Who uses Windows.old any more to revert to prev release

Hi folks
Who these days bothers if they need to revert back to a previous version of Windows use Windows.old or do they just restore from a backup image. While the file these days is now quite small e,g around 8GB it's still a fair % of the total disk space if you allocate 50 GB for your Windows (I always keep OS and data separate). Surely Windows should use the "Execute on ist boot" after a new installation is successful to delete the file instead of users having to bother with doing it. I can understand Windows creating temporary storage files during update in case the process fails and nobody wants to be left with an inoperable system if it can be reasonablly avoided.

Perhaps also before an upgrade starts the process should start with a User warning - take backup before proceeding -- Yes or no.

It's a fairly trivial issue I know -- but I'm not doing anything today -- Planet wide Good Friday is usually an awful day for travelling at least in my experience - and over the years I've done a lot of it !!!.

Happy Easter Hols though.

Cheers
jimbo

jimbo45 said:

While the file these days is now quite small e,g around 8GB it's still a fair % of the total disk space if you allocate 50 GB for your Windows (I always keep OS and data separate)

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My userprofile alone is 3 times that, abou 150GB. I need a 256-512GB system drive to keep it anywhere close to usable and performant without being almost filled and becoming slow and prone to disk IO errors.

SlicEnDicE said:

My userprofile alone is 3 times that, abou 150GB. I need a 256-512GB system drive to keep it anywhere close to usable and performant without being almost filled and becoming slow and prone to disk IO errors.

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Again - depends on what you use Windows for, what you've got on it etc etc. I tend only to use Windows for Ms Office (EXCEL and Ms Project simply can't be beaten in spite of "Clones" being available -- they are getting better but "The real thing" particularly for those 2 programs is still streets ahead of the competition), Photoshop, some Work client related access to their DB servers (SAP for example) and odd internet things so running in general as a smallish VM suits me fine. On a decent laptop I run Arch Linux with 2 or 3 Windows VM's -- If I need a "Physical Windows" system I plug in one I've made physical VHDX files on an external SSD. That works fine for me too.

There's really no "Bog standard" Windows system - which is why I think on the whole Ms does a reasonable job of making it all work relatively painlessly for millions. I do wish though for its QC and testing methods to be better -- especially as the latest chaos between dev / beta etc shows they have if not got themselves into a muddle have certainly got a lot of us into one.

Cheers
jimbo

Not me, in fact I delete the windows.old folder as soon as I’ve upgraded. I have a Macrium image of Windows anyway which is more reliable I’m sure.

jimbo45 said:

Hi folks
Who these days bothers if they need to revert back to a previous version of Windows use Windows.old or do they just restore from a backup image. While the file these days is now quite small e,g around 8GB it's still a fair % of the total disk space if you allocate 50 GB for your Windows (I always keep OS and data separate). Surely Windows should use the "Execute on ist boot" after a new installation is successful to delete the file instead of users having to bother with doing it. I can understand Windows creating temporary storage files during update in case the process fails and nobody wants to be left with an inoperable system if it can be reasonablly avoided.

Perhaps also before an upgrade starts the process should start with a User warning - take backup before proceeding -- Yes or no.

It's a fairly trivial issue I know -- but I'm not doing anything today -- Planet wide Good Friday is usually an awful day for travelling at least in my experience - and over the years I've done a lot of it !!!.

Happy Easter Hols though.

Cheers
jimbo

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@Jimbo,

I think you are forgetting the people who are regulars here are quite informed, and use tools like image backups. Out there, in Jo(e) Public land, I think vast majority have never heard of image backups (or indeed normal data backups).

Users do not have to manually delete windows.old. You get 10 days grace period, and then it is automatically deleted.

Method is not perfect, but works.

I am sort of in favour of MS asking you to backup but that would get tiresome for experienced users. The Windows.old does backup key user data on C drive, so in effect they are doing it automatically.

Bastet said:

Not me, in fact I delete the windows.old folder as soon as I’ve upgraded. I have a Macrium image of Windows anyway which is more reliable I’m sure.

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Same as you, its toast soon as possible

jimbo45 said:

While the file these days is now quite small e,g around 8GB it's still a fair % of the total disk space if you allocate 50 GB for your Windows (I always keep OS and data separate).

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Yours maybe... Mines about 20GB

Windows.old goes when I run Disk Cleanup after each new build install. I'd rather rely on Macrium.

larc919 said:

Windows.old goes when I run Disk Cleanup after each new build install. I'd rather rely on Macrium.

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I do exactly the same, but that is us preaching to the converted - the public at large will not be so enlightened.

On this basis, I do not see a strong motivation for MS to change the basic philosophy of windows.old.

dbartenstein said:

Yours maybe... Mines about 20GB

View attachment 26919

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My Windows.old is 17.9 GB. If I don't forget I usually delete it just before making a new image. The only time I use it is on the rare occasions that Windows does a rollback.

I just make a recovery image of the current system drive, if anything goes wrong with an upgrade I use the backup image

Winuser said:

My Windows.old is 17.9 GB. If I don't forget I usually delete it just before making a new image. The only time I use it is on the rare occasions that Windows does a rollback.

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File Explorer and System > Storage > Cleanup recommendations are showing different file sizes. File Explorer shows it being 17.9 GB and Cleanup recommendations shows it as only being 10.5 GB.

My Windows.old is 47GB

Keep in mind that some of that data is a bunch of junctions. For those parts the actual data is the same as is already in use on your system. Actual Windows.old usage may be as low as 10GB even though file explorer tells otherwise.

I did once, and it worked very well, I always change the number of rollback days with DISM and always have a Macrium image as well

Bastet said:

Not me, in fact I delete the windows.old folder as soon as I’ve upgraded. I have a Macrium image of Windows anyway which is more reliable I’m sure.

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Ditto. Have never used it, only backups.

As soon as I know all is well I delete it

The-Hive said:

As soon as I know all is well I delete it

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Same...

I'm in the "bye-bye Windows.old" camp: I always precede any upgrade with a Macrium image backup, so I can use the Rescue Media + latest image to put things back if anything goes wrong. I also make a "clean image" right after a successful upgrade to give myself a new starting point for future recovery activities should something get weird, or should I should myself (or rather, my system) in the foot. Happens sometimes, so I've learned to be prepared. HTH,
=Ed=

I do an AOMEI system image before a version upgrade. The Windows.old folder gets removed very soon after the upgrade is done.