible for this

This is what it looks like when thumbnails are disabled and the Thumbs.db file is not functioning

Thumbs.db file is not a virus, it is official Microsoft file since Windows XP. You can safely remove it and there are no consequences for Windows systems there won't be. There may also be a problem with the Thumbs.db file when deleting a folder, especially for local network , since the Thumbs.db file is occupied by the process and you will not be able to delete this folder. The errors sound like this:

The folder is already in use. The operation cannot be completed because the folder or file is open in another program. Close the folder or file and try again.

If you encounter this error when deleting or moving a folder over the network, you need to wait until the system caches file thumbnails and try again. In other cases, you can manually delete the Thumbs.db files in the directory so that they do not interfere with the deletion or movement of folders across the network or on the PC. To do this you need to include "" so the Thumbs.db file itself is hidden. If you are experiencing problems with displaying thumbnails when viewing or you are having errors when moving or deleting folders, then you can disable the thumbnail caching feature, thereby the Thumbs.db file will not be created and interfere with you.

Press Win+R and enter control.exe folders to open folder options.

Next, go to the "View" tab and check the box next to " Always show icons rather than thumbnails". You must understand that if the folder is not deleted over the network on another PC through yours, then you must disable thumbnails on that PC. Also, when you enable this option, you will not be able to view the thumbnail image.

If you allow Windows 10 folder properties to show hidden and system files, then in the directories with pictures you can see the Thumbs.db file. What is this and what is this file for?! The question becomes even bigger when you try to remove it, and operating system gives an error. We'll figure it out!

Thumbs.db- This special base data, which is used to store thumbnails - thumbnails of images, video files and some types of documents such as PDF, DJVU, etc. That is, if there are files in the folder for which thumbnails are created, then there will also be a Thumbs.db file - it will be created automatically. This is a kind of cache. After this, the explorer, in order not to create thumbnails each time, will access this small database.

How to disable the creation of Thumbs.db and get rid of them

In principle, you don’t have to bother and just ignore it - this file doesn’t have much impact on system performance, and it doesn’t take up much space. But if you decide to get rid of them once and for all, then you must first disable the creation of Thumbs.db in Windows 10, otherwise the operating system will create it anew every time.

Launch Windows Explorer and in it, on the “View” tab, click on the “Options” button. The Folder Options window will open:

Select the “View” tab again. At the bottom of the window, find the item “Always display icons, not thumbnails” and put a checkmark next to it. Click on the “OK” button. That's it. No more sketch database file will be created!

How to remove Thumbs.db on disk

After you have prevented the system from creating thumbnail databases, you need to delete the Thumbs.db files from the disk. This can be done using the usual Disk Cleanup utility built into Windows 10. To use it, right-click on the desired logical drive in Explorer and select the “Properties” menu item:

In the window that appears, on the “General” tab, click the “Disk Cleanup” button. The utility window will open. In the list of files to be deleted, check the thumbnails box and click the “OK” button.

Advice: If the Thumbs.db file does not allow you to delete a folder with files, then in this case, first go into it and delete all other files, and then exit and try deleting the folder again. Usually after this everything goes like clockwork.

Why get rid of Thumbs.db at all, why is it so annoying? For example, you deleted some images from a folder, however, their thumbnails may remain in the file - and your private life cried. Imagine that someone else accidentally or intentionally gains access to Thumbs.db, and there... everything that you deleted and preferred to forget.

Are you wondering how you can view the contents of Thumbs.db? This is what the small one is for. free program Thumbnail Database Viewer.

Particularly advanced guys can use the program Thumbs.db Viewer 2– it has significantly more features, but, alas, it is paid (however, there is a working test version).

No, there's a real problem with this Thumbs.db. Since the described risk exists, let's disable thumbnail caching altogether and see how this can be done in various Windows versions.

How to remove Thumbs.db in Windows XP

In Windows XP, delete Thumbs.db like two fingers on the asphalt: open Explorer, select the command Tools > Folder Options, go to the tab View and check the box .

The second option is to change the value system registry. Open the system registry editor ( Start > Run, enter regedit and press ) and go to the next section:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

Find the value in it and double-click on it. Enter value 1 to turn off thumbnail creation.

