Why Are There Duplicate Files in the Old Folder?

...and more importantly can I delete some of them to free up disk space? Particularly those in the Program Files subfolder, which have programs I don't use anymore and that I thought were deleted?

 

One thing, when you use Windows uninstaller it does not remove all the associated files also in does not remove the folder from 'program files or program files X86' you have to do this manually.

If you want a program to uninstall everything you need http://majorgeeks.com/Revo_Uninstaller_d5706.html (free) or this one that i use and is really good.

http://majorgeeks.com/Your_Uninstaller_d2439.html (shareware)

 

Thanks guys. I do use Revo Uninstaller Pro (and also File Assassin when I have to). I also have back-ups on two external Western Digital hard drives.

I have Windows 7 (the computer originally had a VISTA operating system) with a 250 GB hard drive. I was down to only 10 GB of free space -- and I've got thumb drives with more than that on them. Just needed to know if the sub-folder (Program Files) in the "old" folder could be deleted. It seems like I have a lot of duplicate files. I'm trying to learn to use TreeSize to get a better grasp on what I don't need anymore, but it's not the most intuitive program that I've seen.

Is the "old" folder used for system restores? If not, what's its purpose?

 

The old folder is created when you upgrade your operating system. From my understanding it is just a safeguard so as to not delete personal files during an OS upgrade. The normal locations where personal files might be saved are just dumped into the old folder before the new OS is installed.

Reading David's link it sounds like it could possibly be used to undo the upgrade but I didn't think that was possible. If you are happy with Win7 and are not going back to Vista then you can comb through the OLD folder and look for any personal documents, pictures etc. that you might want to keep and move them somewhere else. Then delete the old folder entirely.