Remove Windows.old From a Server

Q: How can I delete the windows.old from an upgraded Windows Server?

A: For a client OS that's upgraded, the Disk Cleanup utility can be used to delete the very large windows.old folder containing the old OS. This isn't available on a server OS without installing the Desktop Experience feature.

To delete, it is necessary to take ownership of the folder, give administrators full control, then delete. This can be done with the commands below:

• takeown /F c:\Windows.old\* /R /A /D Y
• cacls c:\Windows.old\*.* /T /grant administrators:F
• rmdir /S /Q c:\Windows.old