Resolved Can I delete the “windows.old” file?

i got a message today that I was running out of space on my C: Drive, a 120Gb SSD. I presume that the latest windows update on 9th Oct created this folder and it measures a massive 24.9 Gb.

Can I just delete it? My pc appears to running fine today. This is the first time i’ve noticed Microsoft doing this. Is this going to be ‘the norm’ for updates in future?

 

Yes. As long as you feel the computer is running fine, you can delete windows.old.

I would suggest you use Windows own Disk Cleanup as that will purge your system of other clutter too - including emptying the Recycle Bin.

Here's a good guide for cleaning up your drives to free up space.

Note, however, that Windows will (or should) automatically delete windows.old after 30 days. You did not say how much free space you have left. If not critically low, you can just leave it. Since it was only created a couple days ago after the last major update, if me, I would probably leave it for a few more days, just to make sure Windows is running fine and to be sure I will not want to roll back.

You can still run Windows Disk Clean (or CCleaner) up to clear out other clutter - just don't select the previous Windows Installation options.

That said, 120GB is not very big for C drive to begin with so it is highly likely you will get this low disk space again in the future. If you have another drive in this computer, you should consider moving some of your installed applications to it. The best way is to uninstall them, then install them again on the new drive. If you just move (cut & paste) the application folders/files, the Windows Registry will not be updated with the new location information.

You can also move your Documents folder to another drive to free up space on C drive. If you have lots of large files (like photos or videos), moving this folder may free up a nice chunk of space. See these instructions.