Camera Raw Cache (empty) vs. Camera Raw Cache2 (8G I can't clear)

[donfrench]

I am trying to free up some space on my C drive and I found that .../AppData/Local/CameraRaw/Cache2 is eating 8G.  It is by far the biggest consumer of disk space.  I went into PS>Settings>Camera Raw and chose a new location for the CR cache and also did a Purge.  But neither thing changed the 8G being eaten by Cache2 on the C drive.  What is Cache2 and how do I get it to give up some of the space on my C drive?

[nirpat89]

You can specify the Maximum Size in Camera Raw Preferences.  Just set it to a low number and see.

[Redcrown]

Don't know much about ACR cache, so I poked around (Windows 10). My system had both a "cache" and a "cache2" folder. Only 350mb in cache and 209mb in cache2. The file dates in both were fairly recent. So I launched Bridge and purged. Only the cache folder was emptied. The cache2 folder was untouched.

So I nuked them both outside of Bridge/ACR using Windows Explorer. No problem. Relaunched Bridge, opened several raw files in ACR, all is OK. The cache folder was rebuilt. No cache2 folder showed up.

Next, I set the max cache to 1gb, which is the minimum allowed, and tried to fill it up. I wanted to see if the cache2 folder would be created when I reached the 1gb limit. Couldn't do it. Turns out there is a bug, on my system at least. The max cache keeps returning to 5gb. Setting it to something else won't stick.

So, I have no idea why and when the cache2 folder is created. But I'm confident you can nuke it with no problem.

[donfrench]

You can specify the Maximum Size in Camera Raw Preferences.  Just set it to a low number and see.

So I set the max size to 5G and did a Purge also.  Cache 2 did NOT get purged and it is still 8G.  Doesn't ANYONE know what this cache is and how it is created and how I should clear it or if I should just delete it altogether?   I am going to post another question that has a better subject title.  Maybe SOMEONE will know the answer.

[jmlphotography]

If you're in the USA, I'd suggest calling Adobe.  I've always found them responsive and helpful.

[nirpat89]

So I set the max size to 5G and did a Purge also.  Cache 2 did NOT get purged and it is still 8G.  Doesn't ANYONE know what this cache is and how it is created and how I should clear it or if I should just delete it altogether?   I am going to post another question that has a better subject title.  Maybe SOMEONE will know the answer.

Perhaps you are not currently using that folder for cache.  It is created by default, but it is superceded if you change the location in the Camera Raw Preferences panel.  My Camera Raw preferences are set to store the cache in the cache2 folder (I have not changed it yet.)  When I purge it from there, the cache2 folder is wiped clean.  So if you are purging and the folder is not cleaned out, that means you have set the cache storage at some other place.  If it is a different folder, then simply delete all the files in the cache2 folder from windows explorer and then it will stay that way.