diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-windows.yml b/.github/workflows/release-windows.yml
index 5edbc8d6b67..eb2b9e3c4a0 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-windows.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-windows.yml
@@ -121,7 +121,6 @@ jobs:
           @echo on
           move build\bin\Release win_installer\files || exit /b !errorlevel!
           copy AUTHORS win_installer\files\authors.txt || exit /b !errorlevel!
-          copy readme.txt win_installer\files\ || exit /b !errorlevel!
           copy win_installer\GPLv3.txt win_installer\files\ || exit /b !errorlevel!
           copy externals\picojson\LICENSE win_installer\files\picojson-license.txt || exit /b !errorlevel!
           copy externals\simplecpp\LICENSE win_installer\files\simplecpp-license.txt || exit /b !errorlevel!
diff --git a/readme.txt b/readme.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 6d99d199d4f..00000000000
--- a/readme.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,115 +0,0 @@
-=========
-Cppcheck
-=========
-
-
-About
-
-    The original name of this program is "C++check" but it was later changed to "cppcheck".
-
-Manual
-
-    A manual is available online:
-    https://cppcheck.sourceforge.io/manual.pdf
-
-Compiling
-
-    Any C++11 compiler should work. For compilers with partial C++11 support it may work. If
-    your compiler has the C++11 features that are available in Visual Studio 2013 / GCC 4.8
-    then it will work.
-
-    To build the GUI, you need Qt.
-
-    While building the command line tool, PCRE is optional. It is used if you build with rules.
-
-    There are multiple compilation choices:
-      * cmake - cross platform build tool
-      * Windows: Visual Studio
-      * Windows: Qt Creator + mingw
-      * gnu make
-      * g++ 4.8 (or later)
-      * clang++
-
-    cmake
-    =====
-        Example, compiling Cppcheck with cmake:
-            mkdir build
-            cd build
-            cmake ..
-            cmake --build .
-
-        If you want to compile the GUI you can use the flag
-        -DBUILD_GUI=ON
-
-        For rules support (requires pcre) use the flag
-        -DHAVE_RULES=ON
-
-        For release builds it is recommended that you use:
-        -DUSE_MATCHCOMPILER=ON
-
-    Visual Studio
-    =============
-        Use the cppcheck.sln file. The file is configured for Visual Studio 2019, but the platform
-        toolset can be changed easily to older or newer versions. The solution contains platform
-        targets for both x86 and x64.
-
-        To compile with rules, select "Release-PCRE" or "Debug-PCRE" configuration.
-        pcre.lib (pcre64.lib for x64 builds) and pcre.h are expected to be in /externals then.
-        A current version of PCRE for Visual Studio can be obtained using vcpkg:
-        https://github.com/microsoft/vcpkg
-
-    Qt Creator + mingw
-    ==================
-        The PCRE dll is needed to build the CLI. It can be downloaded here:
-            http://software-download.name/pcre-library-windows/
-
-    gnu make
-    ========
-        Simple build (no dependencies):
-            make
-
-        The recommended release build is:
-            make MATCHCOMPILER=yes FILESDIR=/usr/share/cppcheck HAVE_RULES=yes
-
-        Flags:
-        MATCHCOMPILER=yes               : Python is used to optimise cppcheck at compile time
-        FILESDIR=/usr/share/cppcheck    : Specify folder where cppcheck files are installed
-        HAVE_RULES=yes                  : Enable rules (pcre is required if this is used)
-
-    g++ (for experts)
-    =================
-        If you just want to build Cppcheck without dependencies then you can use this command:
-            g++ -o cppcheck -std=c++11 -Iexternals -Iexternals/picojson -Iexternals/simplecpp -Iexternals/tinyxml2 -Ilib cli/*.cpp lib/*.cpp externals/simplecpp/simplecpp.cpp externals/tinyxml2/*.cpp
-
-        If you want to use --rule and --rule-file then dependencies are needed:
-            g++ -o cppcheck -std=c++11 -lpcre -DHAVE_RULES -Ilib -Iexternals -Iexternals/picojson -Iexternals/simplecpp -Iexternals/tinyxml2 cli/*.cpp lib/*.cpp externals/simplecpp/simplecpp.cpp externals/tinyxml2/*.cpp
-
-    mingw
-    =====
-        The "LDFLAGS=-lshlwapi" is needed when building with mingw
-            mingw32-make LDFLAGS=-lshlwapi
-
-    other compilers/ide
-    ===================
-
-        1. Create a empty project file / makefile.
-        2. Add all cpp files in the cppcheck cli and lib folders to the project file / makefile.
-        3. Add all cpp files in the externals folders to the project file / makefile.
-        4. Compile.
-
-    Cross compiling Win32 (CLI) version of Cppcheck in Linux
-
-        sudo apt-get install mingw32
-        make CXX=i586-mingw32msvc-g++ LDFLAGS="-lshlwapi"
-        mv cppcheck cppcheck.exe
-
-Packages
-
-    You can install Cppcheck with yum/apt/brew/etc.
-
-    The official rpms are built with these files:
-    https://src.fedoraproject.org/rpms/cppcheck/tree/master
-
-Webpage
-
-    https://cppcheck.sourceforge.io/
diff --git a/win_installer/cppcheck.wixproj b/win_installer/cppcheck.wixproj
index 2e555cb5999..6cf93fb02bf 100644
--- a/win_installer/cppcheck.wixproj
+++ b/win_installer/cppcheck.wixproj
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@
   <ItemGroup>
     <Content Include="config.wxi" />
     <Content Include="productInfo.wxi" />
-    <Content Include="readme.txt" />
   </ItemGroup>
   <Import Project="$(WixTargetsPath)" />
   <Target Name="All" DependsOnTargets="Clean;Validate;Build" />
diff --git a/win_installer/cppcheck.wxs b/win_installer/cppcheck.wxs
index 703e340ec9b..6215077384d 100644
--- a/win_installer/cppcheck.wxs
+++ b/win_installer/cppcheck.wxs
@@ -174,7 +174,6 @@
           </Directory>
           <Component Id='BaseDocs' Guid='$(var.basedocsGUID)'>
             <File Id='authors.txt' Name='authors.txt' DiskId='1' Source='..\authors' />
-            <File Id='readme.txt' Name='readme.txt' DiskId='1' Source='..\readme.txt' />
             <File Id='GPLv3.txt' Name='GPLv3.txt' DiskId='1' Source='GPLv3.txt' />
             <File Id='picojson_license.txt' Name='picojson-license.txt' DiskId='1' Source='../externals/picojson/LICENSE' />
             <File Id='simplecpp_license.txt' Name='simplecpp-license.txt' DiskId='1' Source='../externals/simplecpp/LICENSE' />