Windows 11 Does Anyone know how to remove the Windows Old File?

[MikeHawthorne]

I want to remove the Windows.old file.
I want to get rid of it before I make my System Image of the C:\ drive.
It's 27.4 Gigabytes, and I'd like to not have to back it up.

I don't need it, I have a System Image of the old drive already.
I used to do it with Cleaner, but it doesn't show it as a removable folder anymore.

My only other option would be to log in with Linux and try that.

 

[Neemobeer]

Use the built in system cleanup utility. Select system files and select old Windows files

 

[MikeHawthorne]

I can't find any built in System Cleanup Utility. I've run searches for it and nothing comes up.
How do I get there?

 

[MikeHawthorne]

Never mind, I found it by running disk cleanup. It's removing it as I type this.
Thanks for the help.

PS...
That worked, I had 100 gigabytes of free space before updating, and I have 95 now.

 

[davehc]

Neemobeer's instruction is on the target. It is important to select the "system" option. I have read that it goes away after a couple or so days. I'm impatient - it's always the first thing I remove.

 

[MikeHawthorne]

Hi once more...

So far I'm really happy with Windows 11, I'm seeing a real improvement in performance even in games.
I spent the last two-days getting rid of everything I didn't need but had installed at some point. It's amazing how much junk you can accumulate. I use Revo Uninstaller, so it scans and get rind of the stuff that a normal de-installation leaves behind.

I'm making my first Windows 11, System Image right now as I type this. It says there are 2.5 minutes to go, that's really fast, about 10 minutes for the whole process. That means that if my system crashes I can be back up and running in under 15 minutes.

As most of you probably know, I've been trying to get everyone to make System Image Files, for years. I push it on forums all over the place from Quora to right here.

If everyone did that, we could put a lot of computer repair places out of business. Short of mechanical failure You can fix your computer in a matter of minutes no matter what's wrong. I haven't had to spend more than a half hour fixing my PC in years.

The secret is, don't put anything on your C:\ partition except Windows and a few associated programs. There's no sense backing up all your data.

The image is all done, now I feel safe messing with everything.

Good luck with your upgrades' everyone and make that System Image before you start!

Mike

 

[Varadharajan K]

Type cleanmgr.exe in command prompt with administrator rights

 

[davehc]

The secret is, don't put anything on your C:\ partition except Windows and a few associated programs. There's no sense backing up all your data.

Not a bad idea to do both. Like many, I use Macrium. I normally make a clean image - basic customing but no extra apps. From then on, I keep images as I go along. I always keep the last two, including the initial.

 

[Varadharajan K]

I always use dism command to backup windows OS partition .