Windows old removal utility. Live CD and assign deletion rights

Useful tips

The Windows.old folder is considered a system folder because it stores files from the previous version of the OS. These include:

Program Files directory;
user profiles;
various system files and other important information.

The reasons for the appearance of this folder are very simple. It is created automatically in several cases:

during update;
during installation of any version, if the disk on which installation is taking place has not been formatted operating system.

If you have the Windows.old.001 folder, then most likely there were several installations in a row, and each time without cleaning the disk.

Be careful. During installation, always press first and only then – "Further".

There can be only one exception - if your system does not boot and you had to start a reinstallation. In order for old files on disk WITH not deleted, it is recommended to install the OS without cleaning. Below we will tell you how to delete the Windows.old folder in Windows 10.

This directory can always be found in the root system disk. It is worth noting that it does not always have a letter assigned to it C.

Please note that the size of this folder is usually quite large. It depends on the number of installed programs in the old OS.

If you need to copy some data, for example, from an old desktop, then just go to the directory Windows.Old. There's a catalog inside. This is where your desktop will be stored. All this can be done through a regular explorer.

You can do the same with any documents or programs. All paths will be similar. Only everything will be put in a directory Windows.old.

What will the system do?

On "Ten" there is special utility, which monitors free space on hard drives. It perfectly detects the presence of old versions. If the partition on which the new operating system was installed is not very big size, the following message will appear shortly after you start working.

If you accidentally forgot to format the disk or have already copied everything necessary files, then you can safely press the button "Delete". Otherwise, your time is limited. After installation, after a certain period of time, the system itself will clear this data without your knowledge.

Is it possible to restore the system from the Windows.old folder

This directory, as was said at the very beginning, may appear in the event of a system update. You can delete the old version at any time. No need to hurry. First, check the functionality of the new system.

If suddenly you notice any glitches or you don’t like something else, you can always restore.

Let's look at this process step by step.

Left click on the menu "Start".

Next, click on the settings button.

After this, the following window will open. Here you need to click on the item

Click

If you had the same system before, the following window will be displayed. To start recovery, you need to click on the button

If you updated from Windows 8.1, then you will have slightly different recovery options.

Please note that returning to the old operating system is only possible within a month, since “Ten” will then erase all references to the old files.

How to delete?

The simplest method, which, unfortunately, most users use, is to delete a folder using the Shift + Delete keys. This method not very good, because in this case there may be some temporary installation files that are located in another location.

Additionally, errors may occur:

"ABOUTaccess denied" or something similar;
some folders may not be deleted;
the path to the files may be too long.

Disk Cleanup utility

You don’t need to immediately think: “I can’t delete it. Save. Help!". You can do everything yourself. To do this, Microsoft developers have come up with a special program that will help remove all unnecessary files. Including old Tens updates.

Let's look at this procedure step by step.

Right-click on the system disk.

In the menu that opens, select the item.

Next, click on the button

The utility will show that only 8.85 MB can be freed. Click on the button

After this, the program will begin to analyze what information can be deleted and what cannot.

Once the scanning is completed, the following window will open. Default item "Previous installationsWindows" will not be active, and its size is very large.

You must check the box next to this line. Thanks to this, the amount of information deleted will immediately increase. Next click on the button OK.

The utility will ask you again just in case. Click on the button

Now all that remains is to wait until the removal process is completed. The time depends on the amount of information being deleted.

You can periodically monitor the size hard drive. Once cleaning is complete, the dialog box will disappear by itself. The result of the removal is shown below.

How to delete the Windows.old folder using the command line

Force delete previous version system via the console. To do this, follow these steps.

Open your console. For example, using the keyboard shortcut Win + X. Next, select the highlighted item.

Enter the following command.

rd /s /q c:\windows.old

To activate it, press the Enter key.
Using this command you can remove all system files and some hidden folders, which contains information about the update.

rd /s /q c:\$Windows.~WS rd /s /q c:\$Windows.~BT

After this, all information in these directories will be deleted forever.

Conclusion

After reading this article, you should have understood what this folder is and how to delete it. If it doesn't delete, then most likely you are doing something wrong. Try repeating the above methods more carefully. Perhaps something was overlooked as every detail is very important.

It is important to understand that one unchecked box in the settings can give a completely different result. And remember: before deleting, always think several times whether you really don’t need these files, since they cannot be restored later!

Video instruction

If you do not fully understand where the directory with old data came from, or you are unable to delete it completely, then it is recommended that you additionally watch a video in which everything is shown and explained step by step.

When updating or reinstalling the OS without formatting on the same partition, you will see in Explorer windows.old – what is this folder? This directory is created automatically and the files from the previous OS are placed there. Of course you will want to release disk space to do this you need delete windows folder.old on windows 7, 8.

