1 How to Delete Windows.old and $Windows.~BT Folders in Disk Cleanup2 How to Remove Windows.old and $Windows.~BT Folders via Storage Settings3 Removing Old Windows Versions via Elevated Command Prompt4 How to Delete Windows.old Folder via a Command Prompt at Boot5 How to Cleanup the WinSxS Folder and Enable CompactOS

Can I delete Windows.old? Short answer, yes. But you may have gathered that by the fact that this tutorial exists. Removing the Windows.old folder, however, isn’t always as simple as clicking on it and pressing the delete key. This is why there’s often confusion. The more pertinent question, then, is if Windows.old is safe to delete. The answer to this question really depends on your situation, so it helps to understand what Windows.old is.  Windows.old is typically stored on your C:\ drive, and like the name suggests, stores an old version of Windows. More specifically, your old version of Windows, before you refreshed, upgraded, or performed a custom install of Windows on the same partition as your previous installation. If you chose to “keep” nothing during your refresh or upgrade, the folder will contain your personal files from the previous installation. As a result, you should only delete it if you’re sure there’s nothing there you need. When you remove Windows.old, you also remove your ability to roll back to your previous version of Windows, so keep that in mind. After ten days, Microsoft will automatically delete Windows.old from your drive. If you’re patient, then, you don’t need to take any action to remove it. If you need the storage space now, you can follow the steps below. Just make sure you copy across anything you need first:

How to Delete Windows.old and $Windows.~BT Folders in Disk Cleanup

How to Remove Windows.old and $Windows.~BT Folders via Storage Settings

Removing Old Windows Versions via Elevated Command Prompt

How to Delete Windows.old Folder via a Command Prompt at Boot

How to Cleanup the WinSxS Folder and Enable CompactOS

If you’re still struggling for space, you can follow our guide on how to cleanup the WinSxS folder to free up a little more. If you’re still struggling after that, you may have to take more drastic measures like enabling CompactOS, which may affect performance.

 

Once complete, you’ll be able to type commands again from the C:\ drive.

If you’d like to delete the Windows BT folder, repeat the command above but with the file path to BT instead: You can close the Command Prompt window when you’re done.

Note down this drive letter.

RD /S /Q “C:\Windows.old” Close your Command Prompt Window and click “Continue” to boot into your OS.

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