CCleaner works with SSDs with some exceptions for Custom Clean and Drive Wiper. For more info on this, go to Wiping SSDs with CCleaner further down this page.
1. The CCleaner functions that can impact an SSD's lifespan:
- Custom Clean > Windows tab > Advanced group > Wipe Free Space
- Tools > Drive Wiper
- Options > Settings > Secure Deletion and Wipe Free Space drives
2. Wiping SSDs with CCleaner:
Because of the potential impact on an SSD's lifespan, we limit the Drive Wiper tool to using a “1-pass” wipe on drives that CCleaner identifies as solid-state drives.
Note: We also don't recommend defragmenting SSDs due to the same lifespan concerns. You can find out more in our article on Defraggler and SSDs.
3. CCleaner and how SSDs work:
The number of times you 'write' data on a portion of a solid-state drive helps determine its lifespan. Because of this, solid-state drives include functionality to spread the 'writes' across the hard drive, stopping secure overwrite procedures from repeatedly writing over the same portion of your hard drive.
4. Why is my hard drive shown as a solid-state drive?
Sometimes CCleaner can't work out whether a drive is a solid-state drive or a conventional hard drive. If this happens, CCleaner identifies the drive as a solid-state drive (for safety reasons). This can also occur if your hard drive is misreporting itself to the computer.
If you know for sure that your hard drive is a conventional one, you can use the Security and Wipe functions in Drive Wiper, although Drive Wiper is limited to “1 pass”.