If you already have such a directory, then in addition to it a folder windows.old.000 will be created (there may be several of them). Windows.old takes up several GB and has the following subdirectories:

Windows – files from the previous OS.
Documents and Settings – catalog of documents and settings.
Program Files – directory with installed programs and software.

Note: Before deleting, copy the important ones for you. personal files from the folders listed above. You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to complete the steps below.

After updating the Windows OS, by default a task is created that will delete the Windows.old folder after four weeks. If you do not want to wait, then delete it manually, before the set time.

Delete the Windows.old folder using Disk Cleanup

First you need to open Disk Cleanup, do it like this:

1. Open File Explorer and click right click on the system disk. Select "properties" from the menu.

2. On the “general” tab, click on “disk cleanup”. This button located below the graph of the ratio of free and used space on the local disk.

3. Wait until the end of the analysis of the amount of freed space. At the bottom of the window, click the “clean system files” button.

Up open window You will see the approximate amount of data being deleted. In the list, find and check the box next to “previous Windows installations", click OK.

4. Click the “delete files” confirmation button and wait until the process finishes.

Uninstall using the command line

Alternatively, you can also use the Command Prompt to delete the Windows.old folder and all its attached files. To do this, enter the commands:

1. First of all, you will need to take ownership of this folder, to do this, in the command line, enter:

takeown /F C:\Windows.old\* /R /A

Press Enter.

2. Copy the following structure into cmd and click enter:

cacls C:\Windows.old\*.* /T /grant administrators:F

Note: If you see a message that the match was not made, proceed to step 3.

3. The final step is , to do this type:

rmdir /S /Q C:\Windows.old\

Press Enter to delete the directory. Close the command prompt.

Now you know, how to delete the windows.old folder on windows 7, 8. I recommend using the first option, since it is more familiar to ordinary users. The longer the previous OS was installed, the larger the size it will be; removing it will save you a lot of GB.

Without formatting the system disk to Windows reinstallation, you will receive a burden in the form of files from the previous operating system (OS), stored in the Windows.old directory and occupying tens of gigabytes. In addition, there will be system folders old profile and no longer working option in the OS boot menu. It is necessary to get rid of this garbage normal operation computer. In this article, we will explain step by step how to remove traces of old Windows.

This folder is located on the C drive and stores personal data of the old Windows user, such as documents. You can open the directory, view the contents, and copy the files you need. In the usual way You can't erase Windows.old. To do this you need to perform the following sequence of actions:

Removing old system folders

When you open the Users folder on drive C, you will see the system folders left over from the old Windows. They cannot be removed either from the explorer or special programs. To do this you will need to obtain owner rights:

Having received the necessary rights as the owner of the folder, you can safely send it to the Trash.

Editing the download menu

From the Run command line

Using this method you can remove unnecessary options from the bootloader menu forever.

From system settings

This option will hide unnecessary downloads when the computer starts.

Features of Windows XP

For the download manager Windows versions The boot.ini file is responsible here. It is hidden in root disk C and it can be edited in a regular notepad. It is better not to do this: an error when editing will lead to system failure. More safe way– use the settings described above (remove the list of OS downloads). You decide. We will only give advice on how to edit boot.ini.

After upgrading to Windows 10, users discover a huge directory on the system drive. It is called Windows.old and can take up about 8-16 or even more gigabytes, and when you try to delete it, it displays a warning that the operation cannot be completed.

Here the question arises, how is the Windows old folder deleted in Windows 10, what is stored in it and what information is needed. In these instructions, you will familiarize yourself with the contents of the mentioned directory and learn how to get rid of Windows.old.

If you still understand, then Windows.old stores the previous edition of the operating system, the one that was used on the computer before installing the update. All files are also placed in it working Windows, if Windows 10 is installed on the disk on which the running OS is located, but without formatting the current system volume.

In addition to system files and applications, the directory also contains user ones, located in a folder with its name (including in the My Documents and Desktop directories). If after upgrading your PC you couldn’t find any documents, look for them through the search.

Removing Windows.old using the operating system

When the top ten are quite satisfied and you are sure that you will not roll back to the previous version of the Microsoft OS, then it makes sense to get rid of the Windows.old directory or at least its contents.

Separately, it is worth noting the cases of the appearance of a catalog with old version“tens” after installing updates on it. In such situations, there is no need to rush to delete a folder, because it does not store all the dozens of files, but only those changed during the update. The best option will wait a few weeks to make sure the operating system is working.

To delete a directory from backup copy For the previous ten, we follow the steps shown in the following instructions.

1. Launch the system disk cleaning tool.

This is done through the appropriate request (Disk Cleanup) in search bar or running the command “cleanmgr” through search or text string command interpreter (called Win+R).

2. We are waiting for the process of analyzing the contents of the partition to complete in order to search for files that can be deleted.

