Microsoft has just released its Windows 10 Anniversary Update, which has a number of new features and some improvements to the latest version of the company’s operating system.
However the Windows 10 Anniversary Update has been found to take a considerable chunk of storage space on your hard drive. Downloading the update means that your computer stores legacy files that are no longer necessary for running your machine.
Take back your 20GB with this guide
These files add up to 20GB, which is a decent chunk of hard drive space. Here is your guide to getting rid of the files and making better use of the space.
The first point of interest is that many users do not even know that a folder known as Windows.old exists. Here the operating system stores a copy of previous versions whenever a big update is made.
Microsoft apparently makes the copy as a security mechanism in case something terrible happens during the update. It is stored in the primary hard disk partition, where it can be called upon to roll back to a previous version of the operating system if need be.
Delete Windows.old on Windows 10
Windows 10 offers users the chance roll back to their last version of Windows within 30 days of an update, and the necessary files are stored in Windows.old. However if you don’t want to roll back, you might want your 20GB storage back.
Open “This PC” to see information about your machine, and right-click on the primary hard disk partition. Now click on “Properties” and select “Disk Cleanup.”
Now select “Clean up system files” and check the boxes next to “Previous Windows installation(s),” “Temporary Windows installation files,” and “System error memory dump files.” Now click on OK to start the process.
The main consideration here is the “Previous Windows installation(s)” option, which contains Windows.old. However if you check the other boxes as well you should see yourself saving around 20GB in disk space. While many computers now boast massive hard drives, 20GB is still a considerable amount. For those with smaller disks, it’s well worth getting the space back.
