Can I delete Windows.old?

Having upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10, I find that there is a folder on my C: drive called Windows.old, taking up 24.5GB of space. Is it safe to delete it? If so, can I just do this in File Explorer?

If you’ re happy with the way your Windows 10 setup is working then yes, it’s fine to delete this folder. You could do it in File Explorer but the safe way to remove it – and other unnecessary Windows system files – is by using a built-in Windows tool called Disk Cleanup.

Press Win+R, type cleanmgr and press Enter. Select the relevant drive (C: in your case), then click OK. Now wait for Disk Cleanup to scan your drive. This could take a few minutes. When the summary screen appears, click the ‘Clean up system files’ button, then wait for a second scan to complete. Scroll through the ‘Files to delete’ list to find and tick the ‘Previous Windows installation(s)’ box. Also, check all the other ticked boxes to ensure you are happy with the other items that are about to be deleted (and if not, clear the ticks). Now click OK followed by Delete Files to confirm.



Source from Computer Active Magazine

Tweet