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I was asked to help a person with that person's computer. The installation of Windows 10 failed for some reason, but the important files were safely put in the Windows.old folder.

The system does not boot properly, but I still have access to the command line and moved some of those files to the external USB.

In order to prevent the imminent deletion of the folder, I renamed it to SavedFiles.

Does renaming the Windows.old folder really prevent its deletion if the system does not boot at all and command line is the only way to get access to the system?

Kowu
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1 Answers1

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Renaming the Windows.old will prevent its deletion.

However, you may alternatively set its conservation period to more than the customary 28 days using DISM /Set-OSUninstallWindow, up to a maximum of 60 days:

DISM /Online /Set-OSUninstallWindow /Value:60

Extending the save period might be preferable to renaming the folder, since there are two problems with it:

  1. Some files are owned by the Windows account of TrustedInstaller, so would be problematic to delete later on.

  2. Some files are truly only symbolic links to the same files as are used in the Windows folder, so deleting them carelessly might be dangerous to the health of your Windows setup.

I suggest instead, in addition to extending the conservation period to the maximum of 60 days, to copy elsewhere the files or folders that are of interest, but leave the rest in Windows.old to be cleaned up after 60 days.

harrymc
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