Very often, after the installation of a new operating system on the hard drive folder appears Windows.old, the usual way to remove that there is no possibility, as the right to belong to the administrator to uninstall the previous operating system.
Often this folder occupies a lot of space, in some cases - tens of gigabytes, because it contains the information Last OSes.Of course, if you have a modern hard drive with a storage capacity of 1 TB, you may not notice the lack of free space.However, if you care about each GB, then you are likely to try to get rid of the folder Windows.old.
Why it appears on the computer?This is due to the fact that installing the OS, you can not format the hard disk.As a result, a new version of "Vindovs" is set to the previous one.
Windows.old folder can be removed in several ways, which you will learn by reading this article.
Removal using the "Disk Cleanup»
Windows.old Click the right mouse button and select "Delete."A window will appear with a warning that this is not possible.Get rid of the folder where the previous installation of Windows, you can, use the "Disk Cleanup."
Open the "Start" and then click "All Programs."Now log into "Standard" and then under "Tools", where you will find the item "Disk Cleanup."
much faster than can be opened by pressing Win + R and typing in the command cleanmgr.Then select the system hard drive, and then click OK.
now need to wait until the system will analyze how much space can be freed, but you are interested in how Windows.old removed from your computer, so set the check box opposite the item "Previous setup."
Confirm your selection by clicking Enter.Depending on the size of the folder cleaning will take some time.
Uninstalling from the command line
There are situations when Windows.old does not delete the utility "Disk Cleanup", or are some folders from which you can not get rid of.In such cases it is better to use the command line.Call it can simultaneously pressing the Win and R. Then we have to enter cmd.
Note: All actions should be performed, under an administrator account.
If your OS "Vindovs 7", then enter the command: takeown / F C: Windows.old * / R / A.Wait until it is processed, and type the following: cacls C: Windows.old *. * / T / grant administrators: F.The final stage - the command: rmdir / S / Q C: Windows.old.
The "eight" you will need to enter only one command: Rd / s / q C: Windows.old.As you can see, in the second case, the whole process takes a little less time.
Now you know whether it is possible to remove the Windows.old and how to do it using the command line.
delete a folder manually
If you could not uninstall this folder using the methods that are written above, then try to carry out manual removal.In order to do this operation, you need administrator rights.
Right-click on the folder and enter the section "Properties."Here you need the tab "Security" and "Advanced" button.Now open the subsection "Owner" and click "Change".Select "uchetku", under which you are logged on, and set the checkbox next to the option that allows the owner to replace.
you are interested in sub-section "Permissions", where you will need to specify the option "full access".
After all done, you can delete the Windows.old manipulation by pressing Delete.Of course, this method takes you a little more time, but usually, it really helps to solve a problem.
Uninstalling using the installation CD
Can I remove the Windows.old in some other way, if you do not help either one of the above ways?You can use the installation disc.Insert it into the DVD-ROM and then restart the operating system.
To access the command prompt, simultaneously hold down the Shift and F10.If you do not know which disk you have installed the system, then write the command diskrapt.Now you need to enter another: list volume.
Select the hard drive where the OS is installed (usually it is large), and enter Exit.
Your next steps depend on which operating system you have installed.You will need to register the last command (for "Seven" and "Vindovs 8" you already know).The final stage - restart Windows.
Of course, here there is one problem - not always the user has an installation disk, so you can use other methods.In most cases, they help to get rid of the folder Windows.old.
Conclusion
Now, after reading this article, you can delete the Windows.old folder in any way you like.Then you notice that the hard drive has several gigabytes of free space that you can use to install critical applications or interesting games.
If you are a novice user, it is likely, you'd better use the utility "Disk Cleanup", since it is not necessary to prescribe different command, or enter an administrator account.In other cases, you can uninstall the Windows.old via the command line.