As you can see, everything is simple. How about deleting thumbnails in Windows Vista?.

How to remove Thumbs.db in Windows Vista

As for Windows Vista, instead of Thumbs.db it uses a single thumbnail database. All sketches have a view name thumbcache_xxxx.db and are stored in the following folder:

\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer

So you can safely visit this folder and arrange reprisals there.

How to remove Thumbs.db in Windows 7

Let us immediately note: this method of deleting Thumbs.db is only possible in the following versions of Windows 7: “Professional”, “Corporate” and “Ultimate”.

First of all, we need an editor group policy. To open it, click on the button Start, enter in the search field gpedit.msc and press the key .

The Local Group Policy Editor will open, in which go to the section User Configuration.

Now go to the following menu: Administrative Templates > Windows components > Windows Explorer .

In the right pane, find the line . Double click on it.

A new window will open in which select the radio button Turn on and click on the OK button.

What should the owners do? basic versions Windows 7, such as “Home Basic” and “Home Premium”? These guys just need to get into the system registry.

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To delete the Thumbs.db file, you must disable image thumbnail caching. The method that will be considered is suitable exclusively for versions of Windows 7: “Professional”, “Corporate” and “Ultimate”. The method for disabling caching in Windows 7 versions: “Starter”, “Home Basic” and “Home Premium” is described below.

So. First you need to open the “Local Group Policy Editor”. To do this, open “Start” and write “gpedit.msc” in the search and then press “Enter”.

In the “Local Group Policy Editor” window that opens, go to the following path:

“Administrative Templates”>>>“Windows Components”>>>“Windows Explorer”

Then on the right side we find the line “Disable caching of thumbnails in hidden thumbs.db files” and double-click on it. (Please note that the “Windows Explorer” item is highlighted. That is, if nothing appears on the right, click on “Windows Explorer” on the left.)

In the newly appeared window, select “Enable” and click “OK”. And that's all. But this is only for versions of Windows 7: “Professional”, “Corporate” and “Ultimate”.

But what about the versions of Windows 7: “Starter”, “Home Basic” and “Home Premium”.

To disable caching of image thumbnails in these versions, you must use the “Registry Editor”. How to launch “Registry Editor”?

And move on to the next section:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

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If there is no “Explorer” section in the “Policies” section, simply create one.

To do this, right-click on the “Policies” section and select “Section” from the “Create” drop-down list.

Name it “Explorer” and press “Enter” to apply.

Then select the “Explorer” section, click “Edit”>>>”New”>>>”DWORD Value (32 bits)”.

Give the new parameter a name “NoThumbnailCache” and press “Enter”.

Right-click on the “NoThumbnailCache” parameter and select “Edit”.

In the window that opens, set the value to “1” and click “OK”.

All that's left to do is restart your computer to apply the changes.

Browsing folders in Explorer with the display option enabled hidden files, users find the Thumbs.db file in many of them. Let's try to figure out why it is needed and whether it can be removed.

This file is created by the operating system when you open a folder that contains pictures when you turn on the “Thumbnail Pages” mode. In this file, the operating system saves previews of pictures stored in the folder. In other words, thumbs.db is a container that stores thumbnails of graphic images located at the current address.

What happens if you delete Thumbs.db

Nothing bad will happen from deleting this file. Even, rather, on the contrary - in its absence, outsiders will not have a chance to see what graphic files were stored on your computer. You can see thumbnails of which pictures are stored in the thumbs.db file using a small portable free utility Thumbnail Database Viewer.

Another argument in favor of deleting thumbs.db is that as graphics are added and removed to the folder, this file increases significantly in size.

How to remove thumbs.db

Delete this file can be standard using Windows– select it in Explorer and press “Del”. But after this procedure, he will soon appear again. Let's figure out how to completely clear the disk of it.

How to disable creation of thumbs.db

After deleting thumbnail files, it is better to disable them completely. Starting with Windows 7, this can be done by changing the . Launch the editor (Win-R + . msc ) and go to this thread:
-> User configuration;
-> Administrative templates;
-> Windows components;
-> Explorer.

Find the item “Disable image thumbnail caching” and double-click it. Select the value “Enabled”.