Solved Unable to Delete Windows.Old Folder Windows 11 22H2

bikemanI7 · Sep 22, 2022

Did my first ever over the top upgrade from original Windows 11 to 22H2, anyways i ran storage sense, and disk cleanup, it said Previous WIndows Installation Removed, but Windows.Old folder still present on C NvMe SSD drive.

Do i have to take the time and do a clean install anyways of everything just to get rid of that folder?

I assume if i did clean install right i'd just setup my normal MS Account as Main account, then somehow add my Local PC Admin account after the install, and switch the MS Account one back to Standard user, and keep Local PC Admin one as Admin

Alot of work, but don't want C space taken up for useless files if i can help it. Should i shutdown and disconnect all other drives first, or will doing clean install be fine if i go that route with all of them connected, and just wipe the M.2 SSD, and do the clean install, then wipe the other drives once system back up and running and user accounts sorted.

johnlgalt · Sep 22, 2022

No, there are ways, but rest assured that 1) it doesn't hurt anything, and 2) you don't need it gone, it will usually go away after a while, in most cases, especially after a reboot or 3.

Usually, it is a stubborn file somewhere (that is also marked as system and hidden) that gets in the way. I know a few users have reported something similar here as well, every time it pops up it is either a particular update, or else the System thinking it needs it there for whatever reason.

However, if you want it gone, clean install will probably be better, and yes, you can do pretty much as you've described, except that once I had it installed in the VM that I tested it in, after using my Microsoft account, in Windows Settings I *did* have the option to change to a local account only (Windows 11 Pro - don't know it Home offers that, I suspect it does not). But your plan sounds good enough to use for what you want to accomplish.

bikemanI7 · Sep 22, 2022

Oh Ok then leaves alone for now then, was starting to get on my nerves wasn't removing lol. I got enough space it looks like to not really worry on it anyways it appears for the moment, if it not gone in a few weeks or when the first "Moments" update comes out, then might just do my clean install then.

Continues with system cleanup with other folders, and moves onto PC gaming in a bit here in that case

johnlgalt · Sep 22, 2022

Yeah, just monitor it, if it keeps filling back up with GB of stuff, maybe get concerned.

IIRC, I also remember at least one user here who had issues with it ... until the next big update came, at which point using the Storage clean function actually cleaned it out and got rid of it too.

tbmljk · Sep 22, 2022

I had the same problem. I ran chkdsk C: /r, afterwards I was able to delete windows.old

bikemanI7 · Sep 22, 2022

Showing as 0 Bytes anyways, will do the Chkdsk C:/R command shortly here or soon as have time to, and hopefully all issues solved after that

tbmljk · Sep 22, 2022

mine was 0 bytes as well

bikemanI7 · Sep 22, 2022

Chkdsk completed, States No Permission to Delete though even with Admin account, so for now just gonna leave it, and carry on with other PC Tasks, and eventually in the future when got time, might just tackle with clean install at that point.

Who knows it may go away on it's own at some point

This was just first time i ever did a major Windows Update via upgrade method after created the USB flash drive with Media Creation tool, on Windows 10 every feature update usually twice a year did a clean install, i know probably way too much lol, but at least system was always squeakly clean lol

Alex__ASSR · Sep 22, 2022

I managed to remove windows.old over here > system > storage > cleaning recommendations

ShamrockRig · Sep 22, 2022

I believe windows.old is deleted 10 days after you update windows :)

bikemanI7 · Sep 22, 2022

Yeah i tried Cleanup Recommendations area, Nothing

Tried Disk Cleanup

Even tried from Safe Mode

So whatever is causing the folder to be 0 Bytes, and still there who knows, eventually i make sure personal data backup is up to date, and gather drivers, and stuff, might break down and conduct clean install, then do a new base System image with Macrium Reflect Home, and should be fine after that in the future.

