How to remove old Windows completely. Extra Windows old folder how to delete
Quite a lot has been written about how to install Windows:
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and others...
But there is still little written about how to remove Windows, and there is no such article on my website yet. We will correct this oversight.
I won’t go into why you needed to do this, but to the question “ Is it possible to uninstall Windows?"I will answer in the affirmative.
I warn you in advance that if you just want to delete the Windows and Program Files folder, and that’s it, then this will not be correct!
Correct removal of the Windows operating system involves formatting the disk () with the system installed on it.
The fact is that if this is not done, then in the future such situations may arise that there will be OS conflicts. For example, the keys will conflict.
Therefore, before you start deleting, make sure to save all important files and data on another partition of your local disk or on an external one.
This instruction can be divided into two subcategories: when you have an operating system on one disk partition () and when there is another local disk with data and without an OS.
The removal process in this case goes like this.
If you boot under a boot disk (Live CD), then format the partition using standard Windows tools (link above) from under the loaded OS.
If you boot from the installation disk, then there will be a window with a choice of the disk where to install Windows. This is where you need to choose Formatting:
Well, then either install or cancel - it’s up to you.
How to remove the second (old, unnecessary) windows?
This applies to the case when you have more than one local disk, and one already has the OS installed. Here the actions are similar to the previous deletion. Format the disk with the “unnecessary” Windows installed using standard tools of the system itself or using additional programs. After this, neither the old Windows nor all the files will remain. Formatting is what it is...
In conclusion, I would like to add the following.
Yes, you can take the lazy route - delete Windows files and all folders, and you can also install a new OS on top of an existing one (this is also possible) or install it on the same disk, but then there will be a lot of problems. Therefore, think carefully about whether you want a fresh new system and start from scratch, or whether you leave the old one and then suffer from conflicts.
Today I decided to prepare a short article in which I will talk about how to remove one Windows system from a computer on which you have installed two operating systems, for example, Windows 8 and Windows 7. I have already written an article on how to do this correctly. This article can be considered a small addition.
It is clear that if you installed two operating systems on your computer, for example, in order to test Windows 8, then sooner or later you will want to remove one of the systems. Either leave the new eight and remove Windows 7, or vice versa, remove Windows 8.
I don't see much point in having two systems on a computer. Although, now hard drives are of such capacity that you can install about ten of them :) But, for example, on my 120 GB SSD drive, this is not very correct. Therefore, when you have already checked everything and made your decision, the question arises, how to remove Windows 7 or Windows 8. Now I will write how I did it.
You probably already thought that there is something complicated here, you formatted the partition with an unnecessary system, and that’s all. But not everything is so simple, the bootloader still remains intact. You also need to remove the system from the boot menu. There is nothing difficult about this, I’ll demonstrate it now.
Completely remove Windows (if two systems are installed)
It is best to remove it from the system that you decided to leave. I don't know how important this is, but it's better to do it this way.
For example, I decided to leave Windows 8, and I will show you how to remove Windows 7.
This means that in this case, we carry out all actions from the figure eight. First we will make our system, which we decided to keep, the main one (it should load by default), and then remove the system we don’t need from the download.
Go to your desktop and press the keys Win+R. In the Run window, enter the command msconfig, and press OK.
In the new window, go to the tab, select the operating system that we want to keep (in our case, this is Windows 8), and press the button Use as default (opposite OS, the corresponding status “Default OS” should appear).
Now, select the system that we want to delete (in our case, this is WIndows 7), and press the button Delete.
A window will appear, I advise you to select .
The computer will reboot, and without the ability to select an operating system, the system that we left should immediately boot. In our case, this is Windows 8.
What to do with files from the old system?
Yes, all that remains is to deal with the partition that previously contained the operating system. The easiest way is to format it and store files on it.
Just be careful when you format the partition. Check its contents, there should be folders there: Program Files, Windows, Users, etc. And this cannot be drive C, it will have a different letter.
Attention! Formatting will delete all information on the local drive. If we consider our case specifically, all information that was stored on the local drive C will be deleted (desktop, folder my documents, my photos, etc.), on the operating system we want to remove.
Second way.
You can delete a partition, and add the free space that appears after deleting it to an existing partition. I don’t know how much of a necessary procedure this is, because it’s much easier to just leave this section for storing files.
But, if you decide to remove it completely, then this can be done using a standard tool Disk management, which I wrote about in this article ““. Do not pay attention that the article was written for Windows 7, on eight, everything is exactly the same.
In Disk Management, right-click on the partition you want to delete and select Delete volume...“.
Then, right-click on the partition to which you want to add memory from the deleted partition and select Extend Volume. Follow the instructions, everything is simple.
Afterword
Here is a proven way to remove an operating system if you have two or even more of them on your computer. I think that there should not be any problems. The main thing is to be careful not to delete something wrong or format a section with valuable information.
If anything, ask your questions in the comments, I will try to help. Share information, perhaps you did this procedure differently. Best wishes!
Also on the site:
How to remove one Windows operating system from a computer if two systems are installed? updated: February 6, 2018 by: admin
The situation is funny: on the one hand, developers from Microsoft claim that since the transition of all Windows operating systems to the NT kernel, system stability has increased tens of times. It is claimed that you can forget about constant “blue screens of death”, better known as BSOD; freezes of the entire computer due to one “stuck” running process; and many other “goodies” that promise the user long-term stable operation of the system.