3. Click on the “Clean up system files” icon.

To do this, you must have administrator privileges or work under an account with the appropriate privileges.

4. Check the box next to “Previous Windows installations”.

5. Click “OK” to delete the Windows.old directory.

6. We are waiting for the completion of the tasks assigned to the program.

As a result of such simple operations, Window.old will be erased from the system disk, and if the directory remains, it will be empty.

Getting rid of Windows.old using the command line

If the previous option did not work or the directory was not completely cleared, you will have to resort to using system tool called command line.

1. Call the program with administrator rights.

To do this, right-click on the C: drive in the My Computer directory and select “Open a command window as Administrator.” The second way is to use context menu Start.

2. Enter the command “RD /S /Q C:\windows.old” and press “Enter” to execute it.

R.D.- system command for removing specified folder with all the directories and files included in it;

S - a key indicating that it is necessary to get rid of all subdirectories;

Q - attribute allows you to deactivate the request for confirmation of command execution.

How to clean Windows.old through Task Scheduler

1. Call the Task Scheduler.

The easiest way to launch it is through the search bar.

2. In the scheduler library, expand the “Microsoft” branch.

3. Open the “Windows” folder.

4. In the “Setup” directory, find the “SetupCleanupTask” task and double-click on it.

It is responsible for deleting the folder after 30 days from the date of update, but in the “Options” tab you can change the task completion date to a closer one to speed up the process.

The method does not always work, but it’s worth familiarizing yourself with it for greater variety.

The most reliable way

1. While holding “Shift”, click “Reboot”.

2. In the action selection window, click “Diagnostics”.

After restarting the PC, the command prompt will appear.

4. In it, execute “diskpart”, then “list volume” to determine the label of the system partition.

5. Exit the program by executing “exit”.

6. Enter RD /S /Q “C:\windows.old” and press “Enter”, where C: is the disk label.

7. Close the window and click “Continue”.

These instructions are sufficient for any user.

Hello, dear friends, in today’s article we will talk about getting rid of old and unnecessary files, which remain after reinstalling Windows. More specifically, we will talk about how to delete the Windows.old folder in Windows 7 (for example) from your computer or laptop.

For those who don’t know, I’ll briefly describe what kind of animal this is. The fact is that if, when installing Windows 7, no matter what other version, you did not format the disk where you installed the system, then absolutely all old files are saved in special folder called Windows.old. Naturally, it is necessary to get rid of it, because free place on the hard drive should be valued, and not littered with all sorts of rubbish. Of course, many will say: “Business!” Now I’ll go, find it, right-click, select “Delete”, confirm my actions and everything is fine!” Nothing like this!

This, of course, can work, by the way, if you succeed, then you don’t even have to read further, but this rarely happens. Typically, there is an issue with access rights to perform this action. That’s why I decided to tell you how the Windows.old folder is deleted.

Now we will look at several ways to delete the Windows.old folder.

Removing via Disk Cleanup

Go to “Start” - “All Programs” - “Accessories” - “System Tools” - “Disk Cleanup”. You can also get here a little faster, namely: press the hot keys “Win” + “R” and enter Cleanmgr, then press Enter.

A dialog message will appear in front of you in which you must select local disk, on which you need to perform disk cleanup. For our procedure, you need to specify the drive on which the Windows.old folder is currently located. Then you need to wait a little while the data is analyzed.

In the next window, in the “Disk Cleanup” tab, click “Clean up system files.” If you are asked again which drive Windows is located on, then click OK again. Check the box “Previous Windows installations” and select Extra options, if you need to clean something from your computer. Click “OK” and select “Delete files.”

Live CD and assign deletion rights

So standard using Windows we just deleted the Windows.old folder. In principle, this article can be completed here, but there is another option for how to remove Windows.old - Live CD. If you are solving some issues through a Live CD, you can perform the removal procedure directly from under it. You don’t need to go into any settings; you delete it like regular files.

There is also another way to delete it - assign rights to the Windows.old folder and all the data that is in it. To do this, right-click on the folder and select “Properties”. Next, go to the “Security” tab, click on the “Advanced” button and go to the “Owner” tab, click “Change”. Next, select the desired account, below check the box “Replace owner of containers and objects”, then click “Apply”. To specify permissions, click on the “Permissions” tab, click on the “Change” button. Next, indicate the owner, who was made as the owner of this folder, I talked about this a little higher. Click "Edit" and set permissions for it. After this, click “OK”.

add permissions inherited from parent objects;
Replace all inheritable permissions for all descendants with new inheritable permissions from this object.

A couple of clicks left 😉. Click OK, a dialog message will appear, click “Yes”. I didn't do it the latter ways screenshots as I hope the first method will help you in this situation.

And that’s all for today, I hope that you have successfully removed Windows.old and now you can download something really useful to your computer. See you soon!