Windows.old files

[typo]

My laptop came with factory installed Vista Home Premium. In three years, I have done system re-instllations at least twice using the two discs that came with PC purchase.

Now HP just finished some kind of maintenance scan(I have no idea where it came from...because I did not schedule it) and among other things, it recommended backing up and then deleting Windows.old files...which I cannot find.

Do I have such files? Where are they?

 

[richc46]

Windows.old is all the back up from your previous installation. When you reinstalled you did an upgrade or a custom install without format, which leaves the Windows.old. You can remove it in the following way. If you do have it and do not need any of the back up (your stuff) you can delete it and save many gb's of hard drive space
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/240390-windows-old-folder-delete.html

After that is done run an anti virus scan and download and run malwarebytes, full scan, and upadated to make sure there is not malware software installed, giving your instructions.

 

[typo]

Windows.old folder or Previous Windows installation is not found anywhere. So that means I do not have it?

 

[richc46]

You followed the procedure and it says cannot be found, corrrect?
Should mean that its gone.
It will take up a lot of room on the Hard Drive. Are you comfortable with the HD space used?

 

[typo]

I have been doing Disk Cleanup routinely and never ever remember seeing Previous Windows Installation.


Also, it is not listed in Local Disk (C. Neither is Windows.old files.

Maybe because each time I re-installed OS, I deleted recovery partition.

 

[richc46]

If your formatted before the intstall, you would not have Windows.old either.
If you had it you would have a lot of unexplained HD space taken, too. Sounds to me like its gone.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/...er-upgrading-from-Windows-XP-or-Windows-Vista