How to restore your files from the windows. old folder after upgrading

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What Is the Windows.old Folder?

Generally, there will be a Windows.old folder once the PC is upgraded from an old version of Windows. The Windows.old folder contains all system files and data from the previous Windows. And Windows.old folder is primarily used for keeping the previous system files so that users could use it to return to the old version of Windows. If you dislike the new operating system or want to use the old one, Windows.old will be helpful.

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Taylor Gibb is a professional software developer with nearly a decade of experience. He served as Microsoft Regional Director in South Africa for two years and has received multiple Microsoft MVP (Most Valued Professional) awards. He currently works in R&D at Derivco International. Read more.

If you have ever upgraded your Windows installation without formatting, you have probably come across the Windows.old folder which houses all the files from your previous installation. Here’s how to use it to restore your files.

You might be wondering if you can actually remove the Windows.OLD folder, and the answer is that you definitely can — just read our article on the topic for more. Just make sure that you don’t want to revert back to the previous operating system before you do, and that you don’t need any files stored in it (which is pretty unlikely but it’s still best to make sure).

Copy Them Manually

If you wish to restore your files manually you can open up the Computer panel and navigate to the root of your OS drive to access the Windows.old folder.

The bulk of your files will be under:

Which is what is left of your original user profile.

To restore your files, enter one of the folders and select all the files and folders contained within it. Now press the shift button on your keyboard and right click on one of the items, then navigate to the “Send to” section of the context menu. You will notice that by holding the shift key we have unlocked a whole bunch of hidden items in the context menu, so you can go ahead and send the files to their matching folder in your current Windows installation.

Use the Wizard

Admittedly restoring all your files via the manual method can be rather tedious. So Microsoft has recently introduced a new troubleshooter, which you can grab from the Windows site, that automatically moves all your files in the Windows.old folder to the corresponding locations within your new Windows installation.

Once downloaded you can launch the wizard and click next.

From there it’s pretty much all automated, if you had stuff on your desktop you will slowly see the icons appear.

Here are three ways to get back the Windows.old folder. You can manually or automatically recover the folder. Or restore files from Windows.old folder using EaseUS file recovery software in just three steps.

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Can I Recover Files from Windows.old Folder

“I decided to reinstall Windows 10 after a sudden crash of My PC. And all of my files are in the windows. old folder and they are still taking up space. My games on steam are showing up in the folder but I cannot launch them from steam. I was just wondering if there is a way to restore files from Windows.old folder.”

After upgrading an old version of Windows to another, you have a Windows.old folder automatically created on your computer. It is a folder that contains all of the operating system files and personal data files of your previous version. If you do not like the new Windows version, you can restore it from Windows.old folder. Usually, we don’t recommend you remove this folder because it is quite helpful if you want to get some files back.

If you lost the Windows.old files, we will show you how to manually or automatically retrieve files from Windows.old folder.В

Note: You can try to restore Windows.old folder with special recovery software if you deleted it by mistake.В

Method 1. Manually Windows.old Restore (Easy Steps)

Step 1. Open up the Computer panel and go to the system partition.

Step 2.В Double-tap or double-click the “Windows.old folder > Users folder > your username”.

Open the folders that contain the files you want to retrieve.

Step 3. Copy and paste the files that you want from each folder to a folder in Windows 10.

Repeat step 2 for each user account on your PC.

Method 2. Automatically Windows.old Restore

Even you can manually retrieve files from Windows. old folder by navigating to C:\Windows.old\Users\username folder and cut-pasting the Documents, Pictures, etc folders into your desired location, it is a little bit complicated. Here is an easier way: run the recover personal files troubleshooter to automatically retrieve your files from Windows. old folder and copy them back to their original location.В

Method 3. Recover Deleted or Lost Data Without Windows.old Folder

Sometimes, you might get some important files lost due to accidental deletion, disk formatting, virus attack, software crash, partition loss, raw error, etc without Windows. old folder. When it happens, how will you get back your lost data? Actually, it is not so difficult as you have expected as long as you find powerful data recovery software.

Here you can try EaseUS file recovery software. It is popular recovery software that can deal with all data loss situations to effectively retrieve lost files from hard drive, USB flash drive, SD card, memory card, digital camera, and many other storage devices. The data recoveryВ process just takes 3 simple steps.

Step 1. Run EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard on your computer. Choose the drive where you lost files and click “Scan”. If your lost files were on an external storage device, connect it to your computer firstly.

Step 2. The software will quickly scan the deleted files immediately, and then automatically perform a deep scan to find more lost files. After the scan is completed, you can use “Filter” to quickly filter specific file types.

Step 3. Click the “Preview” button orВ double-click on a file for a full preview. Finally, select the desired files, click “Recover” and chooseВ another safeВ location to save all the files at once.

If you have any problems, you can watch this video for more help!

Updated on 2022-04-29 15:54:43 to Windows Fix

Question：Windows update deleted my files?

“How do I recover files that are deleted after updating to Windows 11 July 2021? All the files in my local disk are deleted. I already tried using Recuva but it doesn’t work.”

-Question from Quora

People upgrade Windows 11 to get security updates to shield their PC from dangerous attacks or simply to experience the new features. Over the long haul, it is likewise useful to get software updates, not exclusively to get to new features but to be on the safe side. Upgrading to Windows 11 from Windows 10, Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 usually is flawless. For the most part, it restores every one of the documents and other information, but in some cases, you may lose documents after moving up to Windows 11. Here you will get to know about how to recover files after Windows 11 update.

How to Install Windows 11|Recover Lost or Formatted Data after Windows 11 Update

Part 1: The Possible Main Reasons for Files Deleted after Windows Update

The reasons that can prompt documents not to appear or being hidden can be many. But there is nothing to worry about; you can easily recover missing files after upgrade on windows 11. Some of the causes of Windows upgrade data loss include:

• You are supported with a temporary Windows account.
• The account that you used before the update is presently not working.
• Documents have moved to different areas.
• During the time while moving up to Windows 11, the records got erased unintentionally.

Part 2: How to Recover Files after Windows Update?

Method 1. Remove the Temporary Account

You may experience difficulty tracking down your old documents after you upgrade your PC to Windows 11. Attempt the accompanying tips to restore files after Windows 11 upgrade.

Step 1: Check whether you are backed with a temporary account.

Step 2: Select Start > Settings > Accounts and then Sync your settings. If you see a message at the top that states, “You are signed in with a temporary profile. Roaming options are presently unavailable”, restart your PC and sign in once more. This should eliminate the account, and your documents ought to be accessible once more.

Step 3: Sync your Settings page.

Step 4: Restarting your PC and logging in again likewise works if you see a message that states, “We can’t sign in to your account.” This issue can frequently be fixed by logging out and afterwards logging back into your account.

Method 2. Find Lost Files after Windows Update Using Search

If you are not logged in with a temporary Windows profile, you can straightforwardly look for the missing file(s) through the search box on the taskbar. To discover a record, you can look by the document name or the file type. For instance, if you are searching for a lost Excel record, search with the document name (with which it was saved before) or *.xlsx (check the image beneath).

In the Search bar on the taskbar, type indexing, and afterward select Indexing Options. Select the Advanced Administrator symbol to see more choices, then, at that point, select the Troubleshoot search and indexing and follow the measures. That way, you can recover deleted files after Windows 11 update.

More things to attempt:

• Windows update may stow away a few documents from seeing. In the Search box on the taskbar, type File Explorer Options, then, at that point, select the View tab. Under Hidden records and folders, select Show Hidden Documents. Then, at that point, take a stab at looking for your data once more.
• A portion of your documents may have been moved when you installed Windows 11. To check the location of the documents you discover, press and hold (or right-click) the file and select the “Open File Location.” Duplicate any records you need to move to an alternate location.

Method 3. Restore Lost Files after Windows Update with Backup

Go to the Start Menu, open Settings > Update and security > Backup, and select Backup and Restore (Windows 7). Select Restore my documents and adhere to the commands they provide you to recover lost files after windows update.

You can get a document back by making another one with a similar name and type in some cases. After you have made the new document:

Step 1: Select Properties.

Step 2: Select the Previous Versions tab.

Step 3: Pick the document type to recover it.

Method 4. Enable Administrator Account Created for Upgrade

After moving up to Windows 11, the Administrator account you may have made may get disabled naturally. On the off chance that it is the situation, you will not have the option to see the documents stored on the broken Administrator account. To restore files after Windows 11 upgrade, you need to enable this account by following the steps beneath:

Step 1: Type “Computer Management” in the hunt box on the taskbar and click open it.

Step 2: When the “Computer Management” window opens, click on “Local Users and Groups” on the left side of the pane.

Step 3: Double-tap Users on the right-hand side of the pane.

Step 4: Double-tap “Administrator” to open Properties.

Step 5: Uncheck the box “Account is disabled” if it is ticked already.

Step 6: Snap “Apply,” and afterward click “OK.”

Step 7: Sign in with this Administrator account and attempt to find your lost documents.

Method 5. Recover Files after Windows Update without Backup (Highly Recommended)

In case you unable to find the missing documents, it implies the records got erased while moving up to Windows 11. To recuperate erased documents, utilize Tenorshare 4DDiG Data Recovery Software, which can adequately recover erased records from any location on your device. If you have lost your precious data while upgrading to Windows 11, here, we will give you the detailed steps to recover data after installing new Windows.

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After EddieS reinstalled Windows onto his 14-month-old PC, he found all of his old files in a folder called C:Windows.old. He asked the Windows forum if he can delete it.

