The Windows.old folder is a valuable backup created during Windows upgrades or installations, containing important files and settings from your previous Windows version. This article provides a detailed, step-by-step guide on how to restore Windows.old folder, ensuring you can recover your Windows.old folder with ease and restore your valuable files.
So today my laptop forced me to update to Fall's creators update (I was in Windows 10 Anniversary before the update). Then before I remember updating to creator's update and it sucks so I went back to anniversary without a problem, but then when I update to falls creator's and went back to anniversary, the OS broke and I have to reinstall windows. Then I know that there will be a Windows.old and I want to recover files from there. But no matter how hard I look, I still can’t find this file—and I’m certain I didn’t delete it, so how do I recover a Windows.old in Windows 10?
- Question from Aymeric
When upgrading or reinstalling Windows, the system often creates a Windows.old folder (typically located at C:\Windows.old) that contains a backup of your previous Windows installation, along with files and system settings and more. This folder can be extremely useful if you need to restore old files, settings, or even reinstall your previous version of Windows. However, there may be times when you accidentally delete or lose the Windows.old folder and need to restore it.
In this article, we'll walk you through the reasons why the Windows.old folder might go missing, how to recover the missing Windows.old folder, and how to extract files from it.
The Windows.old folder is created during major Windows upgrades or when you perform a clean installation of Windows while retaining the previous operating system. It contains the files, settings, and configurations from your previous version of Windows, making it a valuable resource for recovering lost data or reverting to an older version of Windows. Here are some common reasons why does the Windows.old folder go missing:
📌Disk Cleanup or Automatic Deletion: Running Disk Cleanup or automatic deletion after 10 days (following a system upgrade or fresh installation) can remove the Windows.old folder to free up space.
❌Manual Deletion: Users may accidentally delete the Windows.old folder without realizing its importance.
💢Disk Corruption or Errors: File system corruption or system errors can cause the Windows.old folder to become inaccessible or lost.
📥Low Disk Space: Windows may delete or hide the Windows.old folder to manage limited disk space.
Now that you have understood the reasons why the Windows.old folder went missing, let’s move on to how to recover the folder with several effective methods. In general, whether deleted manually or automatically, the removed Windows.old folder will not go to the Recycle Bin. This is because it mainly contains system files. Windows avoids placing this folder in the Recycle Bin to prevent affecting the operating system’s stability.
Once you find that the Windows.old folder has disappeared, be sure to stop using the C: drive immediately, especially stop writing new data to it. Otherwise, the chances of restoring Windows.old will be greatly reduced.
Restore previous versions is a built-in backup feature that automatically saves versions of files. If you have enabled File History or Shadow Copy before deleting Windows.old folder, you can restore the folder from the previous versions using this feature.
Step 1. Locate C drive in File Explorer and right click on it, then choose "Restore previous versions".
Step 2. Select a version before Windows.old folder missing and open it.
Step 3. If you find the Windows.old folder in the list, open the folder, then copy the files you want to recover and paste them in a safe location.
If you haven’t enabled Shadow Copy or File History, when you try the method above, it will only show that "There are no previous versions available". In this case, using professional data recovery software like MyRecover is a great option. MyRecover is a professional data recovery tool that can recover files from damaged, deleted, or inaccessible drives or folders, including Windows.old. It allows you to scan your drive for lost files and restore them, even if the folder was deleted or the drive was formatted.
Here's what makes MyRecover truly exceptional:
✅Higher Success Rate – Advanced deep scan for NTFS/FAT32/exFAT drives.
✅Smart Filtering – Recover files by type, date, or size with precision.
✅500+ Devices Support – Recover files from all types of devices like SSD, HDD, USB flash drive, SD card, cameras, game console drives and more.
✅Handle 500+ Data Loss Scenarios – Recover from deleted partition, formatted hard drive, emptied Recycle Bin, system crash, virus attack, etc.
✅Supports over 1,000 file types – Including documents, photos, videos, audio, archives, and Outlook data files.
✅OS Compatibility – Work not only on Windows 11 /10, but also on Windows 8.1/ 8/ 7 and all Servers.
4 steps to recover missing Windows.old folder
Step 1. Download and install MyRecover on your computer from Microsoft Store, avoid installing it on the C drive.
Step 2. Launch the app and select the C drive to scan for lost files, then click "Scan". Alternatively, you can click "Deep Scan" to perform a more comprehensive scan.
Step 3. Choose the files you attempt to recover from the recoverable lists and click "Recover".
Start with MyRecover Free to recover up to 500MB of data at no cost. For unlimited recovery and file content previews, MyRecover Professional edition provides the full range of features to handle more complex recovery needs.
Step 4. Save the recovered files to a safe location.
When the process is done, the message "Files have been recovered successfully" will pop up. Then, you can view the recovered files in the destination folder by clicking on "Browse" button.
MyRecover can recover not only individual files but also restore files along with their folder structure. Once the Windows.old folder is recovered, you can manually access it and restore the files you need from it. Follow these straightforward steps:
Step 1. Press "Win" + "E" to open File Explorer. Go to the C drive and find the Windows.old folder to open it.
Step 2. Located in Windows.old\Users[Your Username] and browse the files you need.
Step 3. Copy the files to your current user folder or another safe location.
If you want to restore your entire previous Windows installation, you can roll back to your previous version of Windows using the built-in recovery options. However, this option is only available within the first 10 days of upgrading to Windows 10/11. If you have exceeded the 10-day rollback period, the "Go Back" option will disappear.
The Windows.old folder serves as a valuable backup of your prior Windows installation, housing your old files, system settings, and even previously installed programs. If the folder was deleted or lost, there are several methods to restore Windows.old, from using File History to specialized data recovery tools like MyRecover. MyRecover is an excellent solution if you find that other methods are unsuccessful.
Upgrade to MyRecover Professional edition, and you’ll unlock an exclusive feature: create a recovery disk to retrieve user data even from a completely crashed system!