Upgraded to Windows 10? If so, then you probably noticed the Windows.old folder on your computer, and it takes up a huge amount of space on your C drive. You may have even tried to delete it, but without success, as a window appears: “No access to this folder. To delete a folder, you must have administrator rights. " Consequently, users have questions.
So how do you uninstall Windows.old and free up some disk space? Not difficult - but not in the same way as you would delete a regular folder.
I'll show you three methods that work, and they are all pretty simple, so pick the method that works best for you.
Windows.old - what is it and can it be removed?
This folder contains the files necessary for Thus, if you delete the folder, you cannot then return to your previous OS, without the process clean install... So if you are not going to restore old system and we are absolutely sure of this, the Windows.old folder can be deleted and even needed.
Well, if you're staying with Windows 10, then read on. If you are thinking about returning to Windows 8.1 or 7, then let the folder sit still until you make a final decision. However, remember that the solution you have exactly 30 days from the date of the system update... After the line expires, Windows will automatically remove Windows.old.
How to uninstall Windows.old: option 1 (wait)
You could just wait and do nothing - 30 days from the date of the upgrade to Windows 10. A built-in utility called Disk Cleanup will check your hDD and will automatically delete the folder. This is by far the easiest option.
Option 2 (disk cleanup)
If waiting is not an option for you, you can manually run the program Disk cleanupto clear the disk from the Windows.old folder.
To do this, follow these steps:
Disk Cleanup will now remove Windows.old from your disk. This may take a few minutes, so please be patient. Once completed, restarting your computer is not required.
Option 3 (command line)
If, for some reason, Disk Cleanup does not help, you can try deleting the Windows.old folder using the command line.
Here's how to do it:
That's all. You should free up some disk space by deleting the Windows.old folder (I freed up 22GB). But remember, after that - you won't be able to rollback to Windows 8.1 or 7.
Many PC users often have after an update or re windows installations the directory "Windows.old" appears, if, for example, you upgrade Windows 8 to Windows 10... This folder contains all files of the previous OS, as well as all user and program files. All this information takes up a lot of space on your hard drive. Depending on the amount of user data of the previous OS, in some cases this directory can reach tens of gigabytes. Therefore, we will try to understand this issue in detail.
The system keeps the previous version for further opportunity to return to it (execute the so-called Downgrade). As a rule, this feature is temporary, and if you do not use it, the folder will be deleted automatically.
Eight removal process
Let's consider an example of deleting the "Windows.old" directory after upgrading the seven to Windows 8. For this go to our local drivesby clicking Win + E. We choose local disk from installed Windows and go to its properties, as shown in the figure.
In the disk properties window, click the button.
The Disk Cleanup analysis window should appear.
After that, the "Disk Cleanup (C :)" window will appear, where you should press the key Clear system files .
If you click this button, the system will estimate the amount of files to be deleted, and we can go to the next window. Here you need to put one check mark, as shown in the figure.
In our case, the files of the previous OS are 7.92 GB... After the corresponding item is selected, you can safely press the OK button. Disk Cleanup will start, which will delete all files from the previous OS.
The process of deleting a folder in the top ten
Deleting a directory in a ten is very similar to erasing a folder in a eight. We also go to the explorer. Select the local drive "C: /" and go to its properties.
We also click on the button.
After clicking on the button, we will see the same window as on the figure eight, only with a slightly different design.
Press the same key Clean up system files and go to the next window.
Select the same checkbox and press the OK button.
As you can see, the process is similar to the first one with the eighth version of Windows... In this example, we have released 8,36 GBwhich is a good result.
It should also be remembered that when you delete the "Windows.old" directory, user data and files are erased installed programs... The structure of subfolders with files from the previous OS is shown below.
These files can be multimedia data, word documents or Excel. Therefore, before deleting this folder, you should save the important data in it.
Removing the Windows.old folder with CCleaner
The most optimal option is a program for cleaning the system CCleaner... This program can be downloaded for free from the official website www.piriform.com/ccleaner. Installation of the program is quite simple and even a novice PC user can handle it. After starting the program, you should select in the "Cleaning" tab the item " Old installation Windows"As shown below.
Now click the Analysis button. This is necessary in order for CCleaner to analyze the files to be cleaned and display them. full list into the program window. In the figure below, a line is highlighted, which contains files from the "Windows.old" directory.
After clicking the Clean button, the program will completely delete the files of the old OS.
Manual removal
Now we will describe the process of deleting manually, that is, if you were to delete a directory with the Delete key. By deleting the folder using the Delete key, you can see this message.
This message means that we do not have permission to delete this directory. To correctly set the appropriate rights, go to the folder properties on the tab " Safety».
Now click the Advanced button. You have to hit the window additional security this folder.
As you can see from the figure, the owner of our folder is “ SYSTEM". Therefore, you need to select the owner of the user with whom you logged in and click the Apply button. After applying the rights, you can delete "Windows.old" using the explorer with the Delete key.
Removal with TakeOwnershipPro
You can delete the "Windows.old" directory with a simple utility TakeOwnershipProwhich you can download from http://www.top-password.com/download.html. After installing the utility it will appear as a separate item in the Explorer context menuand. To delete the directory, go to context menu for the folder to be deleted and select the item " TakeOwnershipPro».
After clicking, the program window will start, where scanning and assignment of rights for files and directories will be performed in order to remove them later.
Scanning can take two minutes or longer, depending on the size of the folder to be deleted. After the scan is complete, click the Take Ownership button. After that, the folder will be permanently deleted after about two minutes.
