Thread: Trouble deleting "windows old" directory.

In the Control Panel, Administrative Tools, there is a Disk Cleanup utility.

Start that and select the proper drive. Then go to the bottom and select "Cleanup System Files". It will ask you to reconfirm the drive and look for those files. When it comes back, go through the check boxes and look near the bottom for Install type files. I do not have a Windows.old folder, so I cannot tell you the exact terminology.

If you want to check what files are included, select that entry, then the view files button. The Windows.old folder should be there, possibly with others also. Just make sure and uncheck any boxes that contain files you do not want removed.

Originally Posted by Saltgrass

In the Control Panel, Administrative Tools, there is a Disk Cleanup utility.

Start that and select the proper drive. Then go to the bottom and select "Cleanup System Files". It will ask you to reconfirm the drive and look for those files. When it comes back, go through the check boxes and look near the bottom for Install type files. I do not have a Windows.old folder, so I cannot tell you the exact terminology.

If you want to check what files are included, select that entry, then the view files button. The Windows.old folder should be there, possibly with others also. Just make sure and uncheck any boxes that contain files you do not want removed.

Scanning initially can take a long time... If you run disk cleanup as an administrator from the start, it will automatically scan system files (including the old installations). That's just a small time saver.

Make sure you've copied over any files you need from your personal directory in the old folder!

Thanks, another KISS moment. Found this link Windows 8: How to Safely Delete $WINDOWS.~BT and Windows.old Folders | Microsoft Project Server, SharePoint, Security and other cool things... during my search.