I recently upgraded my Windows laptop but after the upgrade, I noticed that my C:// drive was almost full. After close inspection, I found a new file called “Windows.old.” that was taking up over 10 GB of hard disk space. It should be noted that this file can be as big as 20 GB.
Even if I was relieved that I knew what the problem was (that Windows.old folder) there was another barrier to my mission, I couldn’t delete it using my keyboard’s Delete key.
Since it has “old” in its filename, it seems unnecessary – is there a way to get rid of it? Yes, you can.
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So if you’ve recently upgraded to a new version of Windows, the Windows.old folder contains your previous installation of Windows, which can be used to roll back to the previous configuration if you want to.
If you don’t plan to go back – and few people do – you can remove the Windows.old folder and reclaim the space. Also, keep in mind that if you do nothing, Windows will automatically discard that folder 30 days after the upgrade. But if you want to delete it right now, here let me show you how to do it.
How to delete the Windows.old folder on your computer
1. In the Start menu search box, type “cleanup” and then click “Disk Cleanup” in the results.
2. If you see the Drive Selection dialog box, make sure that the C: drive is selected, and click “OK.”
3. Click “Clean up system files.”
4. You may need to choose drive C: a second time and click “OK.” Then you’ll need to wait while the program scans your drive.
5. Select the checkbox for “Previous Windows installations” from the list of files to delete.
6. Click “OK.” And you are done.
It should be noted that if you clean up the previous Windows.old Installation or temporary installation files, you will no longer be able to restore the machine back to the previous version of the operating system.