No other issues so for now can live with this issue for time being

ShamrockRig · Sep 22, 2022

bikemanI7 said:
Yeah i tried Cleanup Recommendations area, Nothing

Tried Disk Cleanup

Even tried from Safe Mode

So whatever is causing the folder to be 0 Bytes, and still there who knows, eventually i make sure personal data backup is up to date, and gather drivers, and stuff, might break down and conduct clean install, then do a new base System image with Macrium Reflect Home, and should be fine after that in the future.

No other issues so for now can live with this issue for time being

Could try using REVO to see what it shows, Either that or TreeSize is good for showing where things actually are. Windows storage told me i had 50gb in temp. I checked with revo and Treesize..Yeah windows was full of bs, was like 2gb in temp lol

bikemanI7 · Sep 22, 2022

Finally Removed Somehow after i wasn't watching it, Guess WIndows finally decided ok we'll delete this now lol.

Only other thing i did was repair Samsung Magician Software after uninstalling it, and reinstalling it, as after the 22H2 upgrade, it was getting stuck on Scanning for Drive information, Then disabled Indexing like i normally do, then a bit of PC gaming, and opened Explorer again just now, and no more Windows.Old in the C:\ Drive list

johnlgalt · Sep 23, 2022

bikemanI7 said:
Finally Removed Somehow after i wasn't watching it, Guess WIndows finally decided ok we'll delete this now lol.

Only other thing i did was repair Samsung Magician Software after uninstalling it, and reinstalling it, as after the 22H2 upgrade, it was getting stuck on Scanning for Drive information, Then disabled Indexing like i normally do, then a bit of PC gaming, and opened Explorer again just now, and no more Windows.Old in the C:\ Drive list

I had a feeling that would happen. And thanks for the heads up on Samsung Magician. I haven't run that since installing 22H2, and my 980 Pros are due for some testing.

TM21 · Sep 23, 2022

When I've had problems deleting something that was resisting being deleted in Windows, I just bypass Windows entirely.
I've usually been doing this for a customer, and I'm on the Clock. So, why fight with it?

I boot up the PC in DOS, with my DOS Utilities disk ,or Flash Drive, and run "NTFS4DOS", which lets me access every file on the C: drive, from my DOS Prompt.
Then I can go into C: and access the offending file and delete it. If I use the old DOS Deltree.exe command, I can take out an entire tree structure in one command.
It's Old School, but it still works like a champ.

Cheers Mates!
TM

PS: Windows has a back door, and it's called DOS! What you can't do via the front door, (Windows) can usually be done via the back door (DOS).

hsehestedt · Sep 23, 2022

I just did it on a system about an hour ago

.

The method I use is this:

1) Open an elevated command prompt.
2) Run cleanmgr c: /sageset:65535
3) Check all available boxes (you don't need to select them all, but that is what I do).
4) Run cleanmgr /sagerun:65535

WAI · Sep 23, 2022

Just create a Linux setup "USB stick" (Linux MINT) and just delete the folder

wabbit · Sep 23, 2022

WAI said:
Just create a Linux setup "USB stick" (Linux MINT) and just delete the folder

The last time I did that was on an old Windows 8 system after updating it to Windows 8.1. Luckily, I never had a problem deleting the windows.old file during Win 10 or Win 11 updates.

ShamrockRig · Sep 23, 2022

WAI said:
Just create a Linux setup "USB stick" (Linux MINT) and just delete the folder

How would that help him delete windows.old?
May as well have said, Just get in a plane..know where you wanna go..and fly there.

It couldn't be more simple. Either wait the 10 days and it will do it itself...or download REVO or TreeSize( Or something similar) and remove it there. It isn't a rocket science question.

bikemanI7 · Sep 23, 2022

Yeah and WIndows seemed to solve it itself after i did some other tasks, checked C:\ directory list again and it was gone.

All should be good now

Solved Unable to Delete Windows.Old Folder Windows 11 22H2

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