The Windows.old folder gives you an extra layer of protection when you reinstall Windows. When you do a clean install off a retail Windows 7 DVD, the installation protects your files by putting them into that folder. So do many of the restoration tools that come with PCs. Before they restore your hard drive to its factory condition, they move your files to C:Windows.old and leave that folder alone.

And personally, I consider that a big improvement over recovery tools that destroy your data.

So what do you do with Windows.old afterwards? Once you’ve set up all the user accounts, you should move your library folders (Documents, Photos, Music, and so on) from C:Windows.oldUsers to their equivalent folders in C:Users. That way, Windows knows where to look for these files.

After that, keep the Windows.old folder around for a couple of months. Why? Because you might discover that you need a file or two from it. After all, it also contains browser shortcuts, the Windows Mail inbox, and your updated drivers.

Once you’re satisfied that you don’t need it anymore, you can delete it. Or, if you’re sufficiently cautious, you can copy it to an external hard drive or burn it to DVDs, just in case.

Summary: If, after upgrading to Windows 11, you cannot find your important photos on the PC, read this post. It shares the 6 best ways to recover lost photos after Windows 11 upgrade. It also lists the proficient photo recovery software for Windows 11, which is 100% safe and fast to retrieve photos lost/deleted due to OS upgrades.

‘I upgraded to Windows 11. But now, many of my valuable pictures are missing from PC. Are they all lost? Is there any way to recover lost photos after upgrading to Windows 11?’

The much-awaited Windows 11 is here and you can’t wait to use this exciting upgrade. However, the thrill vanishes when you realize that all your precious photos have disappeared after the OS upgrade.

Usually, Windows upgrade doesn’t delete your photo or other files, but technical glitches can occur anytime. Therefore, it is recommended to back up photos and other important data before upgrading Windows 11.

Nonetheless, if you are into the photo loss situation due to Windows 11 upgrade, there are effective ways to recover lost or deleted photos.

Method 1: Sign in again using the right profile

You won’t find your photos or other files after upgrade to Windows 11, if you have logged in with a wrong user account or temporary profile. So, make sure to log in with a correct profile.

To check this do the following:

• On your PC, navigate to Start > Settings > Accounts > Sync your settings.

• If a following message appears — ‘You are logged on with a temporary profile. Roaming options are currently unavailable’, first sign out of the current account.
• Restart your computer and sign in again using the correct profile.

Your photos should be visible now on Windows 11 PC.

Method 2: Find photos using the Search box in Windows 11

Look for your lost pictures using the search box in File Explorer on Windows 11.

If you don’t find the lost image files then move to the next method.

Method 3: Troubleshoot search and indexing link

If you cannot find the pictures from the Search box in File Explorer, troubleshoot the search problem in Windows 11.

Steps to troubleshoot Windows 11 search option:

• In the Cortana Search box on taskbar, type indexing.
• Select Indexing Options >Advanced.

• Select Troubleshoot search and indexing link and follow the prompts to fix the Windows search problem.

Now look for the missing photos using the Search box in File Explorer. You should be able to recover photos lost after installing Windows 11.

Method 4: Unhide the image files in Windows 11

Your image files can be hidden after Windows upgrade. Unhide them by following the below steps:

• In the search box type File Explorer Options and select it from the list.
• Click on the View tab.
• Under Advanced settings, click on Hidden files and folders.

• Select Show hidden files, folders, and drives option.

Now find for your photos by typing the asterisk (*) followed by the lost file extension. For example, *.jpeg or *.png.

Method 5: Use a photo recovery software to get back deleted photos after Windows 11 Upgrade

When none of the above methods are able to recover lost photos after Windows 11 upgrade, trust Stellar Photo Recovery software for the purpose. The smart algorithms of the software perform deep scanning of your drive recovering deleted or lost photos due to Windows upgrade.

You can recover almost all image file types, including JPEG, RAW, PNG, TIFF, DNG, HEIC, and Adobe EPS.

Steps to recover lost photos due to Windows 11 upgrade:

Step 1: Download and launch Stellar Photo Recovery on Windows 11.

Step 2: On the software main screen, select the drive letter from which you want to recover photos. Toggle on Deep Scan at the bottom. Click Scan.

Step 3: After the scanning finishes, preview the found photos. Select and click Recover.

You can save the recovered photos at your desired location on Windows 11 PC.

Method 6: Restore photos from backup

You may have created the backup of your computer data in external drive, Dropbox, One Drive etc., before upgrading to Windows 11. Check for the disappeared photos in the backup after the operating system upgrade glitch, and restore.

Finally,

If you are unable to find your photos after Windows 11 upgrade, try the given 6 methods that can help to retrieve deleted, lost, or hidden photos from Windows 11 PC.

Among all, a professional software like Stellar Photo Recovery can be a quick help in the problem. It is capable to recover photos lost due to flawed, incomplete, or failed OS upgrade.

You can take the free trial of the software that helps to judge its effectiveness in your specific data loss situation.

About The Author

Nishat Paiker is an expert technical writer and editor with over 8 years of experience. She has deep knowledge about data recovery and loves to explore new technology and DIY tools. Nishat has keen interest in photography. You will often find her giving photography tips and hacks.

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I have received emails from many Windows 10 users who upgraded to Windows 11 and now they want to restore Windows 10 operating system in their computers. There are people who upgraded their Windows 10 devices to Windows 11 to test drive the new OS and its features. After using the new OS for some time, they didn’t like Windows 11 and now they want to go back to Windows 10. If you are also among those people and want to restore Windows 10 in your device after upgrading to Windows 11, this article will help you.

Microsoft’s new operating system “Windows 11” comes with many new features, changes and UI which definitely pleases the end user but there are some major restrictions present in the OS which some users find annoying. Some of these restrictions are inability to move the Taskbar to other screen areas such as top, left or right, restricted Taskbar context menu which contains only a single option “Taskbar settings”, also the new redesigned Start Menu lacks lots of essential functions.

Windows 11 is a new operating system and Microsoft will keep adding new features and functionality to the OS in future. But we’ll have to admit that at the moment, there are lots of features missing in Windows 11 and the new Start Menu and Taskbar are less customizable.

Fortunately, Microsoft provides a way to roll back to Windows 10 after upgrading to Windows 11. So if a user doesn’t like Windows 11 and want to go back to Windows 10 after Windows 11 upgrade, he can do it using a simple method which we are going to share in this guide.

This method will restore your computer to the same Windows 10 system image which you had before upgrading to Windows 11. All your files and customized settings will be restored.

So let’s start the tutorial to downgrade to Windows 10 after upgrading to Windows 11:

How to Restore Windows 10 After Upgrading to Windows 11?

1. Open Settings app from Start Menu. Alternatively, you can press WIN+I keys together to open Settings directly.

2. Now click on “System” tab present in left-side pane.

3. In right-side pane, scroll down and click on “Recovery” option.

4. You’ll see “Go back” option listed on the next page. This option can be used to roll back to Windows 10 from Windows 11.

Click on “Go Back” button and Windows 11 will start the wizard to restore previous operating system.

Windows 11 will ask you for the reason behind restoring previous Windows version such as previous Windows version was easier to use, was faster, etc. You can select any desired option and click on Next button.

The wizard will ask to check for updates to fix issues, click on “No, thanks” button.

The wizard might ask some more questions and you just need to click on Next button.

At last, click on “Go back to Windows 10” button.

That’s it. Your computer will restart and will show “Restoring your previous version of Windows…” screen. After a few minutes, your previous Windows version will be restored successfully.

Things to Remember If You Decide to Go Back to Windows 10

NOTE 1:

When you upgrade your Windows 10 machine to the new Windows 11 operating system, the setup automatically takes a backup of Windows 10 files, folders, settings in C:\Windows.old and $Windows.

BT folders. After successful upgrade, Windows 11 keeps the backup folders for a limited time i.e. 10 days only to allow the user to restore previous Windows version. After 10 days, Windows 11 automatically deletes the folders and you’ll be unable to go back to Windows 10.

So you can restore Windows 10 within 10 days only after upgrading to Windows 11. After 10 days period, you’ll not get the “Go back” option mentioned in the above tutorial.

NOTE 2:

Also if you run Disk Cleanup in Windows 11, make sure to uncheck “Previous Windows installation(s)” option. If you don’t uncheck it, Windows 11 will delete all backup files and folders present in C:\Windows.old and $windows.

bt folders and you’ll be unable to rollback to Windows 10.

PS: You can reinstall Windows 10 any time in your device by performing a clean installation of Windows 10 using a bootable USB drive .

You are here: Home » Troubleshooting Guides » [Tip] How to Go Back to Windows 10 After Upgrade to Windows 11

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

NOTE: Older comments have been removed to reduce database overhead.

The 10-day restriction could obviously be a problem, people may want to take longer to evaluate the new system.

The best solution would be to take a full system image BEFORE installing Windows 11, using a utility. Then if you do not like Windows 11 you can use this image to revert back to Windows 10.

It would be good practice anyway to always create a backup image before making any major system change.

my go back option is not appear . what i do i am in very very big trouble problem sad etc.
plz help me.

Note: If you’ve recently updated Windows 10 and are having problems finding files, see Find lost files after the upgrade to Windows 10.

If you can’t find a file on your computer or you accidently modified or deleted a file, you can restore it from a backup (if you’re using Windows backup) or you can try to restore it from a previous version. Previous versions are copies of files and folders that Windows automatically saves as part of a restore point. Previous versions are sometimes referred to as shadow copies.

