Remove the Previous Windows Installation after Upgrading to New Windows

When you upgrade to Windows 8, the program files and folders of the previous Windows installation are moved to the Windows.old folder.

If the Windows 8 upgrade happened smoothly and all your programs are working as expected, it may be a good idea to get rid of the Windows.old permanently as it could be holding tens of Gigabytes of precious disk space.

Windows.old Folder The Windows.old folder is huge.

How to Delete the Windows.old System Folder

Windows.old is a Windows System folder and hence it cannot be removed using the good old Shift+Delete keyboard shortcut. However, Windows does include a utility to help you get rid of this bulky folder forever. Here’s how:

  1. Press the Windows key + R shortcut to open the Run box. Type cleanmgr here and hit Enter to open the Disk Clean utility.
  2. Select the drive letter where your Windows 8 is installed (most likely C: drive)
  3. On the next screen, click the button that says Clean Up System Files.
  4. The utility will rescan your C: drive but this time, it will add a new option that says “Previous Windows installation.” Select that option and click the OK button.

Remove Windows Installation Remove the previous Windows installation in Windows 8

The Windows.8 folder will now be deleted giving you plenty of extra disk space for your programs and documents. See more ways to recover disk space in Windows.

Amit Agarwal

Amit Agarwal

Google Developer Expert, Google Cloud Champion

Amit Agarwal is a Google Developer Expert in Google Workspace and Google Apps Script. He holds an engineering degree in Computer Science (I.I.T.) and is the first professional blogger in India.

Amit has developed several popular Google add-ons including Mail Merge for Gmail and Document Studio. Read more on Lifehacker and YourStory

0

Awards & Titles

Digital Inspiration has won several awards since it's launch in 2004.

Google Developer Expert

Google Developer Expert

Google awarded us the Google Developer Expert award recogizing our work in Google Workspace.

ProductHunt Golden Kitty

ProductHunt Golden Kitty

Our Gmail tool won the Lifehack of the Year award at ProductHunt Golden Kitty Awards in 2017.

Microsoft MVP Alumni

Microsoft MVP Alumni

Microsoft awarded us the Most Valuable Professional (MVP) title for 5 years in a row.

Google Cloud Champion

Google Cloud Champion

Google awarded us the Champion Innovator title recognizing our technical skill and expertise.

Email Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter to stay up to date.

We will never send any spam emails. Promise.