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To reclaim up space using the Temporary files settings, use these steps:
#WINDOWS 10 LOST FILES AFTER UPDATE HOW TO#
How to free up space after May 2021 Update using Temporary files Once you complete the steps, the previous installation files will be deleted, restoring several gigabytes of space on the main hard drive. Under the "Free up space now" section, check the Delete previous version of Windows option. Under the "Storage" section, click the Configure Storage Sense or run it now option. To free up space after installing the May 2021 Update from an older release (such as version 1909) or in-place upgrade, use these steps: How to free up space after May 2021 Update using Storage sense
#WINDOWS 10 LOST FILES AFTER UPDATE INSTALL#
The reason is that, since the May 2021 Update is still based on version 2004, devices running one of the two most recent versions only need to install a quick enablement package that does not require reinstallation, which means that no backup of the previous version will be made. For example, if you performed an in-place upgrade with the Media Creation Tool or Update Assistant, or upgraded an older version, such as version 1909 or an older release using Windows Update. Of course, this applies only to devices coming from a complete reinstallation.
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Removing the previous installation files can help reclaim around 20GB of space, which can be significant for laptops with limited capacity. The only caveat with this safety mechanism is that even after the upgrade is completed successfully, the files will be kept, and they can take a large amount of storage in the "Windows.old" folder. When upgrading to a new version of Windows 10 (for example, the May 2021 Update), the installation process makes a backup of the previous setup to undo the changes in the event of a compatibility problem or critical error moving to the new version.