To restore a file from a backup, make sure the media or drive that your backup is saved on is available, and then follow these steps:

To restore files from a backup

Open Backup and Restore by selecting the Start button , selecting Control Panel, selecting System and Maintenance, and then selecting Backup and Restore.

Select Restore my files, and then follow the steps in the wizard.

Restore deleted files and folders or restore a file or folder to a previous state.

To restore a deleted file or folder

Open Computer by selecting the Start button , and then selecting Computer.

Navigate to the folder that used to contain the file or folder, right-click it, and then select Restore previous versions. If the folder was at the top level of a drive, for example C:\, right-click the drive, and then select Restore previous versions.

You’ll see a list of available previous versions of the file or folder. The list will include files saved on a backup (if you are using Windows Backup to back up your files) as well as restore points, if both types are available.

Note: To restore a previous version of a file or folder that’s included in a library, right-click the file or folder in the location where it’s saved, rather than in the library. For example, to restore a previous version of a picture that’s included in the Pictures library but is stored in the My Pictures folder, right-click the My Pictures folder, and then select Restore previous versions.

Some previous versions of files

Double-click a previous version of the folder that contains the file or folder you want to restore. (For example, if a file was deleted today, choose a version of the folder from yesterday, which should contain the file.)

Drag the file or folder that you want to restore to another location, such as your desktop or another folder.

The version of the file or folder is saved to the location that you selected.

Tip: If you don’t remember the exact file or folder name or its location, you can search for it by typing part of the name in the search box in the Documents library.

To restore a file or folder to a previous state

Right-click the file or folder, and then select Restore previous versions.

You’ll see a list of available previous versions of the file or folder. The list will include files saved on a backup (if you’re using Windows Backup to back up your files) as well as restore points, if both types are available.

The Previous Versions tab, showing some previous versions of files

Before restoring a previous version of a file or folder, select the previous version, and then click Open to view it to make sure it’s the version you want.

Note: You can’t open or copy previous versions of files that were created by Windows Backup, but you can restore them.

To restore a previous version, select the previous version, and then select Restore.

Warning: The file or folder replaces the current version on your computer, and the replacement can’t be undone.

Note: If the Restore button is unavailable, you can’t restore a previous version of the file or folder to its original location. You might be able to open it or save it to a different location.

2017 Update: Microsoft recently announced that development of the latest Windows 10 Update (dubbed the Windows 10 Creators Update) has entered the final “bug bashing” testing phase. That means it will likely hit the streets as soon as April 2017. There are many lessons to be learned from the original Windows 10 launch, so read on to find out how to protect your critical data and ensure a smooth Windows 10 update experience.

Another Windows 10 update is coming soon and many individuals are planning to upgrade their personal PCs. If you are one of these individuals, follow these 7 tips to ensure you have a positive Windows 10 upgrade experience and that you don’t lose any data.

7 Tips to Prepare for Your Windows 10 Update

1. Plan your upgrade – If you have multiple PCs, don’t rush into installing Windows 10 on all your machines right away. Choose one computer and upgrade to Windows 10. This will help you learn what to do and what not to do, and make the upgrade process easier for your other PCs.

2. Make sure your PC can handle the upgrade – If you recently purchased a PC that runs an older version of Windows, you can probably keep this machine and upgrade it to Windows 10. However, if your PC is over three years old, you should consider replacing it with a newer machine that can more easily run Windows 10. New operating systems running on old machines can slow things down significantly. At some point, you will be using more advanced applications that require better computing power. When that happens, you will need to upgrade your machine anyway. Plan ahead so your PC can run the more advanced applications and avoid having to upgrade twice.

3. Back up your old PC – Before you upgrade to Windows 10, you need to back up all the information and applications on your original PC. Upgrading without first backing up all of your files and your system as a whole can lead to data loss. Unexpected PC crashes could damage or even delete your files, so you should back up everything before you upgrade. Windows 10 is not a simple Windows update, but rather a clean rollout of a new system and the install process will wipe out many folders containing important files or data.

4. Use disk-imaging technology for backup, not just file copy – Windows, even XP, is a complex operating system and some data lives outside of files. Think about all of your passwords, preferences, and everything that exists on your computer in applications or system preferences that you do not save in a file or folder. For this reason, use a backup solution with disk imaging technology that simultaneously backs up your entire system while also backing up individual files. If you opt for just a file backup solution, you will be unable to restore systems or applications on the new operating system.

What is a disk clone? When you clone a hard drive you take all of the data from one computer and make an exact copy on another drive. Every bit of data from the original drive is copied, including: files and folders programs and their patches preferences and settings and the full operating system

5. Back up everything – Over time, you may have filed documents into desktop folders, temporary files, or even a Recycle Bin. You must back up even these forgotten folders. Also, don’t forget about hidden partitions. These partitions, found on Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and IBM machines, allow you to restore your computer back to its original state. You must back up this extremely important partition too.

6. Follow the 3-2-1 backup rule — With the 3-2-1 backup rule, you create 3 copies of your data, store your copies in at least 2 types of storage media, and store 1 of these copies offsite.

7. Save older backups after you upgrade – Once you switch over to Windows 10, make sure you keep older backups of your data. You may need them again if you update to a newer Windows version.

Acronis True Image – The #1 Personal Backup Software

Before you make the move to Windows 10, don’t risk everything by not being backed up! If you follow the 7 simple tips above, you can make your Windows 10 upgrade experience a smooth one.

If you need a backup solution or an upgrade to your current one, check out Acronis before you make the move. We’re offering the award-winning Acronis True Image 2017 – the world’s #1 personal backup software. Learn more and get it here!

(This article was originally posted on 4 Aug 2015 )

Nick Lewis is a staff writer for How-To Geek. He has been using computers for 20 years — tinkering with everything from the UI to the Windows registry to device firmware. Before How-To Geek, he used Python and C++ as a freelance programmer. In college, Nick made extensive use of Fortran while pursuing a physics degree. Read more.

Windows 11 automatically places a few important icons, like This PC and the Recycle Bin, on your desktop after a fresh install. However, they can be removed. Here’s how to get them back if you need them.

How to Restore System Icons

There are a few ways to get to the “Desktop Icon Settings” window, which where you control what system icons appear on your desktop.

The easiest way to get there is through the Start menu. Click the Start button, type “Desktop Icon Settings” into the search bar, then hit Enter, click “Open,” or click “Themes and Related Settings.”

Note: You probably noticed the result you get isn’t actually “Desktop Icon Settings,” but rather “Themes and Related Settings.” That is fine — the Themes window is where the icon settings are located.

If you want, you can also navigate to the Themes window by navigating through the Settings app. Go to Settings > Personalization > Themes.

Look towards the bottom of the Themes window, under the “Related Settings” header, then click “Desktop Icon Settings.”

The Desktop Icon Settings window is pretty minimal. Just tick the boxes for the icons you want placed on your desktop, then click “OK.”

You can choose to show to show or hide icons for the Computer, Recycle Bin, your user account’s files folder, Control Panel, and Network.

How to Restore All Icons

Maybe it isn’t just This PC and the Recycle Bin that are missing — maybe all of your icons are missing from your desktop. If that is the case, the solution is even easier.

Right-click empty space on your desktop, mouse over ( or click) “View,” and then click “Show Desktop Icons.”

There is only one other likely explanation if that didn’t work — the icons were actually deleted off your desktop. Icons, like most other files, are moved into the Recycle Bin before permanent deletion. That means that you can probably get them back if you restore them from your Recycle Bin, though they might have been automatically deleted. If that is the case, you’ll just have to put them back manually.

After upgrading Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10, you find an extra recovery partition in Disk Management. What’s it for? Can you delete it? This article will tell you all about recovery partition.

By Dervish / Last Updated March 10, 2022

What Is Recovery Partition?

Recovery partition is a small partition on your hard drive that can help you restore your Windows or troubleshoot system issues. There are two kinds of recovery partitions you may see in Windows 10/8/7.

Windows recovery partition

When installing a Windows operating system (OS) on a hard drive, and if you use Windows Setup to create new partition on an MBR disk, Windows will create a system reserved partition, and if it is a GPT disk, then Windows will create a recovery partition and an EFI system partition without drive letter. The recovery partition on Windows 10 consumes about 450MB, Windows 8/8.1 200MB, and Windows 7 100MB.

This recovery partition is to hold the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), which can be explored if you manually assign a drive letter to it. If you delete this partition, you won’t be able to use Windows Recovery options. If you create Windows 10 recovery disk, Windows will give you an option to remove the recovery partition. With the recovery drive, you can still use Windows recovery options. Otherwise, if you install Windows on a hard drive containing multiple partitions, Windows will save the WinRE in a folder named Recovery in the root directory of your system drive (C: drive) without leaving a recovery partition.

OEM recovery partition

Apart from the recovery partition of Windows, there may be another recovery partition created by the computer manufacturer like Lenovo and Dell that has made their computer comes with an OEM recovery partition consuming about 7 to 20 GB, which contains the WinRE and their factory installation files.

On some computers, the WinRE and the factory installation are separately stored on two partitions, so you may see two OEM partitions on your computer. This OEM partition allows you to press a specified key to boot into Recovery Environment, so you can recover your OS to factory setting without a Windows installation disc. If you have a copy of Windows installation, you can delete this OEM partition to free up more disk space.

Why An Extra Recovery Partition Created During Upgrade?

