How to Recover from Windows.old Folder (4 Ways)

What is Windows.old folder in Windows?

The Windows.old folder temporarily stores all files from previous Windows installations including the “Windows”, “Program Files” and “Users” folder. So you can use it to recover files from Windows.old folder manually or to roll back to the previous system.

The Window.old folder can be deleted manually or with the Disk Cleanup utility. Users who have a system image backup or don't want to downgrade will choose to delete it after upgrading successfully. Even if not, Windows will automatically delete it after 28 days.

⚠️ How to remove Windows.old folder manually: 

Right-click on the local disk C drive and select Properties > Disk Cleanup. Then, follow the on-screen instructions to delete Windows update files in Windows 10.

How to recover from Windows.old folder

So how to restore from Windows.old? Here are two common situations in the following:

#1: Recover files from Window.old manually

If you find some files missing after upgrading, you can choose to recover from Windows.old folder. Here's how:

If you can't find the files in the Windows.old folder or it is deleted, try top-rated data recovery software for Windows.

MyRecover is a highly-praised data recovery software in Windows 7, 8, 10, 11, and server computers. It integrates with a user-friendly interface & easy-to-follow guide, breathtaking recovery capacities, more flexible recovery options, and more. 

To get started, please download MyRecover on your computers.

Step 1. After launching MyRecover, hover the mouse over your local disk C drive and click Scan.

Step 2. You can quickly locate Windows.old folder by typing its name in the search box, or specify the "Documents" data type in the Filter feature first. Once found, MyRecover will display the folder and data in it in the following window.

Step 3. You can also go to  C:\Windows.old\Users\UserName to find the desired files. Once found, select them and click the “Recover x files” button. Please pick a new location to save the Windows.old folder or the data in it to prevent data overwriting.

It is not limited to recovering data from Windows.old folder, but also from hard drives, SSDs, external disks, USB drives, memory cards, etc., in the following scenarios:

• Recover data from formatted SSD drive
• Recover files deleted by virus
• Recover deleted files from Recycle Bin
• Recover permanently deleted files
• Recover data from dead hard drive
• ......

#2: Downgrade Windows 10 to the previous system

If you need to downgrade the Windows operating system, you still can restore from Windows.old in Settings.

You can also go through the Advanced Recovery Options.

• Press Control + Alt + Delete > click Sign out.
• At the Sign-in screen, hold down the shift key while clicking the Power button.
• Then, click Restart without releasing the shift key until you see the Advanced Recovery Options window.
• Click Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Go back to the previous version of Windows.
• Continue to finish the steps for downgrading the Windows operating system. 

Bonus tip: Backup Windows.old folder just in case 

Since the Windows.old folder will be deleted automatically, it's necessary to backup Window.old folder in case you need to restore files from it or downgrade later.

You can use professional backup software for Windows - AOMEI Backupper, which is good at backing up files, folders, partitions, disks, or systems. 

To backup Windows.old folder, follow the steps below: 

Step 1. After launching AOMEI Backupper on your Windows PC, select “File Backup” under the Backup tab.

Step 2. Click “Add Folder/Add File” to add the Windows.old folder in the C: drive.

Step 3. Locate a saved path to store the Windows.old folders. Then, click the “Start Backup” button.

After the backup process, click “Finish” to exit the window.

You can then restore Windows.old folder from backup when needed. Under the Restore tab, click the “Select Task” button. Then, select file backup and then Windows.old folder, tick “Restore to a new location” and click the “Start Restore”  button. 

Wrapping up

Whether you want to recover lost files or downgrade, there is a stepwise guide to recover from Windows.old folder. If you delete the Windows.old folder but find some files missing later, it's suggested to attempt reliable data recovery software to scan and recover deleted Windows.old folder. 

MyRecover is a good choice. It integrates strong algorithms to find as many files as possible, up to 1000+ formats, from documents to images, audios, videos, etc. It also offers users some flexible features, such as search & filter, preview, sidebar directories, selective restore, etc.