If you are using a modestly sized SSD, you'll appreciate gaining the extra space back. Select all the files you want to remove, including the Windows installation files. This time around, "Temporary Windows installation files" will be there, accounting from as little as 9GB to as much as 25GB, or more. The result of the scan will display different types of data, from Recycle Bin files to temporary internet cache. Select your main drive again and the scan process will be repeated. Select the option "Clean up system files" near the bottom of the window. However the Windows.old directory won't be accounted for.
The tool will scan your drive for unnecessary files and old cached data. Open Disk Cleanup and select your main system drive. You could bypass these after meddling with permissions settings, but there's no need to do that. If you try to delete the Windows.old directory using File Explorer, the OS will prevent you from doing so as they are considered system files. Go to Settings, then choose System.Īlternative Way of Removal (works in previous Windows versions)
Here's how you do it: For Windows 10 Fall Creators Update and later
It also allows manual runs for deleting temporary files and removing the Windows.old folder with a few clicks. A new option in Settings called "Storage sense" is meant to help you reduce clutter and save storage space. In fact, as part of the Fall Creators Update, Microsoft has kept adding more options to the Windows Settings which is slowly becoming a de-facto, more user friendly version of the full Control Panel. If you think you may want to revert back changes, deleting this folder will take away that option from your hands as well.īut if you are strapped for storage space, you can use Windows' own tools to remove it.
If you have plenty of free space and don't mind the untidiness, you can simply ignore the folder and it should be deleted automatically 30 days after the update. This is not new to Windows 10, but it is somewhat surprising to see a full backup performed after a mere update which in Microsoft's eyes may be more akin to Service Packs of yesteryear.
To keep on the safe side, Microsoft's install setup saves a full copy of your current Windows installation (that's the Windows.old directory right there), and while this will come handy in case something goes wrong or you need to revert back, it will also occupy several gigabytes of precious storage. Now, something that may not be as obvious is that the big update is treated almost like a Windows upgrade. That's just old Microsoft keeping to old ways, but that's easily fixed.
Windows 10 is a solid operating system that has kept receiving a good slew of fixes and feature enhancements free of charge since its release, on a potentially free OS upgrade if you come from a Windows 7 or 8 PC.Īfter the update you may notice some icons and shortcuts you had probably deleted, like the Windows Store or the Edge browser icon on the taskbar, have been added back. Remove Windows 10, 8 and 8.The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update brings a number of new features to Microsoft's operating system - some more significant than others.
TIP: Hard to fix Windows Problems? Repair/Restore Missing Windows OS Files Damaged by Malware with a few clicks