Every time when you upgrade Windows to the next version, the upgrade program will create a recovery partition if it detects that there is no sufficient space on your recovery partition (GPT disk) or system reserved partition (MBR disk). There is no wonder that you have many recovery partitions after upgrading to Windows 10. If you don’t want Windows to create another recovery partition, you can increase the size of recovery partition or system reserved partition before upgrading to Windows 10.

According to Microsoft, the previous Windows version recovery partition will be nonfunctional, so you can delete the previous recovery partition to free up some disk space. As you may know that Windows can only shrink a partition from its right side, so you can tell which recovery partition was newly created by upgrading to Windows 10. For example, as the screenshot below, the 100MB recovery partition was created when installing Windows 7, the 200MB recovery partition was created when upgrading Windows 7 to Windows 8, the 500MB recovery partition was created when upgrading Windows 8 to Windows 10, and the OEM recovery partition created by PC manufacturer before shipping.

As you see the new created Windows recovery partition stands in the way of extending the system partition. If you do not want to delete the recovery partition, you can move Windows 10 recovery partition without data loss.

How to Delete Recovery Partition in Windows 10?

You cannot delete a recovery partition with Windows 10 Disk Management for it has crucial files, but you can use diskpart.exe to delete recovery partition. However, you still cannot extend the remaining partition with the new created unallocated space if the recovery partition appears before the C: drive. Hence, you need third-party partition software to do this job. AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard, a free partition software, can delete the recovery partition and extend a partition as long as there is unallocated space on the disk.

1. Download this free software. Install and launch it.

2. Right-click the recovery partition you want to delete and select “Delete Partition”. Then you can see the recovery partition becomes an unallocated space. Actually no changes will be made until you confirm and click Apply.

3. Click “Merge Partitions“. In the pop-out window, check the unallocated space and the partition you want to extend.

4. Check the pending operations and click “Apply” and “Proceed” to save the changes.

This operation will complete under AOMEI PreOS mode, so do not be panic when your computer reboot.

How o Create A Recovery Partition?

Many users have met the problem that OEM partition won’t work after upgrading to Windows 10. What to do when you want to use recovery options only to find you have mistakenly deleted the recovery partition? You can use AOMEI OneKey Recovery to create a recovery partition on Windows 10 to backup and restore your current system including all the programs installed on C: drive. It also allows you to press a specified key “F1” or “A” to boot into AOMEI OneKey Recovery environment when your computer starts.

After creating the recovery partition, you can also keep the system backup image files in other locations besides the recovery partition, which means you can keep many system backups at the same time. When system fails to work, you can just press the Specified key to boot into AOMEI OneKey Recovery and select the system backup to restore system.

The recovery partition after upgrading to Windows 10 won’t consume much space on your hard drive, so it is recommended to leave it be. If you really want to get rid of recovery partition, backup essential files before deleting.

Perhaps you upgraded from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 and now looking to retrieve the product key of your previous version from the Windows.old folder so that you can activate your Windows 10 OS using your Windows 7/8 key, or maybe you performed a clean install of Windows without formatting the drive, and now want to retrieve the product key saved in the Windows.old backup folder.

As you know, when you activate a version of the Windows operating system by entering a product key, the product key is usually saved in the Registry, but it can’t be easily viewed as it’s encrypted for security reasons.

There are several tools out there to view, recover, and backup product keys saved the Registry, but these tools can’t retrieve product keys from backup files saved in Windows.old folder, meaning these tools are useful to recover product keys only from a live Windows system.

That said, there is a free application out there to retrieve your Windows product key from Windows.old folder, and it can be used to recover your product license key of Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1 or Windows 10. In this guide, we will use a new software called ShowKeyPlus to recover Windows product key from Windows.old folder.

Retrieve Windows 10/8/7 product key from Windows.old folder

To recover the product key from Windows.old folder, please follow the given below instructions.

Note: In addition to Windows.old folder, you can also use this method to retrieve the product key from any kind of backup that you previously created, either using the native image backup tool or third-party software on your internal drive or external drive. If you have the image backup of a version of Windows, mount or extract the image file contents to a folder and then follow the given below instructions.

Step 1: Visit this page of GitHub and download the latest version of ShowKeyPlus software. It’s a portable utility designed to help you recover Windows product key and, more importantly, is free software.

Step 2: Extract ShowKeyPlus.zip file to get ShowKeyPlus executable. Double-click on the same to run it. Click Yes button if you see the User Account Control box.

Step 3: Once the application is launched, it will display your current product key, installed version, and edition of Windows. In addition to that, if the Windows.old folder is located in the root of the drive where the currently running Windows is installed, and it will automatically retrieve the product key from the Windows.old folder and display it as Original key.

If you have moved the Windows.old folder to a different location, ShowKeyPlus will not automatically recover the product key from Windows.old folder. In that case, click the option titled Retrieve key from backup, and then navigate to the Windows\System32\Config folder located under Windows.old folder.

Select the file named software and then click the open button to view the product key.

For instance, if “C” is the drive where Windows is installed, then you need to navigate to C:\Windows\System32\Config folder in the ShowKeyPlus.

For those who don’t know, Registry files are saved in the Config folder, and Software hive includes information about the Windows operating system as well as the product key.

In this article, we will learn how to upgrade a Windows 7 PC to Windows 10 “in-place” – while still retaining your programs, profile, settings, documents, pictures, music, movies, favorites, wallpaper and everything else.

This tutorial is for upgrading on same computer. If you are moving between two different computers, use this tutorial instead: How to Copy Programs and Files to New Computer

Upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 can be a smooth, automatic process in many cases. Unfortunately, in some cases, an automatic upgrade may fail, or turn out to be unavailable in the first place (such as when upgrading from Windows 7 Home to Windows 10 Pro, or from a 32bit Windows 7 to a 64bit Windows 10).

No matter how you choose to perform the upgrade, a full backup of Windows 7 prior to starting the process is a must. You don’t want to lose all of your data if the Windows 10 installation process fails.

In this article, we will show how to perform a full backup of your Windows 7, and then – after Windows 10 is installed – how to restore your programs, settings, profiles and all files from that backup.

How to Backup your Windows 7 PC

The first step in a Windows 10 upgrade is to back up everything you’ve got. There are dozens of backup applications on the market; we strongly recommend to use a “full image” backup, i.e. the kind of backup that saves everything on the computer, and not just some of your files. This way, you can restore more than just your documents; you can restore the entire computer. The product we will be using for this is Migration Kit Pro. Its unique ability is that it can restore programs and files to a completely different Windows, i.e. restore a Windows 7 backup to Windows 10. This way, if a straightforward upgrade to 10 turns out to be impossible, you can always just install a fresh Windows 10 installation, and let Migration Kit Pro restore your programs and files to it.

How to backup your Windows so that you can restore programs, settings and files after the reinstall

Before we begin, the most important part is to have a full, complete backup of your computer. This is crucial – without this step, you will lose your programs and data if you wipe the system clean.

1. 1. Download and run Zinstall Migration Kit Pro on your computer.

1. Use its 3rd option, “Moving from Machine to Container”.
2. Select the C: drive on Source selection, and select a place to store your backup container (it’s just a big file) in the Target browse selection.
3. A good place to store the container is a USB external hard drive, but any place which is outside the computer we are wiping will do fine, such as a network drive, another hard drive in the computer etc.
4. Start the backup process. This should take a long while, and you will see a message confirming that the container has been created successfully.

Your stuff is now safe, and we can proceed to resetting Windows on this computer.

How to Install Windows 10

Once you have your backup, it’s time to perform the actual Windows 10 upgrade. There are several ways to do it; if you have purchased Windows 10 on a physical media such as a USB stick, you can just install from that. Another option is to download Windows 10 directly from Microsoft. Here is how to do that:

1. First, we’ll create a Windows 10 USB installation drive. Here is how:
2. On any working computer (you can do that on the one you will be wiping), download Microsoft’s Windows 10 Media Creation Tool
3. The tool is available here:
   
4. Once you download it, plug a blank USB stick into the computer.
5. Then, tell the tool to create an installation media on that USB stick (DO NOT press “Upgrade Now”, since that would upgrade the computer you are doing this on).
6. Once the tool is done, take the USB stick and plug it into the computer that we are wiping and reinstalling.
7. Reboot the computer that we are reinstalling so that it runs from the USB stick and starts the Windows 10 installation process.
8. In the installation process, tell the tool to do a Custom install, and then use the wizard to wipe the existing Windows, and reinstall a new, fresh copy of Windows instead.

How to Restore your programs and files to Windows 10

1. 1. Once you have your new Windows 10 installed, it is time to restore your programs, settings and files from the backup you’ve made before.
   2. To do that, run Zinstall Migration Kit Pro and use the 4th option, “Moving from Container to Machine”.

1. Point it to the backup container you’ve created in the first section, and it will restore everything, including programs, settings and files, to the new Windows.
2. If you don’t want to restore everything, you can also exclude some programs / folders you don’t want to recover.

That’s it – you have a successfully installed Windows 10, without losing your programs and files!

Ready to go?

Ready to upgrade your Windows 7 to Windows 10?

Any questions? Need guidance? Looking for help with your Windows 10 upgrade, backup or recovery? Our expert techs are standing by!

You can browse two weeks worth of backed up data on your department (R:) or faculty shared (S:) drives and restore older or deleted versions of this data. This does not apply to local computer drives, such as your C: drive.

The following FAQ is from Windows Help and Support.

Previous versions are either copies of files and folders created by Windows Backup or copies of files and folders that Windows automatically saves as part of a restore point. You can use previous versions to restore files and folders that you accidentally modified or deleted, or that were damaged. Depending on the type of file or folder, you can open, save to a different location, or restore a previous version.

