If you suspect that your Windows 11 storage is being consumed by an unseen culprit, the first step is to navigate to Settings > Storage > System & Reserved. Here, you can examine the system storage. If you find it consuming hundreds of gigabytes, you may be facing a recent bug associated with a file named CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal, which has been known to fill the system drive until it reaches capacity.
Our investigations at Windows Latest have revealed that this particular file can significantly impact your system storage:
C:ProgramDataMicrosoftWindowsCapabilityAccessManagerCapabilityAccessManager.db-wal
Not every user is affected, which is understandable given that this file is connected to the Windows Capability Access Manager service.
What is Capability Access Manager in Windows 11?
The Capability Access Manager plays a crucial role in managing app permissions for various features, including the microphone, location services, camera access, and screen capture. It functions as a logging system, helping users keep track of app activities related to privacy features in Windows 11.
In our tests, we discovered that the CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file is responsible for excessive storage usage. This file acts as a database where Windows logs the aforementioned permissions, and ideally, it should occupy only a few megabytes. However, if it balloons to tens or even hundreds of gigabytes, it indicates a serious issue.
For instance, on one of my devices, the file was using less than 3MB of storage, which is considered normal. Yet, reports suggest that this file can expand uncontrollably, consuming storage until the C: drive is completely filled.
CapabilityAccessManager can use up to 500GB of storage, and it won’t stop even then
In a post on the Feedback Hub, a user reported that their CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file had swelled to approximately 200GB. Additionally, a thread on Reddit’s r/techsupport highlighted an even more alarming case, where a user found the same file occupying about 513GB, while the combined size of pagefile.sys and hiberfil.sys was merely 29GB. Other users chimed in with figures of 70GB, 110GB, and 200GB, noting that the file sometimes reverted to sizes of 4GB or 15GB after cleanup on certain machines.
Interestingly, many users remain unaware of this issue until they manually inspect their file storage. Windows Storage categorizes the usage under “System files” or “System & reserved,” but does not pinpoint the specific file causing the problem.
Recently, Microsoft acknowledged the issue surrounding the CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file’s excessive storage consumption. In the release notes for Windows 11 KB5095093 (June 2026 optional update), the company stated, “This update improves disk space usage for the CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file.” This fix is scheduled to be included in the July 2026 Patch Tuesday release, set to roll out on July 14.
However, this acknowledgment seems somewhat understated, as the company did not publicly declare the significant impact of this storage management flaw in Windows 11. The support document was initially published on June 23 without any mention of the bug, and it was only updated on June 29 with a brief note regarding improvements in disk space usage.
How to check if your PC is affected
Upon examining my own system, I discovered that the System & Reserved section was utilizing a staggering 89GB of storage, which was perplexing given my recent clean installation of the operating system. My virtual storage for apps was minimal (29GB), and I do not utilize hibernation, so the situation warranted further investigation. It became evident that the issue stemmed from the CapabilityAccessManager.
Unless you are aware of this article, identifying the CapabilityAccessManager as the culprit is not straightforward. Once you suspect that this file may be responsible, tools such as WizTree, TreeSize, or WinDirStat can be employed to sort files by size and locate the database file consuming your system storage.
For a more direct approach, I recommend executing a simple command in an elevated Command Prompt without altering permissions:
robocopy "C:ProgramDataMicrosoftWindowsCapabilityAccessManager" "%TEMP%CAMCheck" /L /B /R:0 /W:0 /BYTES /NP
After running this command, check for the CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file. If it registers only a few megabytes, as shown in the accompanying screenshot, you are in the clear. In one unaffected system we examined, the entire CapabilityAccessManager folder was under 4MB, with the CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file measuring around 1.6MB.
Conversely, if the file size is several gigabytes or continues to grow every few minutes, your PC is indeed affected. The most prudent course of action is to await the July 14 Patch Tuesday update. Alternatively, you could rename the CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file, allowing Windows to regenerate it. However, deleting system files is not advisable, as it can lead to unforeseen complications.
