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How to clean and recover disk space after an update on Windows 10
1. Introduction
2. Steps to follow
3. Read also
Introduction
If you have migrated from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 and you are satisfied with it, you can delete the backup copy of the old version of Windows to save significant disk space.
Indeed, when your Windows 7 or 8.1 machine is upgraded to Windows 10, the old operating system's Windows folder is stored on your hard disk in a folder named Windows.old at the root of drive C. The files of this folder are used so that you can return to your old operating system in the event of a problem in Windows 10 during the upgrade, which requires considerable disk space.
From the moment your upgrade is complete, and you are certain that you prefer to keep using Windows 10, then you can clean it up.
Note that once you migrate to Windows 10 you have 30 days to go back to your old version of Windows.
However, the Windows.old folder cannot be deleted manually because it is a system folder and the attempt to delete it will eventually result in an error message. Thus, it is possible to delete this folder via the "Disk Cleanup" functionality on Windows 10.
Steps to follow
Here's how to free up post-migration disk space:
1. Click the search icon on the taskbar or press the Windows key to open the Start menu and start typing disk cleanup. You should see the result of the Disk Cleanup program at the top of the search results.
2. Click on the name of the program to launch it.
3. The program window opens by default on the hard disk where the Windows installation is located. Click OK to start the initial scan.
4. After you finish the initial scan, you must select the option to Clean up System Files, and then start scanning again by clicking OK.
5. In the window that opens, find and check the following items in the list:
- Windows upgrade log files.
- Previous installations of Windows.
- Temporary Windows installation files.
6. Click OK and then click "Delete Files" to confirm.
7. Finally, click on "Yes" when the warning message appears to begin cleaning.
This task may last from few seconds to several minutes.
Read also
How to set up an email account with the Windows 10 integrated mail application
How to remove unnecessary and preinstalled programs from Windows 10
