Windows.old

OK - I'm sure I'm going to get in trouble for being redundant here, but I can't seem to find an exact answer anywhere else so here goes:

I purchased a HP Pavilion dv9033cl (9000t) from Cosco as a refurb. It was loaded with Windows MCE which I quickly got rid of using the HP Vista upgrade utility to install my copy of Vista Ultimate. It worked very well for the most part, but now all of the preloaded software is now clumped together in a file labeled windows.old. It is a big file taking up a lot of space. Also, it contains some applications that I would probably like to use like my Lightscribe software and webcam dashboard, pdf writer and the like. I have tried to "install" some of these items from this directory and other than the QuickStart software, nothing else launches.

So, can anyone tell me if any of this legacy software is usable now that I am running Vista? If so what? If not, can I just delete the file?

Apologies in advance if the answer to this is somewhere else and I've just missed!

 

You need to copy the folders you want from the Windows.Old folder into a new folder in your documents, then they should work.

 

That folder is there in case you ever decided to go back to MCE in the future. If you are sure you are doing vista then the site below is the quickest way to get rid of them. You cannot install the stuff from that drive because it was installed using MCE info. To install you would need the disks they came from, also as I'm sure you've heard some of those progs might not work in Vista. If you had it for awhile you may want to at least pull your documents over from the users folder. Hope this helps...

http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/2038/vista_remove_old_xp_files_after_upgrade_windows_old

 

I beg to differ, I re-installed programs i had saved to my documents under MCE, from the windows.old folder when i migrated over to Vista I simply copied and pasted them to a new folder in Vista's My Documents and they worked fine,( at least the ones that were compatible)




PS, God is Good. At least to me.

 

Robert...Thanks for the advice. Tell me, did you copy the entire file over or did you move specific applications over one at a them.

Thanks for all the responses. It thought this would be considered a stupid question by most.

 

I think you two are using terms differently. Robert mentions "reinstalling" programs, implying that he copied over the installation files, while Wingsbr is quite correct in saying you shouldn't just "move" over an applications folder.

The old "application" folders (ie. C:\Windows.old\Program Files\) contains the files that get deposited there by various program installers. In addition to depositing files in a directory such as that, however, program installers generally write entries to the Windows registry, and, in many cases, deposit additional files in other directories, often the C:\Windows directory. Simply copying a program folder from "C:\Windows.old\Program Files\" to "
C:\Program Files" DOES NOT properly install that application (there are a very few exceptions to that). Many programs that will install on Vista just fine from their installation media WILL NOT function with just their main application directory. You should always go back to the original application installer to properly install an application into Vista.

The situation is different for "user files," such as your documents, pictures, music, videos, etc. Those can be found in your Windows.old directory and copied without issue. Also, if you had a place on your hard drive where you stored application installers (again, the installers, not the installed application) and installing Vista moved that directory, you can move the installers back and do a proper install onto Vista.

Anyway, pidrissi, hope that helps. What I "think" you are suggesting doing, pidrissi -- copying over the contents of a Program Files directory -- is a VERY BAD idea. Most things won't work at all, and some will work, but there will be .dll issues, and things that aren't properly identified in the registry.

 

You are very correct, I should of been clearer, The folders i copied over where files that were downloaded to My Documents folder to be installed at a later time, How ever the application files were files i saved to My Documents by Copying the Software disk then putting in My Documents folder. Sorry if i confused anyone.

 

Right...OK so I tried to use the disk clean up utility to delete windows.old, but I could not find any function to delete the old installation as mentioned in the instructions that Wingsbr provided. I'd like to get rid of it but as predicted, it won't just go away by dragging it to the recycle bin. Thanks for all the help!