How do I restore previous versions of a file or folder?

Right-click the file or folder, and then click Restore previous versions .

You’ll see a list of available previous versions of the file or folder. The list will include files saved on a backup (if you’re using Windows Backup to back up your files) as well as restore points.

To restore a previous version of a file or folder that’s included in a library, right-click the file or folder in the location where it’s saved, rather than in the library. For example, to restore a previous version of a picture that’s included in the Pictures library but is stored in the My Pictures folder, right-click the My Pictures folder, and then click Restore previous versions .

Before restoring a previous version of a file or folder, select the previous version, and then click Open to view it to make sure it’s the version you want.

You can’t open or copy previous versions of files that were created by Windows Backup, but you can restore them.

To restore a previous version, select the previous version, and then click Restore .

Warning

The file or folder will replace the current version on your computer, and the replacement cannot be undone.

If the Restore button isn’t available, you can’t restore a previous version of the file or folder to its original location. However, you might be able to open it or save it to a different location.

Can I restore a file or folder that was deleted or renamed?

If you accidentally delete or rename a file or folder, you can restore a previous version of that file or folder, but you need to know the location where the file or folder was saved. To restore a file or folder that was deleted or renamed, follow these steps:

1. Click the Computer icon on your desktop to open it up.
2. Navigate to the folder that used to contain the file or folder, right-click it, and then click Restore previous versions .

If the folder was at the top level of a drive, for example R:\, right-click the drive and then click Restore previous versions .

Double-click a previous version of the folder that contains the file or folder you want to restore. (For example, if a file was deleted today, choose a version of the folder from yesterday that contains the file.)

Drag the file or folder that you want to restore to another location, such as your desktop or another folder.

The version of the file or folder is saved to the location that you selected.

If you don’t remember the exact file or folder name or its location, you can search for it by typing part of the name in the search box in the Computer folder.

If you permanently deleted folders from Windows computer, on this page you can learn how to recover deleted folders in Windows 10.

Amy Dennis

Apr 20, 2022 • Filed to: Recover Files • Proven solutions

Accidentally deleted files and folders from the Windows computer, you will get them back from the recycle bin folder. But some people would like to use and click “Shift + Deleted” to remove a folder, it will cause the folder files permanently deleted, for this action, the permanently deleted files and folders you cannot retrieve them from the recycle bin. But don’t worry, on this page we will show you the best way to recover permanently deleted files in Windows computer.

On the following 3 easy solutions to help you recover permanently deleted folders from Windows 10, restore deleted files from the previous version in Windows and recover permanently deleted folders withВ Recoverit Data RecoveryВ software.

Can a deleted folder be recovered?

Yes. There are different ways to recover a deleted folder. You can check the recycle bin first. Or if you turn on the system restore or file history option, you can recover deleted folder from the previous version or certain system restore point. However, when all methods fail, you have to resort to data recovery software such as Wondershare Recoverit.

For getting back your folders, four solutions are available. So, you want to try them fast. Even if a permanent delete is the case, following ideas would help you.
For one solution, you should rely on your backups. In this option, you don’t need extra software. So, your backup settings are enough.

Let’s say that you forgot to enable Backups. In this case, you cannot benefit from the Backup and Restore utility. But there is still hope. By using a third-party Data Recovery Program, you will be able to access your data again.

Solution 1. Restore Deleted Files/Folders from Windows Backup

First, you can get your deleted files back from your Backup in Windows, what if you had back up your folder files in regularly, you can directlyВ retrieve deleted folders from System Restore, and then follow the next steps:

Step 1.В OpenВ Backup and RestoreВ by clicking on the Start button in Windows computer, clicking Control Panel and click on System and Maintenance, and clickВ Backup and Restore.

Step 2.В ClickВ RestoreВ my files and then follow the steps.

Solution 2. Restore Deleted Files/Folders from the Previous Version in Windows 10

You can restore deleted folders files on the previous version in Windows.

Step 1.В Open your computer and click the Start button and click the computer option.

Step 2.В Select a hard disk drive and right-click on it, and then clicking the option Restore previous versions.

Step 3.В On the pop-up window, you can check the File versions, you can click “Restore” to get your files back.

Solution 3. Recover Permanently Deleted Folders with Recoverit Data Recovery Software

If the first solution can not help you retrieve permanently deleted folders back, you can follow the next solution to get your files back. WithВ Recoverit Data Recovery software, it can easily to recover deleted folders from computer hard disk, also, the file recovery software can recover deleted files from external hard drive device.

Recoverit File Recovery program is the most professional deleted files recovery software, it can access to the computer hard disk or external hard drive and retrieve the deleted folder files back. Download the recovery software and follow the step as following toВ recover permanently deleted folders from Windows 11/10/8/7.

Steps on How to Recover Permanently Deleted Folders with Recoverit

Step 1.В Launch Recoverit Data Recovery software, select the hard disk location to get started.

Step 2.В The folder recovery software will start scanning the device to retrieve your lost files, the scanning will take for a while to finish.

Step 3.В After the scan, you can check all recover folders on theВ File PathВ results. The software support to preview recovered photos, videos, music, Word document, Excel files, PPT, and PDF.

Select your all recovered files and click the “Recover” button to save them on a safe hard disk or other devices.

Video Tutorial on How to Recover Deleted Files on Windows 10/8/7 Easily?

Recent Videos from Recoverit

To prevent the data loss again, you should always keep a backup of your important files on a safe device or cloud storage. Once you got the files lost, Recoverit data recovery software can help you to recover permanently lost files back easily and effectively.

Solution 4. Restore Deleted Data from Windows Using File History

To regain the files after a permanent delete, use File History. It is your simple tool in Microsoft Windows. You can return your Folders to earlier version. So, your files will return as well.

1. You should open the Start menu.
2. Once you enter restore files in search box, you will see a list of options.
3. Select the File History option. Then, look for the container folder. It’s the folder which carries the old address of your Deleted Data.
4. You will notice the File History Records. And you can navigate between each of these, with arrows.
5. After you hitВ RestoreВ button in the middle, the selection will return. You can find the selection data objects in the container folder. Yes, the file restoration brings them to their original location.

In case you do not see a record in the File History window, it’s Off. Thus, if you won’t see any folder. You will see an option which asks you to set it up. Using the setup option, File History can start its work.

People Also Ask

How to recover deleted network drive shared folder?

Your storage device still retains your Shared Folder data. And some Data Recovery Applications can help you. You can find an option to scan a drive for the deleted content. There can be a Remote Scanning option. But the physical connection is your best approach. The longer you wait, lower the chance of getting back your folder.

Updated on April 21, 2022

Did you lose all data after installing Windows 7 on your PC? Don’t Worry, you are not alone. Here in this article you will get an effective way to recover files after Windows 7 reinstall, clean install, reset, or automatic update. Try this quick and hassle-free process of file recovery after Windows 7 installation using Remo Recover Windows software. It can even restore data from corrupted windows, after system restore, and from unbootable Windows! Download now.

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User Query: “I have recently installed windows 7 and lost all the data from my computer! The problem multiplied when trying to fix it. I lost the Windows.old folder as well, which contains all the files and data from previous Windows installation. Please help. Thanks in advance.”

Upgrading an older version of your operating system with the latest one seems to be an exciting process, especially because of all the unique features that come along with the new version. Let’s say, you are upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7, you don’t have to do much since the installation process is simple and the steps are easy.

Why files went missing after installing Windows 7?

There exist numerous reasons that cause data loss during re-installation of Windows OS. While installing Windows 7 OS, some files may get lost due to unexpected circumstances like system crashes, damaged Windows Registry, file system corruption, software or hardware failure, and so on. You might think your files are lost forever and recovery is impossible! Fortunately, you can recover files after resetting Windows 7 in just a short span of time using Remo Recover Windows software.

Can I recover files after reinstalling Windows 7?

The files went missing after installing Windows 7 because whenever you install Windows 7 OS to the drive or partition where OS exists, it will format the partition first and then start copying Windows 7 OS files. However, if the partition where you are installing Windows 7 has a space of 60 GB then it will not overwrite all the files on the partition. It will only use space that is required to copy Windows 7 OS files, so it clearly shows that the files which are saved on the space left after installing Windows 7 can be recovered easily by using Remo Recover software.

How to Recover Files After Windows 7 Reinstall?

Make use of the Remo Recover tool, which is a powerful data recovery application that allows users to recover data from NTFS, NTFS5, FAT16, FAT32, and ExFAT hard drive partitions. Moreover, it facilitates data recovery after installing Windows XP, Windows 11, 10, 8, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, and 2008 OS on various desktops and laptops.

If you choose to install Windows on the same drive where an existing installation is already present, the setup program creates a folder named Windows.old in the root of the drive. This folder is used to store a full backup of the previously installed OS, including the boot manager and installed apps. This is very handy if you plan to uninstall the currently installed Windows version and return to the previously installed release. It can also be handy if you forgot to transfer some files or settings to the new installation. However, if you are already finished with the migration, then Windows.old just wastes your disk space for no reason. Here is how you can delete it and why it is better to use the built-in OS tools.

1. Press Win + R keys together on the keyboard and type the following
2. In the search results, cleanmgr will be listed. Right click it and choose “Run as administrator”. When it starts, wait till the disk space calculation is finished.
3. Scroll down to the end of the options list and locate the Previous Windows installation(s) option. Tick it and click the OK button.
   

