Leftover from update

Question

Hi,

I got a windows.old file after the 20H1-H2 update. I've found in the thread, closed now, https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/does-windowsold-normally-appear-after-win-10/3d1ecdec-844f-40bb-a115-1b4e8a7c7985 that I can safely get rid of this, and how. I did.

First, I'd appreciate some clarification on 'That should only appear when upgrading from a previous version of Windows, or if an in-place upgrade was performed on the PC.' I had 1909 version before, so what does this mean?

Second, I still have a folder Windows10Upgrade, and a file $WINRE_BACKUP_PARTITION.MARKER

Do I need these, if not how to safely remove them?

Thanks a lot.

Answer 1

Perfect. Closing this thread from my end.

Thanks for your co-operation and patience.

Have a great time.

Thanks

Vaibhavi

An Independent Advisor

Answer 2

That thread was all about this update, so I wondered how it could be less 'upgrade' than from the preceding version. It's clear now, thank you.

I deleted the marker file, and I'm happy that my system is updated without any adverse side effect.

Thank you very much for all.

Answer 3

In that thread, I think they were mentioning about Windows.Old folder only. Which we can delete after upgrade, if we don't wish to rollback in near future.

For the marker file, yes we're good to delete that as well, that file is mainly for recovery environment, and would be having 0 KB in size.

Answer 4

Hi Vaibhavi,

Thank you for your prompt reply.

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear, I quoted from the thread that I referred to. What's 'only if upgrade' if I had the preceding version?

I uninstalled the Assistant as you advised, the folder disappeared indeed. The file (marker) though is still there, can I just delete it?

Thanks again,

George

Answer 5

Hi George,

I am Vaibhavi, an Independent Advisor in Microsoft Community.

'That should only appear when upgrading from a previous version of Windows, or if an in-place upgrade was performed on the PC.' - may I know where do you read this? Because here the meaning of 'That' is not clear. I think it is about the "Windows.Old" folder but not 100% sure until I read the entire thread.

"Do I need these, if not how to safely remove them?"

If your PC is working perfectly fine after update then yes, you're good to delete those, in order to delete those, please follow below steps:

1. Open Control Panel
2. Open Program and Features
3. Search for "Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant"
4. Uninstall it
5. Verify whether the folder is there or not.

Thanks

Vaibhavi

An Independent Advisor