Cleaning up from April 2016 upgrade - Part 1

[BobArch2]

I am in maintenance mode and cleaning out unwanted files and folders on various drives.

After upgrading to Win10 last April, I waited a few weeks and ran Disk Cleanup to get rid of the System Install files. All went OK with the exception of the Windows.old folder. The cleanup deleted all the detail files but left the folders intact.

WindowsOld.gif

If I try to manually delete the Windows.old folder I get this error message:

NotFound.gif

Anyone have any idea how to delete the folder? I did try to delete each folder separately but got the same error message.

By way of interest, it is not taking up any significant disk space. There are no files, just the folder information, and it is bugging me that I cannot delete them.

[HansV]

You might try deleting it from a command prompt window.

[Rudi]

Have you tried a reboot? That might clear things up?

[BobArch2]

You might try deleting it from a command prompt window.

Just tried running command prompt (as admin) and it looked to work OK. Alas, the folder is still there. Will try a restart later in case Explorer needs refreshing.

DelWinOld.gif

[BobArch2]

Have you tried a reboot? That might clear things up?

Prior to running the command prompt as suggested by Hans, the answer is yes. Will try again later.

I even ran RegEdit to see if it could pinpoint where windows.old might be. No luck.

[BobArch2]

Performed a restart, no luck. Booted into Safe Mode and tried the command prompt to delete again. No luck. Will just have to live with it unless someone has other suggestions. At least I got rid of 3.6GB of ESD occupied space!

[StuartR]

You could try
rmdir /s

instead of
del

[Rudi]

Two more options:

See this thread, specifically #4, could be worth a try. The last points (about DelinvFile Tool??) there is a Win 10 version, but no freeware...just a trial?!

Try: rmdir C:\windows.old /q /s
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/lib ... 90990.aspx

[BobArch2]

You could try
rmdir /s

instead of
del

That did the trick.

The problem with aging is that one sometimes forgets the obvious!!!

[StuartR]

All's well that ends well

[Rudi]

All ends that, well, ends

[JoeP]

Normally, you don't have to worry about the Windows.old folder. You can use Disk Cleanup as Bob did to dispose of the files as long as you don't want a way to revert to the prior OS install. Windows automatic maintenance will delete the folder after 30 days. I'm not sure how the 30 day period is determined. If after 30 days the folder is still there you have to use one of the alternate methods mentioned above to delete the folders.

[BobArch2]

Two more options:...

Just a fast reply to say thanks for your research and suggestions. Much appreciated...

[Rudi]

Always a pleasure Bob.

[Peter S]

And of course the "easy way" is to install and use CCleaner (free version) to remove the relevant files/folders.

CCLeaner: https://www.piriform.com/CCLEANER

[viking33]

Of course, there is the old standby UNLOCKER ( Google it) to get rid of those stubborn files and folders.

[JoeP]

The issue with Windows.old, the sub-folders, and files is not usually in-use but ownership and permissions. The most reliable way I've seen is to use the disk cleanup tool.

[HansV]

I used the Disk Cleanup tool to remove the leftovers of the installation. You have to right-click and select 'Run as Administrator' to get rid of everything.

[John Gray]

It's all right for you, Bob!
I have to consider whether to get rid of the following C:\ folders:

• $GetCurrent
• $Windows.~WS
• ESD (empty)
• Windows10Upgrade