That’s it. You can of course also delete your C:\Windows.old folder manually, but the Disk Cleanup application is more useful, because it will resolve NTFS access rights automatically and delete all files which are not accessible from your user account. In case of manual deletion, you will have to resolve those access rights by yourself, otherwise you will not be able to delete the C:\Windows.old folder.

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After you upgrade Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10, there will be some files left behind that take up a lot of space. Here’s how to get it back.

After you upgrade Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10, there will be some files left behind that take up a lot of space. Most notably the Windows.old folder. Here’s how to clean it up and get your drive space back.

We already wrote about the importance of not deleting the Windows.old folder, in case you wanted to revert back to Windows 7 or Windows 8.1. But if you’re happy with it, and want to get a good chunk of your local drive space back, you can.

Delete Windows.old on Windows 10

To clean it up, open This PC, right-click your local C: drive and then select Properties from the context menu. Then click the Disk Cleanup button.

Windows will calculate how much space can be saved, and give you a list of files to delete. Instead of running it, click the Clean up system files button.

Windows will go through the calculation process again, and this time it finds more files and folders that can be deleted.

Next, you’ll see the files and folders that can be deleted. Notice that the Windows.old folder is listed, and it takes up tons of space. Make sure to check it, and you can go ahead and remove Temporary Windows installation files and click OK.

You’ll see the progress while the files are deleted. The amount of space that these files take up and the time to delete them will vary between PCs. In this example, I’m cleaning up files on a laptop that I started with the first Windows 10 preview, and continued to update each build after that, so I’m freeing up just over 20 GB.

If you see any Disk Cleanup verification dialog messages come up, just click Yes or OK.

That’s all there is to it. Enjoy the extra space on your local drive to install your favorite apps and desktop programs.

If you’re sure you want to stick with Windows 10 after upgrading, cleaning up these files can save you a lot of space. This is especially important on devices that have an SSD with limited drive space.

Quick Navigation:

2.В Backup with EaseUS Software

Overview

Every time when you re-installing or upgrading Windows 10, the operating system will create a Windows.old folder which holds a copy of your previous Windows installation, including user profiles, installed program & settings and personal files. If something goes wrong during or after the installation, you can restore windows.old to easily and quickly go back to previous Windows version without reinstalling system & installed programs and losing data. So, it is important for you to protect windows.old folder from unexpected data loss disaster. The best way to do this job is to move or copy windows.old to an external hard drive. Here we will show you how to do it in simple steps. В

Why You Need to Backup or Move windows.Old to External Drive

Even windows old folder is important, but it is not existing on your computer all the time. In some special situations, it might be deleted. First, Microsoft only keeps windows.old folder on your computer for 30 days since your last Windows installation. Now it is minimized to 10 days since you installed the Windows 10 Anniversary update. After the time, windows.old folder will be deleted automatically. And second, as a complete backup of your whole system partition, Windows.old will take much of your disk space and cause low disk space. In this case, you might delete it when you are trying Windows 10 disk cleanup or other tools to free up disk space by deleting system files.В

When you lose windows.old folder in these special cases, you won’t be able to go back to the previous system without losing data. So we recommended you move or copy windows.old to another drive (here external drive is a better choice). It is the best way to keep and backup windows.old folder for a long time.В

Backup windows.old to External Drive with EaseUS File Backup Software

To backup windows.old in a safe and easy way, EaseUS Windows backup software is your best choice. The software works well to backup file/folder, system, installed applications, partition, and disk for Windows 10/8.1/8/7. Coming with advanced & flexible backup features and intuitive user interface, it can guide you copy or move windows.old folder to another drive, external hard disk, USB flash drive, SD card and another external storage device with ease.

Support Windows 11/10/8/7

To move/copy windows.old to an external drive, follow these steps:

Step 1. For the first time you use EaseUS Todo Backup to back up files, click Create backup on the home screen and then mouse click the big question mark to select backup contents.

Step 2. Since you’re going to back up files and folders on your computer, go on with the “File” backup mode, where you can select pictures, videos, documents and all other types of files to back up.

Step 3. Follow the paths to locate the files, folders or directoriesВ you want to back up, select them all and click “OK“.

Step 4.В Now you need to select a backup location to save and retain the backup.

Step 5.В EaseUS Todo Backup allows users to save the backup files to every device that is handy for you, like a local hard drive, external USB drive, SD card, network drive, or a NAS drive, plus a cloud drive of the EaseUS brand. We personally recommend users to choose the cloud drive prior to aВ physical drive to save important backups due to the greater accessibility, flexibility and safety.

To be able to access to EaseUS cloud, all you need is an email registration and login.В

Step 6.В If you’re interested in an automatic and intelligent backup schedule for the next file backup task, go on with the “Options” setting. There you can encrypt a confidential file backup, compress the backup image size, or customize a backup scheme to tell the software in what time to start the next backup.В

Customize an advanced and automatic backup task here:

Step 7. Click “Backup Now” to start the file backup process. Your completed backup files are visible on the left area in a card style.

Did you lose your lost Favorites on Microsoft Edge? Then utilize Remo Recover, effective software that can recover more than 300 file formats. It has a powerful built-in deep scan engine that scans the drive, to restore disappearing Favorites/Bookmarks. Additionally, this tool supports recovery of Favorites lost due to Windows updates or accidental deletion.

Microsoft Edge supports storing and synchronizing favorites (also known as bookmarks in other browsers), which is a handy way to keep links to frequently visited websites. It is a quick way to access the web pages on Microsoft Edge. These saved favorites can disappear from the Microsoft Edge browser. When this happens, things can get difficult as you might have to add the sites all over again. You would not have trouble adding a couple of sites, but if you have a huge number of files to restore, then things can get a bit difficult. Luckily, there are a few quick ways to restore the favorites on Microsoft Edge that disappeared after the update.

How do I Restore My Favorites on Microsoft Edge?

You might be left wondering why did the favorites disappear from Microsoft Edge. One possible reason could be because of a Windows update that might have made a change to Microsoft Edge. However, the below information will help you recover the favorites in a simple way.

Restore Disappeared Favorites From Internet Explorer

If you are wondering how to get favorites back on internet explorer, here are a few methods below that will help you restore bookmarks on Microsoft Edge that disappeared from Windows 10.

1. Import Favorites From Internet Explorer

If you have lost the favorites on Microsoft Edge you can import them from the older version that is the Internet Explorer. Here is how you can import

• Open Microsoft Edge and click on the three dots on the top right corner
• Now click on Favorites from the drop-down and select Manage favorites on Microsoft Edge option.
• Next, click on the three horizontal dots on the top
• Choose Import favorites
• Choose the Microsoft Internet Explorer from the option and hit the Import button
• Now you can find all your files being imported to the favorites

Sometimes your favorites might not be imported from Internet Explorer. This could be because your favorites URLs on Internet explorer are usually stored in C:\Users\User name\Favorites. If your saved URLs are missing from this folder, you will not be able to import them onto Microsoft Edge. One way to get back these URLs lost from the favorite folder is by restoring them to the previous version.

2. Restore Lost Favorites From The Previous Version

The Previous Version helps you restore any data that has been backed up within file history. If you have added your Favorites folder to file history backup, you can restore deleted favorites using the following steps

• Navigate to C:\Users\Username\Favorites right-click on the favorite folder and choose Properties
• Now, select the Previous Versions tab and choose the old version
• Finally, click on Restore to get back all your files lost from Favorites

After retrieving the files, follow the steps mentioned in the first solution to restore your lost favorites on Microsoft Edge.

But what do you do when you don’t have a backup of your lost Favorite items? Worry not! You can still recover them and the only way to do this is by using file recovery software.

3. How to Restore lost Favorites on Windows 10?

If your Favorite items or bookmarks on the Microsoft edge are missing due to an update or accidental deletion, it is impossible for you to search them manually. Remo Recover is an efficient File Recovery Software with a deep scan algorithm that scans every sector of the drive to recover lost Favorites. Additionally, it can detect more than 300 files and supports the recovery of files lost due to various reasons.

Download and install the Remo Recover tool the follow the below steps

Step 1: From the main screen click on the Recover Partition tab

Step 2: Choose the drive that contained the Microsoft Edge Favorites files.

Step 3: Click on the Scan button, once the scan process is completed the recovered files will be listed in File Type View and Data View

Step 4: Finally, select the files and click on Save them to the desired location.

Reasons For Losing Favorites On Microsoft Edge

• Accidental deleting favorites on Microsoft Edge
• Virus attack
• Lost My Favorites/bookmarks on after updating Microsoft Edge
• Software/hardware issues
• Accidentally deleting the favorites while removing the duplicates bookmarks

Tips To Manage Favorites On Microsoft Edge Effectively

You may organize numerous additional features of your saved links using the management tool. You can update existing favorites, conceal labels, and delete favorites and folders, for example. Duplicate bookmarks can also be removed.

Remove Duplicate favorites

If you have knowingly imported my favorites from multiple browsers then it results in creating duplicates, by following the below method you can remove duplicates from bookmarks.

• Open Microsoft Edge, click on the Star icon
• Click on More options (three dots), now you will be displayed a favorites bar list.
• In the favorites, bar list click on the More option and select Remove duplicates favorites
• Click on the Remove

Duplicate favorites and folders will be erased when you finish the instructions, and the changes will sync across devices if sync is enabled.

Hide labels for Favorites

To make room for more links, you can hide the name of a favorite in the favorites bar.

