keep Windows.old file says article


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retiredat44

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Win11i9-1390064 GBNvidia RTX 5070 TI OC
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Asus Home built
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i9-13900
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ASUS Strix Z790-H
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Windows 11 25H2Broadwell-e 6850K 4.5ghz @1.36v32GB Corsair LPM 3600 C16EVGA RTX 3080Ti FTW
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Windows 11 25H2
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EVGA home brew
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Broadwell-e 6850K 4.5ghz @1.36v
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EVGA X99 FTW K
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The key point is Windows normally deletes the Windows.old folder 10 days after the upgrade. This should allow most users enough time to decide if there's any compatibility issues with their apps or HW devices, that require rolling back to old Windows.

It's up to you to decide if you're confident enough to quickly check most of your apps, and devices are working. If you think everything's great, then delete Windows.old before the 10 days has expired.

Obviously if you took a full system backup right before the upgrade, then you don't need Windows.old since you could do a restore instead.
 

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Windows 7
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Windows 7
You might also want to be aware that a Windows.old folder gets created even when you perform a clean install of Windows. It's just an empty folder in that case so it occupies no space and I always delete it immediately after installation.

Thanks to @garlin for pointing out previously that the new Windows setup treats even a new, clean install as an upgrade installation, at least in this regard.
 

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    Win11 Pro 25H2 (RTM+)Intel i7-14650HX32 GBNo GPU - Built-in Intel Graphics
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    Win11 Pro 25H2 (RTM+)
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    Acemagic
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    Intel i7-14650HX
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    Win11 Pro 25H2 (RTM+)Intel i7-1255U16 GBIntel Iris Xe Graphics
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    Win11 Pro 25H2 (RTM+)
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    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
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    Intel i7-1255U
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    13.3-inch IPS Display
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    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
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    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
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    Edge
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    Windows Defender
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    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
I always make an image with MR before any update so I just remove Windows.old.
 

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    Windows11 Pro 26200.9267Intel Core i9 14900F (24 -Core, 68 MB Total C...32GB DDR5RTX 4080 Super w/610.74
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    Windows11 Pro 26200.9267
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    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Alienware Aurora R16
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    Intel Core i9 14900F (24 -Core, 68 MB Total Cache)
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    Dell Alienware
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    32GB DDR5
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    RTX 4080 Super w/610.74
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    Realtec
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    Corsair XENEON 32QHD165
    Screen Resolution
    2560 X 1440
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    1-2TB Samsung 990 Pro PCIe NVMe M2 SSD
    1-4TB Samsung 990 Pro PCIe NVMe M2 SSD
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    1000 Watt Platinum Dell
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    Liquid Closed Loop
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    Corsair Strafe RGB
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    Very Quiet And Fast
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    13th Gen Inter(R) Core(TM) i3-1315U
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    Dell 2419HGCF
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    Chicony 30 Watt
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    1GB
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    Slimjet
I just delete it. Never had a problem.
 

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    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (26200.9168)Intel® Core™ i9-13900KS 3.20GHz128GB DDR5-5200 Kingston Fury Beast RGBZotac Trinity NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 4090 24GB ...
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    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (26200.9168)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
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    CLX Intel Battlebox Ultimate (RA)
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i9-13900KS 3.20GHz
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    ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Hero WIFI - ATX
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    128GB DDR5-5200 Kingston Fury Beast RGB
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    Zotac Trinity NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 4090 24GB GDDR6X
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    Realtek USB Audio
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    Dell G3223Q 32" 4K Ultra HD
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160 @144hz
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    2TB x 2 Samsung 990 Pro 2280 NVMe M.2 SSD's
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    4 TB x 1 My Passport Ultra External USB
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    1200W Corsair HX Ser HX1200 80+ Platinum
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    Lian Li / Der Bauer 011DXL ROG
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    Phanteks Glacier One 360 RGB AIO LC
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    Logitech K330 Wireless
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    Logitech M310 Wireless
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    1GB Fiber : 945/57
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    Brave
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    Defender - HitmanPro.Alert
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    Macrium Reflect X

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    iPad Air
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    iPad Air
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    Tablet
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    Apple
I always delete windows.old immediately after an upgrade. As @hsehestedt pointed out, I never go into an upgrade with making an image so I'm backed up without having a windows.old. I have seen rollbacks fail so I would always restore an image instead of rolling back..
 

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    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.9168i9-10900 10 core 20 threads32 gbnone-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.9168
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    2x1tb Solidigm m.2 nvme /External drives 512gb Samsung m.2 sata+2tb Kingston m2.nvme
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    #1 Edge #2 Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26200.9168AMD Ryzen 7 6800U32 gbintegrated
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26200.9168
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Beelink Mini PC SER5
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 6800U
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics card(s)
    integrated
    Sound Card
    integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Crucial nvme
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    still too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
  • System 3 is non compliant Dell 9020 i7-4770/24gb ram Win11 PRO 26200.9168

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Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ16 GB solderedIntegrated Intel Iris XE
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
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Yep, got one
Cooling
Stella Artois (UK pint cans - 568 ml) - extra cost.
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Built in UK keybd
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Bluetooth , wireless dongled, wired
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900 mbs (ethernet), wifi 6 typical 350-450 mb/s both up and down
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Edge
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Defender
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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)
If you don't make backup images you can save Windows.old.

If you make backup images you can allow Windows to delete it or manually delete to free up drive space.

A third alternative is to modify the default 10 day delete to 60 days.
 

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Windows 10Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz16 GB Total: Manufacturer : Samsung MemoryTyp...NVIDIA Quadro K3100M; Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
OS
Windows 10
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
HP
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz
Motherboard
Product : 190A Version : KBC Version 94.56
Memory
16 GB Total: Manufacturer : Samsung MemoryType : DDR3 FormFactor : SODIMM Capacity : 8GB Speed : 1600
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA Quadro K3100M; Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
Sound Card
IDT High Definition Audio CODEC; PNP Device ID HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_111D&DEV_76E0
Hard Drives
Model Hitachi HTS727575A9E364
Antivirus
Microsoft Defender
Other Info
Mobile Workstation
hsehestedt said:
You might also want to be aware that a Windows.old folder gets created even when you perform a clean install of Windows. It's just an empty folder in that case so it occupies no space and I always delete it immediately after installation.
Click to expand...

this is only true with Windows 11 version 24H2 & newer. does not occur with clean installing Win11 23H2 & older
 

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windows 10 ltsc
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windows 10 ltsc
A clean install of 24H2/25H2 creates an empty Windows.old. So there's nothing that needs to be done in the short term (unless its appearance annoys you). Where it must be removed is if you're planning to do a sysprep of a fresh 24H2/25H2 install.
 

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Windows 7
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Windows 7
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