Very often, after installing a new operating system, the Windows.old folder appears on the hard drive, which cannot be deleted in the usual way, since the administrator of the previous OS has the rights to uninstall.
Often this folder takes up a lot of space, in some cases tens of gigabytes, because it contains information from the previous OS. Of course, if you have a modern hard drive with a memory capacity of 1 TB, then you may not notice a lack of free space. However, if every GB is dear to you, then you will most likely try to get rid of the Windows.old folder.
Why does she appear on the computer? This happens due to the fact that when you install the OS, you do not format the hard drive. As a result, a new version of Windows is installed on the previous one.
You can delete the Windows.old folder in several ways, which you will learn about by reading this article.
Uninstall using Disk Cleanup
Right-click on Windows.old and select "Uninstall." A window will appear with a notification that this is not possible. You can get rid of the folder where the previous Windows installations are located using the "Disk Cleanup" function.
Open "Start", and then click "All Programs." Now go to the "Standard" section, and then to the "Service" section, where you will find the "Disk Cleanup" item.
You can open it much faster by pressing Win + R and typing the cleanmgr command. Then select the system hard drive and click OK.
Now you need to wait until the system analyzes how much space you can free up, but you are interested in how to remove Windows.old from your computer, so set the checkbox opposite the “Previous Installations” item.
Confirm your choice by clicking Enter. Depending on the size of this folder, cleaning will take some time.
Uninstall via the command line
There are situations when Windows.old is not deleted by the Disk Cleanup utility, or some folders remain that cannot be disposed of. In such cases, it is better to use the command line. You can call it by simultaneously pressing Win and R. Then you need to enter cmd.
Note: all actions must be performed under the administrator account.
If you have Windows 7 installed, enter the command: takeown / F C: Windows.old * / R / A. Wait for it to be processed and enter the following: cacls C: Windows.old *. * / T / grant administrators: F. The final stage is the command: rmdir / S / Q C: Windows.old.
In the G8, you will need to enter only one command: Rd / s / q C: Windows.old. As you can see, in the second case the whole process will take a little less time.
Now you know whether it is possible to remove Windows.old and how to do it using the command line.
Manually delete a folder
If it was not possible to uninstall this folder using the methods described above, then try manual removal. In order to do this operation, you will need administrator rights.
Right-click on the folder and enter the "Properties" section. Here you need the Security tab and the Advanced button. Now open the "Owner" subsection and click "Change." Select the "account" under which you are logged in, and set the checkbox next to the option that allows you to replace the owner.
You are interested in the “Permissions” section, where you need to specify the option “Full access”.
After all the manipulations done Windows.old can be deleted using the Delete button. Of course, this method will take you a little more time, but as a rule, it really helps to solve the problem.
Uninstalling using the installation disk
Is it possible to remove Windows.old in some other way if none of the above methods help? You can use the installation disk. Insert it into the DVD-ROM and click restart OS.
To invoke the command line, simultaneously hold Shift and F10. If you do not know on which drive your system is installed, then write the diskrapt command. Now you need to enter one more: list volume.
Select the hard drive on which the OS is installed (as a rule, it is large), and write Exit.
Your further actions depend on which operating system you have installed. You will need to register the last command (for the "seven" and "Windows 8" you already know). The final step is to restart Windows.
Of course, there is one problem here - the user does not always have the installation disk, so you can use other methods. In most cases, they help get rid of the Windows.old folder.
Conclusion
Now, after reading this article, you can delete the Windows.old folder in any way convenient for you. After that, you will notice that a few gigabytes of free space have appeared on the hard drive, which you can use to install important applications or interesting games.
If you are a novice user, then most likely you are better off using the Disk Cleanup utility, since you do not need to register various commands or log in as an administrator. In other cases, you can uninstall Windows.old through the command line.