General Delete Windows.old Folder in Windows 11

  • Thread starter Thread starter Brink
  • Start date Published: Start date Updated Updated:

Windows.old_banner.webp

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 Yes if prompted by UAC.

Starting with Windows 11 build 26100.7705 (24H2) and build 26200.7705 (25H2), to help ensure that only authorized Windows users can access system files, Windows now displays a User Account Control (UAC) prompt when you open Storage settings (Settings > System > Storage).

Starting with Windows 11 build 26100.8514 (RP 24H2), and build 26200.8514 (RP 25H2), Microsoft updated Settings > System > Storage, so rather than seeing a UAC prompt immediately when you go to the page, you’ll only see it when going to view temporary files.


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

Windows.old_Settings-2.png

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

Windows.old_Settings-3.png

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

Windows.old_Settings-4.png

7 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

 
Last edited:
Click to expand...
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 24H2 (Build 26100.4770)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    Intel Core 9 Ultra 285K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Aorus Z890 Xtreme AI Top
    Memory
    64G (4x16) DDR5 Corsair RGB Dominator Platinum (6400Mhz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon (XFX Mercury) RX 9070XT OC (with Magnetic Fans)
    Sound Card
    Onboard (DTS:X® Ultra Audio: ESS ES9280A DAC)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27-inch Eizo Color Edge - CG2700X
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    4 Samsung NVM 990 Pro drives: 1TB (OS), 2TB, 2 X 4TB.
    PSU
    Seasonic TX-1300 (1300 Watts)
    Case
    Cooler Master H500M
    Cooling
    Corsair Link Titan 280 RX RGB
    Keyboard
    Logitech Craft
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S
    Internet Speed
    1TB Download. 512mb Upload
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
    Other Info
    System used for gaming, photography, music, school.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 (Build 26100.4061)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-9900K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Xtreme
    Memory
    32gig (4 x 8) Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4 3600Mhz (B-Die)
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon XFX Merc 7900XT (20gig)
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24-Inch NEC PA242W
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 X NVME, 1 X SATA SSD
    PSU
    EVGA Super Nova 1000 P2 (1000 Watt)
    Case
    Phantek Enthoo Luxe
    Cooling
    Corsair H115i Elite AIO Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Keys
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1TB Download. 512mb Upload
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
    Other Info
    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 Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Professional (x64)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inc. G16
    CPU
    Intel Core i9
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0FDMYT A00
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX
    Sound Card
    Realtek(R) Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (15.3"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    4TB SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Air
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    10 Mbps (Dismal, slow DSL over phone line)
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Webroot SecureAnywhere
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
: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,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Amazon Basics Wired Full Keyboard MD005
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 4
    Internet Speed
    2 Gbps Download and 100 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
Hi Brink, :)

I am running into a little snag with deleting the Windows.old folder on my new system using the Command Prompt method. I initially tried just deleting the folder and then using the Disk Cleanup method, but neither worked -in Disk Cleanup there wasn't even an option to Cleanup System Files, which I thought was strange.

So now that I'm trying the Command Prompt method I'm hitting a snag on the last step, here is my output:

C:\Windows.old\Windows\System32\LogFiles\WMI\RtBackup - The directory is not empty.

I have no idea what this 'RtBackup' directory is. :<

Any direction/help on this would be greatly appreciated! :)

Many Thanks in Advance . . . ;)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Predator Helios 300
    CPU
    11th Gen Intel Core i7-11800H @ 2.30GHz
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, Intel UHD Graphics
Sometimes when I get really stuck deleting a folder, I boot into a Macrium Reflect Rescue USB drive and delete the folder using its File Explorer (icon on bottom left hand corner.

Another similar method is to boot from a live linux drive.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook 14
    CPU
    I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB soldered
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop OLED screen
    Screen Resolution
    2880x1800 touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    1 TB NVME SSD (only weakness is only one slot)
    PSU
    Internal + 65W thunderbolt USB4 charger
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois (UK pint cans - 568 ml) - extra cost.
    Keyboard
    Built in UK keybd
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wireless dongled, wired
    Internet Speed
    900 mbs (ethernet), wifi 6 typical 350-450 mb/s both up and down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0, 2xUSB4 thunderbolt, 1xUsb3 (usb a), 1xUsb-c, hdmi out, 3.5 mm audio out/in combo, ASUS backlit trackpad (inc. switchable number pad)

    Macrium Reflect Home V8
    Office 365 Family (6 users each 1TB onedrive space)
    Hyper-V (a vm runs almost as fast as my older laptop)
LadyV said:
Hi Brink, :)

I am running into a little snag with deleting the Windows.old folder on my new system using the Command Prompt method. I initially tried just deleting the folder and then using the Disk Cleanup method, but neither worked -in Disk Cleanup there wasn't even an option to Cleanup System Files, which I thought was strange.

So now that I'm trying the Command Prompt method I'm hitting a snag on the last step, here is my output:

C:\Windows.old\Windows\System32\LogFiles\WMI\RtBackup - The directory is not empty.

I have no idea what this 'RtBackup' directory is. :<

Any direction/help on this would be greatly appreciated! :)

Many Thanks in Advance . . . ;)
Click to expand...

Hello LadyV, and welcome. :alien:

Have you tried the command prompt at boot option?
 

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,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Amazon Basics Wired Full Keyboard MD005
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 4
    Internet Speed
    2 Gbps Download and 100 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
Hello Brink and Thanks for the Welcome :)

No, I haven't tried the Boot method yet, but I did go digging a bit further as I wanted to investigate this 'RtBackup' folder/directory and once I got into: C:\Windows\System32\LogFiles\WMI I looked in Properties and found that the RtBackup folder is Empty. When I tried to access it, I was told that I needed to use the Security Tab. Do I need special permissions even though my account is an Admin account? Apologies for even more questions, just not used to the 'language of 11' yet.

EDIT: Also, my Windows.old folder is 0 bytes in size.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Predator Helios 300
    CPU
    11th Gen Intel Core i7-11800H @ 2.30GHz
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, Intel UHD Graphics
LadyV said:
Hello Brink and Thanks for the Welcome :)

No, I haven't tried the Boot method yet, but I did go digging a bit further as I wanted to investigate this 'RtBackup' folder/directory and once I got into: C:\Windows\System32\LogFiles\WMI I looked in Properties and found that the RtBackup folder is Empty. When I tried to access it, I was told that I needed to use the Security Tab. Do I need special permissions even though my account is an Admin account? Apologies for even more questions, just not used to the 'language of 11' yet.

EDIT: Also, my Windows.old folder is 0 bytes in size.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't worry about the log file since it really won't contain anything clear and helpful.

Since the Windows.old folder is 0 bytes (empty), there's no need to try and delete the actual folder unless you just wanted to. Doing so at boot should allow you to avoid access issues.
 

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,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Amazon Basics Wired Full Keyboard MD005
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 4
    Internet Speed
    2 Gbps Download and 100 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
Thanks Brink for letting me know; much appreciated. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Predator Helios 300
    CPU
    11th Gen Intel Core i7-11800H @ 2.30GHz
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, Intel UHD Graphics

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,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Amazon Basics Wired Full Keyboard MD005
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 4
    Internet Speed
    2 Gbps Download and 100 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
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