- Apr 25, 2013
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Before we start: You must be very careful when you actually delete the Windows.old folder from your computer as it may contain some sensitive information that you may want to use in the future.
The Windows.old folder is automatically created when you custom install an newer operating system such as Windows 7 or Windows 8/Windows 8.1 without removing the existing OS from the system drive. Since the Windows.old folder contains the copy of the previously installed operating system, you might want to keep this folder for a while even after you have installed the latest version of the OS on your computer. Once you have installed the new operating system and have used it for a while, you can safely remove the Windows.old folder from the computer in order to reclaim the hard disk drive space.
To be on the safe side, you should use the Disk Cleanup tool that comes with Windows 8/8.1 while removing the Windows.old folder. The Disk Cleanup tool takes a smart approach by excluding the important files from the deletion process; the important and system specific files remain on the computer, and all other unnecessary files and folders are removed.
If you want to remove Windows.old folder from your Windows 8/8.1 computer, you must follow the steps given below:
10. On the Disk Cleanup: Drive Selection box that appears next, confirm that the system drive (C: ) is selected and click OK to continue.
11. On the box that appears next, check the checkboxes representing the desired locations/containers that might contain unwanted files. If required, check all the checkboxes from the displayed list.
12. Once done, click OK to start the disk cleanup process.
13. On the displayed confirmation box, click Delete Files to remove the unwanted files from the system.
Note: Make sure that you really want to remove the files from your system as the disk cleanup process cannot be undone.
The Windows.old folder is automatically created when you custom install an newer operating system such as Windows 7 or Windows 8/Windows 8.1 without removing the existing OS from the system drive. Since the Windows.old folder contains the copy of the previously installed operating system, you might want to keep this folder for a while even after you have installed the latest version of the OS on your computer. Once you have installed the new operating system and have used it for a while, you can safely remove the Windows.old folder from the computer in order to reclaim the hard disk drive space.
To be on the safe side, you should use the Disk Cleanup tool that comes with Windows 8/8.1 while removing the Windows.old folder. The Disk Cleanup tool takes a smart approach by excluding the important files from the deletion process; the important and system specific files remain on the computer, and all other unnecessary files and folders are removed.
If you want to remove Windows.old folder from your Windows 8/8.1 computer, you must follow the steps given below:
- ■Log on to the Windows 8/8.1 computer with the administrator account.
■From the Start screen, lick the Desktop tile.
■Once you are on the desktop screen, hover mouse to the bottom right corner of the window.
■From the Charms bar that appears, click Search.
■From the Search pane that appears in the right, in the available field, type Disk Cleanup.
■From the available options in the generated list, click Free up disk space by deleting unnecessary files.
■On the opened Disk Cleanup: Drive Selection box, make sure that the system drive (which in most cases is C
is selected from the drop-down list.
■Click OK to continue.
■On the opened box, click the Cleanup system files button from the bottom.
10. On the Disk Cleanup: Drive Selection box that appears next, confirm that the system drive (C: ) is selected and click OK to continue.
11. On the box that appears next, check the checkboxes representing the desired locations/containers that might contain unwanted files. If required, check all the checkboxes from the displayed list.
12. Once done, click OK to start the disk cleanup process.
13. On the displayed confirmation box, click Delete Files to remove the unwanted files from the system.
Note: Make sure that you really want to remove the files from your system as the disk cleanup process cannot be undone.
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