But on the other hand, everything looks a little different: Microsoft's promises about new mechanisms for working with memory have been fully fulfilled, but the reliability, although it has become higher than that of the Windows 9x line, is still insufficient. This is indirectly evidenced by the frequently asked question on the Internet “how to remove old Windows.” The operating system still has to be reinstalled periodically. It “lives” for years only among those users who limit themselves to working in office applications, listening and viewing multimedia files and using a small number of other programs. Usually these are newbies who won’t even launch an update again. In contrast, experienced users who are not afraid to experiment with new programs sometimes have to figure out old Windows.
Removing your previous Windows system is required in two main cases: the transition to the need to reinstall due to the inability to boot or abnormal operation of applications. The question “how to remove old Windows 7” is asked much less often than for Win XP. This is explained by the foresight of Microsoft, which implemented a convenient mechanism for installing a new system on top of the old one. There are three ways to remove your legacy system.
The first one is applicable for Win 7, but not for Win XP. It is enough to insert the disk with the installation distribution into the drive and begin the installation process. At one stage, a message will appear that an old system has been detected, which will be saved in the Windows.old folder. As a result, nothing important will be erased, and old system folders and files will be moved. There is access to them, so it’s quite easy to restore your documents, game saves and other information. The Windows.old directory can be deleted later.
Despite the obviousness, the question “how to remove old Windows” is still asked. Therefore, you can use the second method. It is quite specific and not available to everyone, but still exists. You should boot from another hard drive, then there will be no problems with how to remove the old Windows, because the hard drive with the old system is visible in Explorer, and any directory on it can be deleted. Usually, they rarely keep two stationary hard drives in a computer (with the exception of RAID), but some users sometimes install the system on an external one.
The third, universal method is to boot from a CD or flash drive (a very popular option) a special smaller version of Windows - Windows PE. It is very limited in functionality, for example, support for full sound and video, although possible, is associated with certain difficulties, and therefore is rarely implemented.
At the same time, working with the file system is possible in full. You can download LiveCD from torrent trackers. There are many builds of it made by enthusiasts based on Win PE. The package often includes programs for working with hard drive partitions, tests of computer hardware components, and some other applications. After loading the prepared LiveCD disk (flash drive), it is recommended to erase the old Windows. Sometimes the hard drive may not show up in the PE system. To solve this, you should change the operating mode of the disk subsystem from AHCI to IDE in the BIOS. If you cannot erase due to access rights, you can change them (Folder Options - Security - Advanced).
If the user does not know how to remove the old Windows 7 activator, then this can most simply and correctly be done in the activator installer itself. Typically, all such programs have an easy-to-understand interface that won’t be difficult to understand. Before doing this, do not forget to disable software protection in services (Control Panel - Administration - Services).
In a situation where the computer starts to work slowly, the only correct solution among the recommendations for setting up the computer yourself, you will find reinstalling the operating system, but this is not always done correctly, so then there is a need to remove the old Windows after installing the new one. Usually the OS is installed on a clean partition, but if it so happens that you installed the new Windows operating system in the same place (in the same logical drive) as the old one, it will automatically remove the files of the old operating system into a folder called “Windows.old” " After all the necessary files have been saved, the folder with the old OS can be deleted. Moreover, there is never too much space on your hard drive. There are two ways to do this.
Removal using Windows
Cleaning the boot menu
After you have installed a new operating system on the same partition, you may have a problem in the form of a menu that prompts you to choose which OS to select when booting. This problem is quite easy to solve.
- Click "Start";
- In the search bar, type msconfig;
- Select this program in the search results;
- In the next window, go to the “Download” tab;
- Select the old operating system;
- Click the “Delete” button, after which the program will inform you that a reboot is necessary;
- Restart your computer.
After all the above steps, the operating system will boot in normal mode and the menu for selecting the operating system will no longer appear.
There is nothing complicated about how to remove old Windows installations; the main thing is to decide on the method of execution. Now you can start setting up sound on your computer, setting up drivers, networking, and other things with peace of mind. Remember: in order to avoid the procedure of uninstalling previous versions of operating systems, it is recommended to install Windows on a pre-formatted partition. Thus, you will save your new operating system from garbage in the form of programs and files of the previous version of Windows.
Today there will be a post on how to remove the old Windows and cleanly install the new operating system. I'll tell you how to completely remove Windows. For some reason, many people don't understand this.
What does it mean to demolish Windows?
Removing Windows means formatting the disk with Windows installed and installing it on a blank disk. In simple terms, demolishing Windows means correctly removing the old Windows.
Windows installers are divided into 2 types.
The first ones write it to disk. Launch the disk from under the old Windows and begin the installation. This WRONG DECISION installation of any Windows.
To properly install Windows Xp, 7, 8, 10, you will need to run the disk or bootable USB flash drive AFTER restarting the computer and BEFORE loading the old Windows.
First, you need to restart your computer and go into bios. In some cases, you need to set support for a USB adapter in the BIOS settings (if the keyboard and mouse do not respond to pressure and the disk with the Windows installation does not start)
After this, you need to set either disk loading or flash drive loading (depending on what you are doing the demolition of Windows and a clean installation of Windows)
If the key is not pressed, then you should set usb support (this is written above)
So, the disk began to load. We wait and press Next. We need a moment when we can delete partition C:
Windows is demolished after deleting the C: partition (most likely Windows is installed there)
Now, select the unallocated area and install Windows there.
This way you will remove ALL operating systems from your computer and install just one. This method is suitable for any Windows Xp/7/8/10. Now you know how to properly remove Windows and install a new Windows Xp/7/8/10, as I advise you to do in every manual!
P.S: This method is suitable for installing any builds of Windows. It is recommended to install any build of Windows according to this manual. Do not run the disk under Windows, load it correctly!
All the best