1. Right-click the item in the URL bar and select the Show icon only option to hide or show the name of the favorite or folder.
2. To restore the label, right-click the item and select the Show icon only option from the context menu.

Conclusion

Follow the instruction mentioned in the article to recover the lost favorites on your Microsoft edge. Sometimes the favorites on Microsoft edge could also be missing due to a technical glitch in the application. To avoid such incidents, you need to update Microsoft Edge. These updates will contain the fix for the issue on your Microsoft Edge.

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How can I restore old bookmarks after doing a Refresh Firefox?

• 2 replies
• 3 have this problem
• 235 views
• Last reply by ray23

I did a Refresh Firefox to get rid of Bing (it worked). The Mozilla site said it would keep important things, but all bookmarks are gone.

Chosen solution

Sorry to hear about that. Here are two things to try:

(1) Restore a dated bookmark backup. The following article has the steps to call up the Restore feature. If backups are available in your current Firefox profile (settings) folder, they should be listed by date:

(2) Restore a bookmark backup from the Old Firefox Data folder on your desktop. Refresh moves your old settings to an Old Firefox Data folder on your desktop.

Do you see that folder? If so, please check inside for a semi-randomly-named folder and check inside there for a folder named bookmarkbackups. If you have that, please use the article under #1 above but use the “Choose File” option to restore one of the backups from the folder on your desktop.

All Replies (2)

Chosen Solution

Sorry to hear about that. Here are two things to try:

(1) Restore a dated bookmark backup. The following article has the steps to call up the Restore feature. If backups are available in your current Firefox profile (settings) folder, they should be listed by date:

(2) Restore a bookmark backup from the Old Firefox Data folder on your desktop. Refresh moves your old settings to an Old Firefox Data folder on your desktop.

Do you see that folder? If so, please check inside for a semi-randomly-named folder and check inside there for a folder named bookmarkbackups. If you have that, please use the article under #1 above but use the “Choose File” option to restore one of the backups from the folder on your desktop.

In this article, we will see how to retrieve your programs, profile, settings, documents, pictures, music, movies, favorites and everything else from a Windows.old folder, which is created when you upgrade your computer to a newer Windows. The process uses an automatic software product, so it does not require a lot of technical knowledge for a successful recovery.

Windows.old is a special archive folder that is created when you install a new Windows 11 or Windows 10 “in-place” on your existing computer. When Windows is unable to transfer your existing programs and files, it puts them all in that Windows.old folder, and the computer appears to be wiped out. However, it is still possible to restore everything back. Here is how:

Recovering your files, settings, profiles and programs from windows.old

1. 1. On the newly installed Windows computer, run Zinstall Migration Kit Pro (you can get it here: Zinstall Migration Kit Pro)
   2. Select the last scenario – In-place Upgrade from Windows.old.
   3. The Migration Kit will automatically detect the old installation. Confirm the selection, and press Next.

1. If you want to only recover some of the programs, or some of the files, use the Advanced menu to select which ones you want. If you want to just recover everything, simply click Next to continue.
2. You will be presented with a quick summary of what’s about to be recovered – press “Go” to start the process.

By Avram Piltch published 17 August 16

This month, Microsoft started rolling out its Windows 10 Anniversary Update, a major upgrade to the company’s flagship operating system. The update adds several features, including Windows Ink, Cortana Phone Sync and Windows Hello logins for applications, but it also consumes about 20GB in space on your storage drive during the installation process.

If you recently installed the Anniversary Update, you may notice that your storage drive has 20 to 22GB less space than it did before. The problem isn’t with the update itself, but with the old software it leaves behind. Every time you perform a major update — not a patch, but an actual change to the OS build number — Windows keeps a backup copy of the old version in a folder called Windows.old on your C drive. Since Windows 10 takes up about 20GB, the backup folder eats up all that space. Upgrading from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10 also creates this backup folder.

The reason Windows 10 keeps a backup is to help you roll back to the previous build number in the event that you have a serious problem. In fact, in the case of Anniversary Update, a small number of users who have both SSDs and hard drives, with programs stored on the hard drive, have experienced freezing problems. After 10 days, the Windows.old folder may delete itself — or it may not.

Unless you have a serious freezing problem, which you would notice right after the upgrade, we recommend that you delete the Windows.old folder to save a lot of space. The OS won’t let you just highlight the folder and hit the delete key, though. Here’s how to delete the Windows.old folder:

1. Launch Disk Cleanup. You can get there by searching for “Disk Cleanup” in the Cortana box.

2. Select the C drive and Click Ok.

3. Click Clean up system files.

4. Select the C drive again and click Ok.

5. Select Previous Windows Installations and hit Ok. You may also want to select all the other items on this list.

6. Click Delete Files.

7. Click Yes if prompted to confirm.

You’ll have to wait a few minutes for the files to delete, but your C drive will have a lot more space afterwards.

[NEW] Configuration data is lost after upgrading JoyToKey version

Before JoyToKey version 6.3, configuration files were stored in the folder where JoyToKey.exe was placed (installed).

Starting from JoyToKey version 6.3, user configuration data is now stored in your “Documents/JoyToKey” folder by default.

This change was made to avoid unnecessarily hassles where users could not locate the configuration files or could not save them properly due to folder permission issues.

After the version upgrade, in case you cannot see the configuration files, please copy the configuration files (JoyToKey.ini and *.cfg files) from the old “JoyToKey” folder to your “Documents/JoyToKey” folder.

In case you want to restore the old behavior

For backward compatibility, when profiles (*.cfg files) exist in the same folder as “JoyToKey.exe”, they are supposed to take precedence over the ones in user’s Documents’ “JoyToKey” folder (except when JoyToKey is launched from “Programs Files (x86)” folder).

Therefore, if you want to restore the old behavior, i.e. if you want to keep all the files (JoyToKey program and configuration data) in the same folder,

1. Download JoyToKey in ZIP archive format instead of a self installer format, and unzip the file in your desired folder location.
2. Copy the configuration files to the desired folder where JoyToKey.exe was unzipped
3. (Optional but recommended) Delete or rename “JoyToKey” folder in your “Documents” folder so that JoyToKey will not load those files
4. Launch JoyToKey.exe from your desired folder location

Use custom folder location (For advanced users)

In case you want to store your configuration data in a different folder, JoyToKey supports the following folder locations.

1. File path from a command line argument
2. Folder override from Registry
3. User’s ”Documents/JoyToKey” folder
4. The folder where JoyToKey.exe program is located (for backward compatibility)

The combination of (1) and (2) above could be useful in case you use some launcher program (such as RocketLauncher and Hyperspin) to start JoyToKey by passing a profile path as a command line argument (1), while storing/loading the license information in the single location (2). Please refer to this page for more details

(3) is the default behavior for new installations since version 6.3.

(4) is for backward compatibility. In order to resurrect this behavior, please delete (or rename) “JoyToKey” folder in your “Documents” folder as described earlier in this page.

If you choose to install Windows on the same drive where an existing installation is already present, the setup program creates a folder named Windows.old in the root of the drive. This folder is used to store a full backup of the previously installed OS, including the boot manager and installed apps. This is very handy if you plan to uninstall the currently installed Windows version and return to the previously installed release. It can also be handy if you forgot to transfer some files or settings to the new installation. However, if you are already finished with the migration, then Windows.old just wastes your disk space for no reason. Here is how you can delete it and why it is better to use the built-in OS tools.

1. Press Win + R keys together on the keyboard and type the following
2. In the search results, cleanmgr will be listed. Right click it and choose “Run as administrator”. When it starts, wait till the disk space calculation is finished.
3. Scroll down to the end of the options list and locate the Previous Windows installation(s) option. Tick it and click the OK button.

That’s it. You can of course also delete your C:\Windows.old folder manually, but the Disk Cleanup application is more useful, because it will resolve NTFS access rights automatically and delete all files which are not accessible from your user account. In case of manual deletion, you will have to resolve those access rights by yourself, otherwise you will not be able to delete the C:\Windows.old folder.

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Author: Sergey Tkachenko

Sergey Tkachenko is a software developer who started Winaero back in 2011. On this blog, Sergey is writing about everything connected to Microsoft, Windows and popular software. Follow him on Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube. View all posts by Sergey Tkachenko

When you buy a new computer, it’s always a pain moving all your old files over to your new one. This article details how you can simplify the process for Windows 10 using a free tool from Microsoft.

If you buy a new PC, there is the chore of bringing over your personal files and settings. We have looked at a number of options in the past, such as the excellent File History tool built into Windows since Windows 8. There is one solution however designed just for Windows 10 which we’re going to review with you in detail, Laplink PC Mover Express.

In partnership with Microsoft, Laplink provided a basic transfer tool for free to aid users with migrating their files and personal settings to a new PC running Windows 10. PCMover Express can transfer files and settings from computers running Windows XP to computers running Windows 8.1 or later. Previously, users depended on the built-in Windows Easy Transfer wizard, but this is no longer supported. In this article, I’ll review downloading, installing, and transferring your files using PCMover Express.

Use PCMover Express to Migrate Personal Files to a New Windows 10 PC or Device

PCMover Express supports multiple methods for transferring your files to a new PC. For this tutorial, I will be using a wired network. This will require setting up a basic network between the old and new PC. If this is too involved, you can consider the other options available such as Laplink’s own proprietary Laplink Ethernet cable or Laplink USB cable.

Install and Configure PCMover Express Old PC

Once you have your devices connected, go to the PCMover Express page, then click the Download now link. After downloading, launch the PCmoverExpressPersonalUse_EN file, proceed to install it on the old and new PCs. The PC Mover Express wizard requires providing some information for registration purposes, which will require Internet access.

