Delete Windows BT file

Please boot your computer with Windows Setup Media and from Windows Recovery Environment start the Command Prompt.

Please type below command into Command Prompt and press Enter key.

Code:

rmdir /S /Q C:\$Windows.~WS

Please replace partition letter C: with Windows installed partition letter. When computer boots into Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) environment the drive letter assign to Windows partition may not be C: drive letter because Windows 7, 8 , 8.1 and 10 creates a separate system partition when it's installed from scratch. The system partition contains boot files WinRE assigns the system partition the C: drive letter and the Windows installed partition will be assign any other drive letter usually D: drive letter is assign to Windows installed partition. The Bcdedit /enum | find "osdevice" command can be use to find out the drive letter of the Windows installed partition the output of the Bcdedit command is similar to this osdevice partition=D:. The drive letter after partition= is the drive letter of the Windows partition.

This is a surprising question. I've never had a problem just using File Explorer to delete Windows.~BT and Windows.~WS.

These are some steps to increase the free space:

1) run through the steps in this tutorial to free up space:
Free Up Drive Space in Windows 10

2) Open accounts for free cloud space and temporarily transfer files to allow space during the upgrade:
(one drive, drop box, google drive)

This is what I get when I try it manually.

My issue is also similar to this user
Disk Cleanup doesn't remove $WINDOWS.~BT - Super User

Redbatman said:

This is what I get when I try it manually.

Now that is nothing to do with permissions or ownership. You have a process running (probably a left over from your September failed update) that has a file open in that folder. To try and get rid of this rogue process I would try running the Windows Update Troubleshooter.

If after that you still cannot delete the folder, then booting to Safe Mode should allow you to delete the folder. If not, you can delete it from a command prompt in Advanced Startup as dalchina suggested in post #4.

Boot into Safe Mode on Windows 10

So apparently CMD prompt doesn't work since its not located it the windows folder but its hidden on C drive like so. What should I do?

It's always been a hidden folder but you should be able to manually delete that like any other. I get that folder every time I mount a Windows ISO and delete it right afterwards with no problem. Did you run the WU Troubleshooter from Settings, as suggested by Bree, reboot and try again ?