Steps To Safely Delete Windows.old Folders In Win-7

One of the readers has asked on how to delete Windows.old folder present in the system drive. The Windows.old folder is generated after performing custom Windows 7 installation (without formatting the existing installation). In other words, if you install Windows 7 on a Windows Vista or XP drive, Windows.old will be created.

 

The Windows.old folder contains folders and files that were used in the earlier version of Microsoft Windows that was installed. This Windows.old folder is very useful when you want retrieve some files like documents and pictures from your old Windows installation. Additionally, this folder comes in handy if you like to revert to the earlier version of Windows from your current version of Windows.

If you have no important files in Windows.old folder, you can delete it to retrieve the disk space. Here is how you can delete the Windows.old folder safely:

1. Right-click on your system drive (Windows 7 drive) and select Properties. In the properties box, click Disk cleanup button.

2. If you can’t see Previous Windows Installations click Cleanup system files button to see Previous Windows Installations file in the list.

4. Check the box and click OK to start cleaning the Windows.old folder.

5. Done!