Click Next to begin

Accept the license agreement

Enter your customer information.

During the post-setup, Laplink will go hard on the upsell, ignore it then click Next.

The free version of PCMover Express does not transfer applications; the wizard will offer to upsell you to a Professional edition if you want that option. Ignore it and follow the other instructions such as ensuring both devices are connected. Besides, reinstalling applications from their original setup files and install discs is always best. If you are transferring from an older computer running Windows 10, check out our article for instructions on how to reinstall purchased UWP apps from the Windows Store.

Select PC to PC Transfer then click Next.

Click Old then click Next.

Wait while PCMover Express analyzes your old PC then configures it to begin the transfer.

Configure PCMover Express on New PC

Now that we have our old PC configured, we are ready to transfer our files over. Launch PC Mover Express on the new PC. You will have to go through some of the same steps performed initially on the old PC such as registration. On the new PC, make sure you select Windows 8.1 or later then click Next.

PCmover should automatically detect the old computer we configured earlier. If you don’t find it, click Browse, Network then select your computer if it’s listed. Click Next.

Your PC’s will be analyzed for what’s available to be transferred.

If OneDrive is detected, PCMover Express will offer the opportunity to select which folders you would like to migrate from the cloud storage service. Click Next.

The exclusion screen allows you to choose what you don’t want to migrate such as User Accounts, Drives, File types, and folders.

The User Account Selections let you edit and choose which accounts you to transfer. Also, you can have its contents migrate to a new account instead of the currently logged-in user.

Partitions can also be included or excluded from your migration.

If there are specific folders you would like to add or exclude; the Folder filters can help you do so.

Once you’ve defined your exclusions, click Next to review the summary. PCMover will provide a summary and estimation of how long it might take to transfer. If you are not satisfied, click Back to make appropriate changes. Click Next to begin the transfer.

Wait while PCMover transfers your files.

When complete, click Finish to restart so that changes are written to disk. That’s it.

It’s a little bit more involved than other options, but it’s thorough and easy to follow. Make sure you check out our other articles about backing up your data.

How is your Windows 10 upgrade going so far? Did upgrade an older computer or get it preinstalled on a new device? Let us know in the comments. If you are experiencing trouble with the upgrade, join us on the Windows 10 Forum for expert help and support.

By Jose Richardson published 18 December 18

Top solutions for restoring Windows 10

If your Windows 10 PC is has become sluggish, crashes frequently, or you are encountering technical glitches, you can use the inbuilt tools from the Windows 10 recovery suite or a third-party system rollback software to restore your device to an operable state.

Let’s quickly look at the functionality of top 5 PC rollback software solutions for Windows 10 and when to use them:

1. System Restore

System Restore is a Windows utility tool that enables you to rollback your PC configuration state to an earlier point in time when it was running properly. To do so, this program automatically creates Restore Points, which are snapshots of your necessary system files, driver configuration, registry keys, installed applications, and system settings at regular intervals for future reference. If required, you can also create these restore points manually.

If you notice that some recent system-level changes, such as installation of a new driver or Operating System (OS) upgrade, have made your Windows 10 PC slow, you can execute this program. It provides a list of restore points which can be used to rollback your PC to an earlier date.

You can select any of them, thus taking your system back to the way it was when the selected Restore Point was created. Doing so will not affect your personal documents and files. System Restore, however, reinstalls all apps that were present in the system at the chosen point in time and delete those that were installed after that point.

2. Go back to the previous build

Whenever you update your Windows 10 PC to a newer version, it creates a backup copy of the existing version, which is then stored in the “windows.old” folder of your system drive. If the recent system update makes your system unstable or affects its performance, you can opt for this program to restore Windows 10 to the previous build. You will have up to 10 days to revert to the previous build after upgrading to the most recent version.

Rolling back your PC with this tool works quite in a similar manner as System Restore — Your personal files remain intact but all changes you performed since the installation of the new build, such as newly installed apps, drivers, or alterations in system settings, are removed.

3. System image recovery

If your PC is unable to boot into Windows normally due to a hard disk failure or virus infection, using System Image Recovery will enable you to revert it to a previously created backup image of your PC hard drive. To execute this recovery program effectively, you need to occasionally create system images, which are exact copies of your system drive along with all the files, settings, and programs in it, and store them as backups.

In the event of a major system crash, you can run this tool to restore your Windows 10 PC to exactly the way it was when the chosen image backup was created. While restoring your system from a selected system image, you will not be able to choose individual items for restoration. As a result, all your current system settings, programs, and files will be replaced by the contents of the chosen system image.

4. Reset Windows 10

If the options mentioned above fail to fix the problem in your system or if you have not created any system image for recovery, one easy solution is to simply reset your Windows 10 PC to its factory settings. This reset functionality in Windows 10 reinstalls the OS from scratch but in two different ways:

‘Keep My files’: If you opt for this option, the Reset program would reinstall Windows 10, but would not touch your personal documents and files. It would, however, removes all applications that you installed from discs or downloaded from the internet and discards all the modifications you performed on the system settings. It thus can provide you with a clean PC to work on, without the hassle of having to backup and restore your important personal files.

‘Remove everything’: Selecting this Reset option will delete all your personal files in addition to reinstalling Windows 10. It will also remove all installed software applications, programs, and drivers that were not a part of the original configuration. If your PC is badly infected with a virus or facing persistent problems despite constant troubleshooting, you can go for this option to get your PC up and running again.

5. Reboot to restore software

Third-party software solutions leveraging the power of reboot to restore technology facilitates instant system restoration in the event of sudden system malfunctioning. Once you have deployed such software on your Windows 10 PC, you would be asked to set up a baseline configuration as the preferred state.

After that, you can work on your PC normally and make any changes you want. When you restart your PC, this system rollback software would reload the pre-defined baseline settings, while deleting all changes, whether accidental or malicious, performed on the system during the session. The reboot to restore capabilities of these solutions would thus help you to keep your PC in a clean and fully functional state.

The above-mentioned PC rollback software solutions, whether pre-installed in Windows 10 version or offered by third-party vendors, are well-equipped to offer effective recovery from problems and issues that might stop your system from working properly. Getting familiar with their functionality levels and when they are used will help you leverage them to their maximum potential in future.

By Jon Martindale published 29 July 18

Why’s that Windows.old folder using up gigabytes of space, and how do you get rid of it?

If you’ve updated Windows 10 recently (or upgraded to Windows 10), then you probably have a folder on your system called Windows.old. Maybe you found it while searching for big files clogging up your drive, or this is news to you. Why is it there? What do you do with Windows.old?

Although for most people Windows.old is redundant and can be left alone, deleting it could be a good way to free up a ton of space, especially on a small SSD. Read on to find out how to get rid of Windows.old, and whether or not you should.

What does Windows.old do?

The Windows.old folder is essentially just what it sounds like: it’s your old version of Windows. If you upgraded from Windows 7 or 8.1 to Windows 10, then you will have a Windows.old folder located in your C: drive. The same goes for if you updated to any of the major versions of Windows 10: Creators Update, April Update etc.

Windows.old is a backup of the system you just updated in case something goes wrong with the upgrade. If you find the new system doesn’t work or you don’t like the state of things after it’s complete, you can just roll it back using Windows 10’s built in roll back feature.

However, you do only have a set amount of time to do so. Windows 10 updates before the 2016 Anniversary edition keep Windows.old around for 30 days to give almost a month to roll back if you want. Since Microsoft discovered that most people who do use the roll back feature do it within the first day or two of completing an update, now it keeps Windows.old around for much less time.

If you’re running one of the latest versions of Windows 10, then you only have 10 days after updating to take advantage of the backup Windows.old affords you. After that point, you’ll need to do a full reinstall to take things back to the way they were.

How do you delete Windows.old?

If you’re completely happy with the way your Windows upgrade or update has panned out, then you don’t need to worry about Windows.old. It will delete itself after the 10 day period is up and you can enjoy the additional space it gives you.

That said, if you’re running a system with very little free storage space and you need every gigabyte you can get your hands on, Windows.old can take up a sizeable portion of your storage. Deleting it can get your that extra space much quicker if you need it. Here’s how to do it.

• Go to the Windows “Settings” menu by searching for it in the Windows search bar. Alternatively, press the Windows key and “X” and select “Settings” from the menu.
• Click the “System” icon and select “Storage” from the left-hand menu.
• You’ll see a list of the drives on your system. Scroll down to the heading titled “Storage sense.” Click the blue “Free up space now” link.

• You’ll then be taken to a page that lists all of the potential files and folders that you can safely remove from your system. You want to look for one titled “Previous version of Windows.” Tick the box next to it.
• If you want, you can select other unneeded Windows files for deletion, including ones related to the update, such as “Windows Upgrade Log Files” and “Windows Updatge Cleanup.”
• When you’ve selected everything you want to remove, click the grey, “Remove files” button at the top of the window.

That’s it! Windows.old and anything else you wanted rid of are now deleted and you should have some extra storage space.

Freeing up even more space

If this whole deep dive into Windows 10’s storage management tools has you interested in running a leaner system, you can use this opportunity to look into Storage Sense. Back in the main Storage menu, click “Change how we free up space automatically,” and designate which parts of your drives you want to be cleaned up by Windows on a regular basis.

There you’ll find options for how often Storage Sense can run, what kind of temporary files it looks to delete and how often. Just make sure to toggle Storage Sense on at the top of the window when you’re happy with your choices.