How to delete the Windows.old directory


Upgrading Windows may lead to a “Windows.old” directory. This is a safety measure, in case you need to downgrade to your old version.

If after a while you realize that everything works and you are satisfied with the upgrade of Windows, you may like to delete this Windows.old directory to save space — but Windows won’t let you!

Trying to delete the folder as administrator, or by opening an administrator command prompt, is useless. The only way to do it, is to boot from the Windows Repair disk and open a command prompt from the temporary Windows system this disk creates.

To make a Repair disk, go to Control Panel > Windows 7 File Recovery, or use Macrium’s Rescue Disk.