Windows Bug

A recently discovered bug in Windows 11 has been causing issues for users, with a log file silently eating up large amounts of storage space on their devices. The file, CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal, is a write-ahead log for the database that tracks camera, microphone, and location permission requests.

What is the CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file?

The CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file is supposed to stay relatively small, around a few megabytes, and clear itself out after about a month. However, in some cases, it can balloon to enormous sizes, taking up hundreds of gigabytes of disk space.

Impact on Users

One user, Donald Gibson, reported that his System and Reserved storage had increased to 111GB, when it should have been around 40GB, due to a single 66.5GB CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file. When he contacted Microsoft support, he was advised to buy a new portable hard drive, rather than receiving help to delete the bloated file.

History of the Bug

This bug is not new, with reports of the CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file taking up large amounts of disk space dating back to last year. A Reddit thread from a year ago showed the file taking up 513GB on someone's machine, with no explanation for where the space had gone.

Solution and Update

The official fix for the bug was released on June 29, as part of a preview update. However, the full rollout is expected to take place with the July 2026 Patch Tuesday update. In the meantime, users can try to manually delete the CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file, although this may require some technical expertise.

Prevention and Fixes

To avoid running into this issue, users can try the following:

Regularly checking disk space usage to identify any unusual activity

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