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  #1  
Old September 2nd, 2009, 12:57 PM
Patavinius Patavinius is offline
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About to install win 7 final (MSDN suscriber) and one time; cont

So my win 7 RC install borked one day, and it recovered an old vista install that I don't want. I deleted windows.old. The only thing I can find is the windows folder on drive D: (the vista drive), I wasn't smart enough to partition, and I can't get rid of it. It says :

http://www.imagebam.com/image/eec94f47525130/

How can I rid myself of this, if I want to dual boot in the future, it's not with a worthless vista recovery

Cheers,

Pat
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  #2  
Old September 4th, 2009, 07:44 AM
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Dodge Dodge is offline
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If you dont need anything on Drive D then format it. The problem with deleting it straight out is that windows is picking up that it is a Windows file that is needed for windows to operate and you may not get it deleted.

However if it isn't possible to format the drive you can manually delete the file. *Be very careful when using this method*

If you already know the path to the file, please skip to Step 7

1. Click on Start, Search, All Files and Folders
2. Type the name of the undeletable file in the box shown
3. Make sure the Look In box shows the correct drive letter
4. Click Search and let the computer find the file
5. Once the file is located, right-click on it and choose properties, make a note of the file location. Usually this is something similar to

c:\windows\system32\undeleteablefilesname.exe

6. Close the search box
7. Click on Start, Run, and type CMD and Press Enter to open a Command Prompt
window
8. Leave the Command Prompt window open, but proceed to close all other open programs
9. Click on Start, Run and type TASKMGR.EXE and press Enter to start Task Manager
10. Click on the Processes tab, click on the process named Explorer.exe and click on End Process.
11. Minimize Task Manager but leave it open
12. Go back to the Command Prompt window and change to the directory where the file is located. To do this, use the CD command. You can follow the example below.

Example: to change to the Windows\System32 directory you would enter the following command and Press Enter

cd \windows\system32

13. Now use the DEL command to delete the offending file. Type DEL <filename> where <filename> is the file you wish to delete.

Example: del undeletable.exe
14. Use ALT-TAB to go back to Task Manager
15. In Task Manager, click File, New Task and enter EXPLORER.EXE to restart the Windows shell.
16. Close Task Manager
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  #3  
Old September 10th, 2009, 03:40 AM
Patavinius Patavinius is offline
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Sorry i'm a little late, I decided I wanted to go ahead and install the final, since I had time last night, so I did. Now the old "D:\windows" folder is gone, and it does not go to the dual boot screen, which is good.

However, I now have a "D:\ms" folder that has about 17gb worth of old windows stuff that I don't want. I tried the steps you laid out in your reply, but it didn't give me access even from the control panel(I used elevated prompt also). I do need to keep the data on that drive so formatting isn't an option unfortunately.

I'd like to get rid of that folder since its 17gb of nothing useful, and could come back to haunt me at some point. But, it's not a major priority. I appreciate your response, and if you or anyone else knows a way to knock that directory out, let me know.

Someone did mention using a linux livecd, but then i'd have to mount the drive and all that, i'm not experienced in linux at all though, i'd rather take care of it through windows if there's a way.

Thanks again,

Pat

Last edited by Patavinius; September 10th, 2009 at 03:46 AM.
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  #4  
Old September 10th, 2009, 04:03 AM
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AnnMarie AnnMarie is offline
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You can probably boot from the W7 dvd and delete the folder that way. Hang on, I'll give it a try and post back.
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  #5  
Old September 10th, 2009, 04:19 AM
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AnnMarie AnnMarie is offline
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Yep. Here is what you do. Boot using the DVD. See the Vista tutorial (W7 is the same) -> here for more help. Open a command prompt and type:

C:\windows\notepad.exe

and hit Enter. Notepad will open. Go to File Open and where it says Look In, change the directory to D: Next, change the Files of Type to "All Files". You will now be able to navigate through your drive and delete files and folders.

To delete the folder, rightclick on it and choose Delete. NB, be very sure that you want to get rid of it because although you may be asked if you want to send the folder to the Recycle Bin, the folder will be permanently deleted. Close notepad and reboot.

You can use this method to copy and paste files too.
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  #6  
Old September 10th, 2009, 05:15 AM
Patavinius Patavinius is offline
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Thanks a bunch, will try that tomorrow after I get some sleep and report back. Although it sounds like a pretty solid method

Thanks for replying.

Pat
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  #7  
Old September 10th, 2009, 05:30 AM
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AnnMarie AnnMarie is offline
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You are welcome. Yep, it's a lot easier than relying totally on the command prompt. You can see what you are doing.
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