Conclusion
After reading this material, you should no longer have a question why I cannot delete the "Windows.old" folder. By doing this, you will free up gigabytes free space on your hard drive. I also want to remind you that deleting this directory, you delete all user data from the previous OS. Therefore, if necessary, you need to do backups this data.
Related Videos
After installation new version Windows on system disk you can find the Windows.old folder. Sometimes it takes tens to hundreds of GB, while there is no payload from it. This folder contains the files and settings of the previous windows versions, incl. files from the Documents and Settings and Program Files folders. It is not only possible, but also necessary to delete the Windows.old folder. but in the usual way it will not work. We will tell you about the options for solving the problem.
Preparing to uninstall
Remember to copy required files from the Windows.old folder, such as documents. It is usually located in the root directory of the C drive. And only after nothing of value is left in it, you can start deleting.
Removing via Disk Cleanup
This is the simplest and efficient way to get rid of unnecessary folder... Open the Start menu and select Computer.
Right-click on the C drive and select Properties. In the "General" tab, click on "Disk Cleanup". Wait for the end of the program analysis.
Check the "Previous Windows installations" box. Click "Ok" and wait for the operation to complete.
Useful: If Windows.old appeared after windows updates 8 to the new version, it will be automatically removed after 28 days.
Removing via the command line
You will need administrator rights. If they are not there by default, log in as an admin. Press the combination Win + R, enter cmd click "Ok".
In the black cmd window enter “ Rd / s / q C: \\ Windows.old”And press“ Enter ”. Or copy the command and click in cmd right button mouse - the command will appear there immediately. After deleting the directory, close the command prompt.
Uninstallation using the Unlocker program
This little free program will allow you to delete any files and folders that, for one reason or another, cannot be deleted in the usual way. It can handle Windows.old as well, if the first two methods didn't work. You can download the program
Open the downloaded file, select the version for your system (32 or 64 bits) and run Unlocker.exe... it portable version programs that do not require installation of any disk. Just open the program, select the Windows.old folder and click "OK". Specify the "Delete" command and click "OK". After a while, a message about the success of the operation will appear.
Helpful: How to find out the bit capacity of your system? Open "Start", right-click on "Computer" and select "Properties". In the "System" section, you will see the type of bitness of the computer.
Removing via installation or recovery disc
This method should help if Windows.old removal is blocked due to a running OS for some reason. Insert the installation windows disk system recovery disc and restart your computer. When the window with the choice of language appears, press Shift + F10 to call command line... Type Rd / s / q C: \\ Windows.old and press Enter.
From under windows environment The PE drive C may change its name to, for example, D. So don't be surprised if the command doesn't find the folder right away. Just replace C with D and repeat the operation.
In the future, use disk formatting before installation new windows, to avoid the appearance of huge .old folders and the hassle of deleting them. By the way, if you have repeatedly reinstalled Windows without formatting, there may be several such folders, with the names Windows.old.000, Windows.old.001, etc. Delete them as you would normal .old, remembering to keep the files you need.
Hello, regular and new guests of my blog! Those of you who have updated software on your computer, you probably noticed the appearance on the C drive of a new unfamiliar directory under windows name old, what kind of folder is now I will tell you.
What, why and why
Deleting a folder
If the folder is an eyesore for you, and you don't want to wait a month, then you can delete it too. In the "Start" menu, search for "cmd" and run the found program as an administrator from the menu that opens with a right click.
When prompted, allow the program to make changes on the computer. In the list that appears, select "Run as administrator".
In the window that appears, enter the underlined command as shown in the image.
It is done! Now only memories will remain of the folder.
From this situation, we can draw a simple conclusion: to effectively manage your data and work productively at the computer, you need to know a lot of subtleties and secrets.
For me personally, the course “ Secrets of productive computer work ". I recommend that you pay your attention to it and spend your time with maximum benefit, having time to have a good rest and be with loved ones.
Well that's all, friends. I hope that the article is clear enough, detailed and useful for you. Follow excess rubbish and do not forget to regularly clean your workplace and computer. And also try not to litter your head with low-quality information!
Subscribe to my blog updates, follow my group VK and tell your friends about them. Good luck!
Windows was performed using custom installation, and the disk partition was not formatted, the files used in the previous version of Windows will be moved to the Windows.old directory.
In fact, the Windows old directory is not needed and can be deleted, which will increase the amount of usable space on your computer's hard drive.
Read about how to do it correctly in our article.
What is Windows.old?
We wait a few minutes while the Disk Cleanup Manager evaluates the amount that can be freed on the system disk.
Check the box next to the item "Previous Windows installations", you can also select other items from the list.
Pay attention to the size of the Windows old directory, it is 11.6 GB. We click on the button "Clear system files".
The window will disappear and preparations will begin to delete the selected files.
At this step it is possible to cancel the deletion by clicking the "Cancel" button.
It is also possible to view the files that will be deleted by clicking the "View files" button. To delete, click the "Delete files" button.
Files are being deleted. This operation will also take a few minutes.
Delete the Windows.old directory in Windows 8
Deleting the Windows.old directory in Windows 8 is no different from a similar operation in previous version given operating system.
As alternative way we will suggest a different entry into the Disk Cleanup Manager, while the remaining items will remain unchanged.
In order to enter the Disk Cleanup Manager, use the Win + R key combination, and in the window that appears, enter the command:
The next step is to select the item "Previous Windows installations" and click the "Clean up system files" button, confirm our choice and wait for some time it takes to delete the folder.
