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hayleyherman
Participant
September 2, 2022
Answered

After Effects 22.6 - "Empty Disk Cache" greyed out, can't manually clear

  • September 2, 2022
  • 3 replies
  • 1696 views

Hi all, I have been trying to solve this issue for days now and I cannot find ANY soultion no matter where I look.

 

I am trying to empty the disk cache on After Effects, however the option is totally greyed out. I cannot click it, and when I try to clear it manually it has no effect. I have verified that it's the correct folder, as it's the one that's displayed in the disk cache preferences. I've tried everything and I am incredibly frustrated, as this affecting the storage on my computer as a whole, not just AE.

 

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

    Correct answer Nolongerinuse238483882

    I found th solution this kept happening to me I kept getting a sign in after effects my dish cache was running low on space or full. But when I checked setting it was greyed out, this was happening for weeks or months because I couldn't figure out a solution. But I finally found one. You have to clear you cache files manually 

    • Windows: C: \Users)
      ‹YourUsername> \AppData \Roaming
    • Adobe \Common \Media Cache Files
      Mac:
      /Users/<YourUsername>/Library/ Application
      Support/Adobe/Common/Media
      Cache Files. 
      after I did that my clearing my disk started working again and it wasn't greyed out anymore. Hope this helps 

    3 replies

    N
    Nolongerinuse238483882Correct answer
    Participant
    March 3, 2025

    I found th solution this kept happening to me I kept getting a sign in after effects my dish cache was running low on space or full. But when I checked setting it was greyed out, this was happening for weeks or months because I couldn't figure out a solution. But I finally found one. You have to clear you cache files manually 

    • Windows: C: \Users)
      ‹YourUsername> \AppData \Roaming
    • Adobe \Common \Media Cache Files
      Mac:
      /Users/<YourUsername>/Library/ Application
      Support/Adobe/Common/Media
      Cache Files. 
      after I did that my clearing my disk started working again and it wasn't greyed out anymore. Hope this helps 
      N
      Nolongerinuse238483882
      Participant
      March 3, 2025

      Make sure you delete all the files once you navigate it manually. No it won't harm your projects nor deleted them. 

      R
      Community Expert
      Rick GerardCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      September 2, 2022

      When the button is grayed out, it means the disk cache is already empty. Create a comp, all a layer, run a preview, then open Preferences/Media and Disk Cache again, and you should be able to empty the cache.

      H
      hayleyhermanAuthor
      Participant
      September 2, 2022

      I still get a message when launching after effects that the disk cache is full, though...

       

      R
      Community Expert
      Rick GerardCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      September 2, 2022

      The message probably says that you do not have enough disk space for the selected cache size. Try changing the 22 GB to 18 or 16, or try freeing up four or more GB on your boot drive, or use an external drive for your disk cache. 

      ToolfarmJP
      Community Expert
      ToolfarmJPCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      September 2, 2022

      Did you try to reset the preferences?

       

      https://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/using/preferences.html

       

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