General Delete Windows.old Folder in Windows 11


  • Staff
Windows.old_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to manually delete the Windows.old folder in the root directory of the Windows drive in Windows 11.

When you upgrade to Windows 11 from Windows 10, repair install Windows 11, custom install Windows 11, or update to a new version of Windows 11 (ex: Windows Update), a copy of the previous installation is saved to the Windows.old folder in the root directory of the Windows 11 drive as a backup. This backup will allow you to be able to go back to the previous Windows for up to a 10 days after updating or upgrading to Windows 11 if needed.

After 10 days, the Windows.old folder for your previous version of Windows will be automatically deleted from your PC by default.

If it’s been fewer than 10 days, you can manually delete the Windows.old folder to free up drive space now instead of waiting for it to automatically get deleted after 10 days.

If you delete the Windows.old folder, this can't be undone (you won't be able to go back to the previous Windows).


Reference:

Delete your previous version of Windows - Microsoft Support

Delete your previous version of Windows
support.microsoft.com support.microsoft.com


Contents



EXAMPLE: Windows.old folder

Windows.old_folder.png





Option One

Delete Windows.old Folder in Settings


You must be signed in as an administrator to use this option.


1 Open Settings (Win+I).

2 Click/tap on System on the left side, and click/tap on Storage on the right side. (see screenshot below)


Windows.old_Settings-1.png

3 Click/tap on Temporary files. (see screenshot below)

Windows.old_Settings-2.png

4 Check Previous Windows installation(s), and click/tap on the Remove files button. (see screenshot below)

Windows.old_Settings-3.png

5 Click/tap on Continue to confirm. (see screenshot below)

Windows.old_Settings-4.png

6 When finished, you can close Settings if you like.




Option Two

Delete Windows.old Folder in Disk Cleanup


You must be signed in as an administrator to use this option.


1 Open Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe).

2 If you have more than one drive on your PC, select the Windows "C" drive, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

Windows.old_Disk_Cleanup-1-3.png

3 Click/tap on the Clean up system files button. (see screenshot below)

Windows.old_Disk_Cleanup-2.png

4 If you have more than one drive on your PC, select the Windows "C" drive again, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

Windows.old_Disk_Cleanup-1-3.png

5 Check Previous Windows installation(s), and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

Windows.old_Disk_Cleanup-4.png

6 Click/tap on Delete Files to confirm. (see screenshot below)

Windows.old_Disk_Cleanup-5.png

7 Click/tap on Yes to confirm to delete the previous Windows. (see screenshot below)

Windows.old_Disk_Cleanup-6.png

8 When Disk Cleanup finishes, the C:\Windows.old folder will be deleted. (see screenshot below)

Windows.old_Disk_Cleanup-7.png




Option Three

Delete Windows.old Folder in Command Prompt


You must be signed in as an administrator to use this option.


1 Open Windows Terminal (Admin), and select Command Prompt.

2 Copy and paste the command below into Windows Terminal (Admin), and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

takeown /F "C:\Windows.old" /A /R /D Y​

This command will change the owner of the "C:\Windows.old" folder to the administrators group.


3 Copy and paste the command below into Windows Terminal (Admin), and press Enter.

icacls "C:\Windows.old" /grant *S-1-5-32-544:F /T /C /Q​

This command will grant administrators full control access of the "C:\Windows.old" folder.


4 Copy and paste the command below into Windows Terminal (Admin), and press Enter.

RD /S /Q "C:\Windows.old"​

This command will delete the "C:\Windows.old" folder and its contents.


Windows.old_command.png





Option Four

Delete Windows.old Folder in Command Prompt at Boot


1 Open a command prompt at boot.

2 Perform the following steps to find and verify the Windows drive letter: (see screenshot below)

The Windows drive letter may not always be C: at boot like it is while Windows is started.


  1. Type diskpart into the command prompt at boot, and press Enter.
  2. Type list volume into the command prompt at boot, and press Enter.
  3. From the listed volumes, look for and verify the drive letter (ex: "C") of your Windows 11 drive.
  4. Type exit into the command prompt at boot, and press Enter.
Windows.old_command_at_boot-1.png

3 Type the command below into the command prompt at boot, and press Enter. (see screenshot below step 4)

rd /s /q "<drive letter>:Windows.old"​

Substitute <drive letter> in the command above with the actual Windows drive letter (ex: "C") from step 2.

For example: rd /s /q "C:Windows.old"


4 Close (X) the command prompt at boot. (see screenshot below)

Windows.old_command_at_boot-2.png

5 Click/tap on Continue to exit and continue to Windows 11. (see screenshot below)

Windows.old_command_at_boot-3.png


That's it,
Shawn Brink


Related Tutorials

 

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That you can retrieve data from the file while it's there is a perk too :-)
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 22H2 (Build 22621.2361)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    Intel i9-9900K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Aorus Z390 Xtreme
    Memory
    32G (4x8) DDR4 Corsair RGB Dominator Platinum (3600Mhz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon VII
    Sound Card
    Onboard (ESS Sabre HiFi using Realtek drivers)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    NEC PA242w (24 inch)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    5 Samsung SSD drives: 2X 970 NVME (512 & 1TB), 3X EVO SATA (2X 2TB, 1X 1TB)
    PSU
    EVGA Super Nova I000 G2 (1000 watt)
    Case
    Cooler Master H500M
    Cooling
    Corsair H115i RGB Platinum
    Keyboard
    Logitech Craft
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    500mb Download. 11mb Upload
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
    Other Info
    System used for gaming, photography, audiophile media center, work.
  • Operating System
    Win 10 Pro 22H2 (build 19045.2130)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-7700K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-Z270X-GAMING 8
    Memory
    32G (4x8) DDR4 Corsair Dominator Platinum (3333Mhz)
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Radeon R9 Fury
    Sound Card
    Onboard (Creative Sound Blaster certified ZxRi)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U2415 (24 inch)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    3 Samsung SSD drives: 1x 512gig 950 NVMe drive (OS drive), 1 x 512gig 850 Pro, 1x 256gig 840 Pro.
    PSU
    EVGA Super Nova 1000 P2 (1000 watt)
    Case
    Phantek Enthoo Luxe
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK 710
    Internet Speed
    100MB
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
    Other Info
    This is my backup system.
Thank you for your tutorial on deleting Windows.old from my drive. I was having trouble trying to do it the "normal" way you delete directories which obviously failed. After following your steps, Windows.old is now gone. Thanks!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Professional (x64) Version 22H2 (Canary Build 25357.1)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inc. G7 7588
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 8th Generation
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0FDMYT A00
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design
    Sound Card
    Realtek(R) Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (15.3"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD, 1TB Hard Drive
    PSU
    Unknown
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Air
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    10 Mbps (Dismal, slow DSL over phone line)
    Browser
    Brave, Version 1.50.121 Chromium: 112.0.5615.138 (Official Build) (64-bit)
    Antivirus
    Webroot SecureAnywhere
:shawn:
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    1TB Samsung 980 PRO M.2,
    6TB WD Black WD6001FZWX
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1
    CPU
    i7-1065G7 3.9 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR4-3200
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Plus
    Sound Card
    Intel SST
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3" 4K UWVA AMOLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
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