How to delete Windows.old in Windows 8

Question

It seems to be a common thing that a Windows Update creates a Windows.old folder under C:\Windows.old My question is now, can it be deleted with Windows 8 and how can I do that?

If I try to manually delete it in Windows Explorer it does not let me, a permissions issue.

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No @Moab, you can't simply use Explorer's Delete command to delete the directory because the ownership and file security rights block deletion without taking ownership and changing permissions on all the files. It is doable, but not intuitive for the average Windows user. — Mufasa, Oct 29 '12 at 17:07

FiveO · Accepted Answer · 2012-10-29T15:58:15.253

18

The Windows.old folder is a backup of the previous installed windows. It can be removed after some weeks when you think that all configurations are migrated correctly to Windows 8. See Microsoft statement

The folder can be removed with the Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe) program, that can be found by typing "Disk Cleanup" in the Modern UI.

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Choose Clean up System Files. Then check the Previous Windows installation(s), click OK and confirm with "Delete Files". Then the folder should be removed.

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edited Oct 29 '12 at 15:58

answered Oct 29 '12 at 15:42

FiveO

8,268

actually does that file has any uses? I mean how do I, for example, restore to the old file? – user4951 Dec 08 '12 at 15:56

How to delete Windows.old in Windows 8

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