diff --git a/windows/bin/uninstall.ps1 b/windows/bin/uninstall.ps1
index 85b148c..bd1a325 100644
--- a/windows/bin/uninstall.ps1
+++ b/windows/bin/uninstall.ps1
@@ -523,10 +523,10 @@ function Uninstall-SelectedApps {
                     }
                     
                     if (-not $uninstalled) {
-                        # Fallback to interactive
-                        Write-Host " $esc[33m(launching uninstaller)$esc[0m"
+                        # Fallback to interactive - don't count as automatic success
+                        Write-Host " $esc[33m(launching uninstaller - verify completion manually)$esc[0m"
                         Start-Process -FilePath "cmd.exe" -ArgumentList "/c", "`"$uninstallString`"" -Wait
-                        $successCount++
+                        # Note: Not incrementing $successCount since we can't verify if user completed or cancelled
                     }
                 }
             }
diff --git a/windows/cmd/analyze/analyze.exe b/windows/cmd/analyze/analyze.exe
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..88661c1
Binary files /dev/null and b/windows/cmd/analyze/analyze.exe differ
diff --git a/windows/cmd/analyze/main.go b/windows/cmd/analyze/main.go
index 4251932..60cc9bc 100644
--- a/windows/cmd/analyze/main.go
+++ b/windows/cmd/analyze/main.go
@@ -89,6 +89,59 @@ var skipPatterns = map[string]bool{
 	"Config.Msi":                true,
 }
 
+// Protected paths that should NEVER be deleted
+var protectedPaths = []string{
+	`C:\Windows`,
+	`C:\Program Files`,
+	`C:\Program Files (x86)`,
+	`C:\ProgramData`,
+	`C:\Users\Default`,
+	`C:\Users\Public`,
+	`C:\Recovery`,
+	`C:\System Volume Information`,
+}
+
+// isProtectedPath checks if a path is protected from deletion
+func isProtectedPath(path string) bool {
+	absPath, err := filepath.Abs(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return true // If we can't resolve the path, treat it as protected
+	}
+	absPath = strings.ToLower(absPath)
+
+	// Check against protected paths
+	for _, protected := range protectedPaths {
+		protectedLower := strings.ToLower(protected)
+		if absPath == protectedLower || strings.HasPrefix(absPath, protectedLower+`\`) {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Check against skip patterns (system directories)
+	baseName := strings.ToLower(filepath.Base(absPath))
+	for pattern := range skipPatterns {
+		if strings.ToLower(pattern) == baseName {
+			// Only protect if it's at a root level (e.g., C:\Windows, not C:\Projects\Windows)
+			parent := filepath.Dir(absPath)
+			if len(parent) <= 3 { // e.g., "C:\"
+				return true
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Protect Windows directory itself
+	winDir := strings.ToLower(os.Getenv("WINDIR"))
+	sysRoot := strings.ToLower(os.Getenv("SYSTEMROOT"))
+	if winDir != "" && (absPath == winDir || strings.HasPrefix(absPath, winDir+`\`)) {
+		return true
+	}
+	if sysRoot != "" && (absPath == sysRoot || strings.HasPrefix(absPath, sysRoot+`\`)) {
+		return true
+	}
+
+	return false
+}
+
 // Entry types
 type dirEntry struct {
 	Name        string
@@ -462,9 +515,17 @@ func (m model) scanPath(path string) tea.Cmd {
 	}
 }
 
-// deletePath deletes a file or directory
+// deletePath deletes a file or directory with protection checks
 func (m model) deletePath(path string) tea.Cmd {
 	return func() tea.Msg {
+		// Safety check: never delete protected paths
+		if isProtectedPath(path) {
+			return deleteCompleteMsg{
+				path: path,
+				err:  fmt.Errorf("cannot delete protected system path: %s", path),
+			}
+		}
+
 		err := os.RemoveAll(path)
 		return deleteCompleteMsg{path: path, err: err}
 	}
diff --git a/windows/lib/clean/apps.ps1 b/windows/lib/clean/apps.ps1
index ceb9460..36ed9c7 100644
--- a/windows/lib/clean/apps.ps1
+++ b/windows/lib/clean/apps.ps1
@@ -88,10 +88,23 @@ function Find-OrphanedAppData {
             # Skip if recently modified
             if ($folder.LastWriteTime -gt $cutoffDate) { continue }
             
-            # Check if app is installed
+            # Check if app is installed using stricter matching
+            # Require exact match or that folder name is a clear prefix/suffix of app name
             $isInstalled = $false
+            $folderLower = $folder.Name.ToLower()
             foreach ($name in $installedNames) {
-                if ($name -like "*$($folder.Name.ToLower())*" -or $folder.Name.ToLower() -like "*$name*") {
+                # Exact match
+                if ($name -eq $folderLower) {
+                    $isInstalled = $true
+                    break
+                }
+                # Folder is prefix of app name (e.g., "chrome" matches "chrome browser")
+                if ($name.StartsWith($folderLower) -and $folderLower.Length -ge 4) {
+                    $isInstalled = $true
+                    break
+                }
+                # App name is prefix of folder (e.g., "vscode" matches "vscode-data")
+                if ($folderLower.StartsWith($name) -and $name.Length -ge 4) {
                     $isInstalled = $true
                     break
                 }
diff --git a/windows/lib/clean/system.ps1 b/windows/lib/clean/system.ps1
index 4e86e20..035590f 100644
--- a/windows/lib/clean/system.ps1
+++ b/windows/lib/clean/system.ps1
@@ -121,22 +121,25 @@ function Clear-WindowsUpdateFiles {
         }
     }
     
-    # Clean download cache
-    $wuDownloadPath = "$env:WINDIR\SoftwareDistribution\Download"
-    if (Test-Path $wuDownloadPath) {
-        Clear-DirectoryContents -Path $wuDownloadPath -Description "Windows Update download cache"
+    try {
+        # Clean download cache
+        $wuDownloadPath = "$env:WINDIR\SoftwareDistribution\Download"
+        if (Test-Path $wuDownloadPath) {
+            Clear-DirectoryContents -Path $wuDownloadPath -Description "Windows Update download cache"
+        }
+        
+        # Clean DataStore (old update history - be careful!)
+        # Only clean temp files, not the actual database
+        $wuDataStore = "$env:WINDIR\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore\Logs"
+        if (Test-Path $wuDataStore) {
+            Clear-DirectoryContents -Path $wuDataStore -Description "Windows Update logs"
+        }
     }
-    
-    # Clean DataStore (old update history - be careful!)
-    # Only clean temp files, not the actual database
-    $wuDataStore = "$env:WINDIR\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore\Logs"
-    if (Test-Path $wuDataStore) {
-        Clear-DirectoryContents -Path $wuDataStore -Description "Windows Update logs"
-    }
-    
-    # Restart service if it was running
-    if ($wasRunning) {
-        Start-Service -Name wuauserv -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+    finally {
+        # Always restart service if it was running, even if cleanup failed
+        if ($wasRunning) {
+            Start-Service -Name wuauserv -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+        }
     }
 }