How to reclaim space after upgrading to the Windows 10 May 2022 Update

During the installation of the May 2022 Update, Windows 10 sets aside a copy of the previous installation as a precaution, in the effect that the upgrade process fails, and the system needs to restore the original settings, or you have to rollback as a event of problems with the new version.

The only caveat is that this neglect-safe mechanism tin can eat up a considerable amount of infinite. Although you can't prevent Windows 10 from creating a recovery copy, later the upgrade, you lot can delete these temporary files to reclaim up to effectually 20GB of storage. It may not seem meaning for devices with multi-terabyte difficult drives, but it could be a lot for laptops and tablets with load chapters.

Related: Windows 10 May 2022 Update review

If you can't spare the space, or the new version is working smoothly and there's no need to keep these files, you can delete the previous installation in at least three different means using the Settings app and the legacy Disk Cleanup tool.

In this Windows x guide, nosotros'll walk yous through the steps to delete the leftover files wasting valuable space subsequently upgrading to the May 2022 Update (version 1903).

How to gratis upward space afterwards May 2022 Update using Storage sense
How to free up space after May 2022 Update using Temporary files
How to free up infinite after May 2022 Update using Disk Cleanup

How to gratuitous up space after May 2022 Update using Storage sense

After installing the Windows ten May 2022 Update, you can use Storage sense to delete the previous installation files from your estimator using these steps:

Open Settings.
Click on Organization.
Click on Storage.
Nether the "Storage" department, click the Configure Storage Sense or run information technology at present pick.
Under the "Free upwardly space now" section, check the Delete previous version of Windows choice.
Click the Clean now button.

Once yous complete the steps, the system will delete the "Windows.old" folder that contains your previous installation reclaiming several gigabytes of space for more important files.

How to free up infinite after May 2022 Update using Temporary files

In addition to the Storage sense settings, Windows 10 likewise allows yous to delete the previous installation files using the Temporary files settings.

To gratis up space after the upgrade to version 1903, employ these steps:

Open Settings.
Click on Organisation.
Click on Storage.
Nether the "Local Disk (C:)" department, click the Temporary files pick.
Cheque the Previous Windows installation(s) pick.

Quick tip: You tin also select other temporary files (such as Delivery Optimization Files and Windows update log files) to recover fifty-fifty more storage.
Click the Remove files button.

Later on completing the steps, the system will delete the previous installation files and any other temporary files that yous may take selected using this method.

How to free up space after May 2022 Update using Disk Cleanup

Alternatively, you can all the same use the Disk Cleanup tool to delete the "Windows.old" folder containing the previous installation files after upgrading to Windows 10 version 1903.

To utilise Disk Cleanup to delete the temporary files, employ these steps:

Open Get-go.
Search for Disk Cleanup, click the top consequence to open up the feel.
Click the Clean up system files button.
Cheque the Previous Windows installation(s) option.

Quick tip: You lot tin can as well select other temporary files (such as Delivery Optimization Files and Windows update log files) to recover fifty-fifty more space.
(Important) Clear the Downloads option to prevent deleting your previously downloaded files from the internet.
Click the OK button.

Once you lot complete the steps, the backup re-create of the before installation will be deleted from your device freeing upwards several gigabytes of storage on the main hard drive.

Wrapping things upwardly

While these instructions can help you to free upwardly several gigabytes of storage, you should know that these temporary files are required in the case that you want to rollback to the previous version for any reason. Information technology's simply a good idea to delete these files when you're sure the new version is working without issues.

However, if you delete the previous installation files, and the device starts experiencing problems, you can notwithstanding rollback, but you'll need to perform a clean installation of an older version of Windows 10.

More Windows 10 resources

For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:

Windows 10 on Windows Central – All you lot need to know
Windows 10 help, tips, and tricks
Windows 10 forums on Windows Central

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