If I refreshed Win10, would it shift all my apps to a Windows.old folder?

Question

"{NB: This question is mostly about the follow-ups}"
1. What would happen if I refreshed Win10, would the refresh-process then shift all my self-installed apps to a Window.old folder? YES or NO?

Follow ups:
2. I ask because I see that MS themselves claim that the users stuff, will be NOT be erased, nuked, wiped etc. This would be in line with their claim that they would place some sort of list on my desktop that of all the removed apps. But then I also see that claims that all the User-installed apps are GONE FOREVER, so which one is it?
3. And if it does that, and the drive it sits on, is more than half full, will I then get errors like "could not save everything"?

4. And if the refresh process DOES shift all my apps to a Window.old folder, is my current attempt to empty out my Win10 drive then for nothing, a fools errand? YES or NO?

P.S. Again, there are similar questions, but none exactly like this one.

Please, no wistful utopian answers.

Answer 1

What would happen if I refreshed Windows 10, would the refresh-process then shift all my self-installed apps to a Window.old folder?

If you choose to perform a "Reset your PC" in Windows 10 or Refresh your PC in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 your personal files are preserved. Personal files (i.e. the files that exist in your user's profile directory) and application data (C:\Users\....\AppData) are the only thing that will be preserved when you choose to keep your personal files.

I ask because I see that Microsoft themselves claim that the users stuff, will be NOT be erased, nuked, wiped etc. This would be in line with their claim that they would place some sort of list on my desktop that of all the removed apps. But then I also see that claims that all the User-installed apps are GONE FOREVER, so which one is it?

Your installed Win32 applications are not considered to be personal files. In simple terms "Reset your PC" works by installing Windows 10 on the same partition, then using the same process as an upgrade, migrates the user profiles that exist on the system. Unlike the upgrade process, because you are choosing to use a feature specifically to "refresh" your system, your installed applications are not preserved. Like the upgrade process, data is preserved, and moved to the Windows.old directory.

And if it does that, and the drive it sits on, is more than half full, will I then get errors like "could not save everything"?

If there isn't enough space to complete the operation the process will gracefully be reversed.

The following is the specific process "Reset your PC" goes through to complete it's operation.

1. The PC boots into Windows RE.
2. Windows RE scans the hard drive for your data, settings, and apps, and puts them aside (on the same drive).
3. Windows RE installs a fresh copy of Windows.
4. Windows RE restores the data, settings, and apps it has set aside into the newly installed copy of Windows.
5. The PC restarts into the newly installed copy of Windows.

Refresh and reset your PC

When it talks about "apps" it is specifically talking about UWP applications. However, your installed desktop applications (Office, Visual Studio, etc. ) installation directories are still migrated.

Additionally, as pointed out your application settings, are indeed migrated. This means your .pst files would be migrated due to their location, which again due to AppData being within your user's profile directory, is migrated.