One of the most common questions that users ask is how to delete old backup files in Windows 10. Whether you’re a computer novice or have seasoned experience, we’ve got you covered with these four tricky methods to quickly and easily remove backups from your hard drive.
The “how to delete backup files in windows 10” is a tricky method that many Windows users are not aware of. This article will provide 4 different methods for deleting old backup files in Windows 10.
It’s extremely usual to want to have a backup of all your data on your PC since it assists with future restoration needs. The majority of these backup methods are automated. As a result, Windows may save a large number of unnecessary files in an automatic way.
This will ultimately lead to the system’s backup storage capacity being depleted. What can you do if you don’t have enough space on your backup storage disk?
The best course of action is to remove all previous backups to create room for fresh ones. In Windows 10, how can I erase backup files? We’ll go through a few different strategies for deleting backups in this article.
In Windows 10, there are four ways to erase backup files:
Method 1: Delete files from Windows File History directly:
File History is a backup folder on your device that maintains copies of all of your computer’s movies, documents, and photographs. This is where you go when a file goes missing from the system and you need to restore it. File History, believe it or not, takes up a lot of disk space.
You may, however, remove files from this backup folder directly, as seen below —
1. To open the “Run” box, use the keys “Win + R.”
2. To open the Control Panel Window, type the command “control” and then hit “Enter.” .
3. In the Control Panel Window, choose “System and Security,” then “File History.”
4. On the File History Page, on the left side, choose “Advanced Settings.”
5. Select “Cleanup Versions” from the Advanced menu.
6. A new window titled “File History Cleanup” appears.
7. To process, choose the “target time period of the files,” then the “Clean up” Tab.
8. You’ll get a pop-up notification when the cleaning is finished. To complete the transaction, click the “OK” button.
The File History deletion technique may also be used to delete a backup that was previously stored in File History. You may do this by gaining administrative access to Windows PowerShell. This menu may be accessed by selecting the Start option once again. Type ‘fhmanagew.exe-cleanup 0’ into the PowerShell box that appears on your screen and hit Enter. This deletes any backed-up files that were recently added.
The number ‘0’ denotes the number of days or time range of the backup that has to be removed.
When the backup clearing is completed successfully, your window will display a success message.
Method 2: Delete backup files using Command Prompt:
This procedure works regardless of where the backup file is saved, whether it’s on the Control Panel or on an external device.
1. Open your “Run Box” by using the keys “Win+R.”
2. Type “CMD” in the Run box to get to the Command Page, then press “Enter.”
3. Use the instructions below to select the time period you wish to delete. To deliver the command in the new Page, press the appropriate combinations and Enter.
Delete the most recent files:
- -cleanup 0 FhManagew.exe
- -cleanup 0 FhManagew.exe -quiet
For files older than 30 days, use the following command:
- fhManagew.exe -cleanup 30 fhManagew.exe -cleanup 30 fhManage
- cleaning 30 -quiet FhManagew.exe
Delete files that are older than three months:
- -cleanup 90 FhManagew.exe
- -cleanup 90 FhManagew.exe -quiet
For files older than 6 months, follow these steps:
- -cleanup 180 FhManagew.exe
- -cleanup 180 FhManagew.exe -quiet
For backups older than a year, use the following command:
- 365 FhManagew.exe -cleanup
- 365 FhManagew.exe -cleanup -quiet
The “-quiet” command may also be useful.
- Close the command page and repeat the third step with a different time frame if the command does not yield any files within the desired time frame.
- Expect a pop-up notice alert with the word ‘OK’ to click on after a successful Cleanup.
Method 3: Cleanup the previous version of Windows 10 by deleting the backup using the built-in device tools:
Windows’ ‘Backup and Restore’ utility assists with both restoration and deletion depending on the situation. The following steps may be used to explain how to utilize this built-in tool:
1. Go to Windows 10’s “Start Button.”
2. Check the security settings by selecting “Settings.”
3. From the settings page, choose “Update and Security.”
5. Select “Backup” from the Update and Security menu.
6. A new page titled “Go to Backup and Restore (Windows 7)” appears. To open it, just click on it.
8. In the restore window, locate the option “Manage Space” and choose it.
10. Two links appear in the new window:
A). View Backups: The “View Backup” link leads you to the “Data File Backup” section. You may choose the time period for backups to be deleted from here. To continue with the procedure, choose the time period and hit “Ok.”
B). Change Settings: The “change Settings” feature allows you to free up backup storage space by altering the data retention mechanism in Windows. This feature in Windows 10 enables for the automated erasure of all previous backups.
Method 4: Using Disk Cleanup, delete Windows 10 Windows.old, the backup folder:
The backup folder Windows.old is produced once you upgrade your Windows to version 10. This backup folder contains all of the installed applications and data on the machine prior to the Windows upgrade.
These Windows.old folders may be manually deleted. However, once removed, the file can no longer be viewed, and there is no way to restore to an earlier version of Windows.
The actions outlined below will assist you in deleting it.
1. Right-click on the “System Disk” and choose “Properties.”
2. When the “Properties Window” appears, select “Disk Cleanup.”
3. Finally, go to the “Clean up System Files” tab.
4. You’ll see a drop-down menu appear. Choose “Files to Delete” from the drop-down menu.
5. You will be given the choice to remove certain files. Select “Previous Windows Installation” from the drop-down menu.
6. To complete the cleaning procedure, choose “OK” from the pop-up window.
Conclusion:
All of these approaches are effective in ensuring the eradication of backup files from Windows 10. However, after these procedures have erased the backups, it will be unable to restore any previous data or installations. These procedures should only be utilized if your system contains superfluous backup data or if you need to clear up disk space.
The “how to delete system image backup windows 10” is a tricky method that should not be done without caution. There are four methods to delete old backup files in Windows 10.
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