The $ Windows. ~ BT and $ Windows. ~ WS folders are located on the disk where you installed Windows, which is usually C. These folders are safe to delete but to view them you must first configure File Explorer properly. since they remain hidden by default.
The specific folders were created by the operating system system Windows 10, when you upgrade your Windows 10 installation to the latest version. For example, these folders are created during the latest Fall Creators Update Update.
The $WINDOWS.~BT folder contains files from the previous version of Windows 10, which are required to go back to the previous version. The setup files used by Windows setup or the Media Creation Tool are stored in the $Windows.~WS folder.
If your system host has free space and you do not want to go back to the previous installation or version of Windows, you can delete these folders. Caution, once you delete these folders, you can not go back to the previous version of Windows 10. But how can you safely delete the $ WINDOWS. ~ BT and $ WINDOWS. ~ WS folders in Windows 10?
If you are happy with the current version of Windows 10, you can delete these folders to free up disk space. You must use the built-in tool Disk Cleanup to delete them safely. See exactly how to do it.
Step 1: Open this file explorer. Turn right click to the drive where Windows 10 is installed, and then click Properties to open the properties dialog.
Step 2: On the "General" tab, click the "Disk Cleanup" button. This will open the Disk Cleanup tool.
Step 3: When the following Disk Cleanup dialog box appears, click the "Clear System Files" button.
Step 4: Finally, select "Previous Windows installation (s)" and "Temporary Windows installation files". Click the OK button.
When you see the confirmation dialog box, click the "Delete Files" button. The Disk Cleanup tool will delete the $ WINDOWS. ~ BT and $ WINDOWS. ~ WS folders, along with all the files in those folders.
It is worth noting that the Pre-installed Windows (s) option deletes the $ Windows. BT folder and the windows.old. While the Windows Temporary Installation Files option deletes the $ Windows ~ WS folder.
Remember that Windows 10 will automatically create these folders again the next time you upgrade to a newer version of Windows 10. Repeat these same steps to delete them again.
