Can you MOVE and not delete windows.old

C

collinsclan

New Member
I just did a custom install of windows Vista and need to get rid of the windows.old file. I have an external hard drive and would like to move it there and not delete it just in case I have forgotten any files that are not immediately apparent. Can I just cut and paste it? Or will that mess something up in Vista.

Thanks!
CollinsClan
 

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It would be best if you left alone until ready to delete. When you delete the best way is with disc cleanup, from the c drive, including system files.. It will not hurt vista, but windows.old may not be the same.
 

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You certainly don't want to cut and paste. That is no proper way. Use Copy to folder. And why don't you just copy your own data. The system files are of no use anyhow. If that worked well, you can delete windows.old. You can use this command in elevated cmd: rd /s /q c:\windows.old
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    Q6600
    Memory
    4GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP w2207h
    Hard Drives
    2x250GB HDDs
    1x60GB OCZ SSD
    6 external disks 60 to 640GBs
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    Also 1xHP desktop, 1xHP laptop, 1xGateway laptop
Thank you for your replies. I am mainly worried that I haven't saved something that would normally be under a program file and I won't notice it missing, but right now I am dying for disk space so was trying to find a way to have them live together while I made sure. And I can't finish installing the programs I need to make sure until I get some disk space. I think I will do the copy to file method and hope for the best.
 

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Rather than rush to install the programs, you may want to try what I did. Install the programs as you need them. Time will pass and by that time you will know if you forgot something from windows.old.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
I am mainly worried that I haven't saved something that would normally be under a program file and I won't notice it missing
Click to expand...

Even if you notice that something is missing, those old files will not really help. They are of little use on your Win7 - other than the name for googling.

PS: for a little relief on your disk you could delete the hibernation file. The cmd command is powercfg.exe -h off - And you could also temporarily shut off system restore which will reduce your shadowstorage to 300MBs.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    Q6600
    Memory
    4GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP w2207h
    Hard Drives
    2x250GB HDDs
    1x60GB OCZ SSD
    6 external disks 60 to 640GBs
    Other Info
    Also 1xHP desktop, 1xHP laptop, 1xGateway laptop
The old files are not a big help, but I realized that I had not backed up some old documents and I recovered them from windows.old
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Rich, that sounds like me. I alwys forget something - or lose files. Fortunately I have this double/triple backup strategy which usually allows me to retrieve it from somewhere.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    Q6600
    Memory
    4GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP w2207h
    Hard Drives
    2x250GB HDDs
    1x60GB OCZ SSD
    6 external disks 60 to 640GBs
    Other Info
    Also 1xHP desktop, 1xHP laptop, 1xGateway laptop
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