How To Delete Files From Old System Disk?

I want to delete the old Windows folder and a Windows.old folder from a system disk that had a totally corrupt system on and which I've just replaced with a new disk, new system.

I'm copying all my data files off it and then I'll wipe it clean.

That will delete the windows and windows.old, I know, but I want to know how to do it with permissions and whatever.

I'd like to know what's going on. I've never gotten on top of Windows permissions, they've always had me foxed.

These folder now - last one I looked at was a simple 'found.006' thing - tell me I need admin permission to delete them. Well I am logged in as admin.

And I blunder around trying to improve things and this admin - me - clearly seems to have full permissions to do anything he likes...

Is there any simple help I could understand will get me going on this thorny thing... ?

This script will add take ownership context menu.

Code:

@Echo Off


REM  --> Check for permissions
Reg query "HKU\S-1-5-19\Environment" 
REM --> If error flag set, we do not have admin.
if %errorlevel% NEQ 0 (
ECHO                 **************************************
ECHO                  Running Admin shell... Please wait...
ECHO                 **************************************

    goto UACPrompt
) else ( goto gotAdmin )

:UACPrompt
    echo Set UAC = CreateObject^("Shell.Application"^) > "%temp%\getadmin.vbs"
    set params = "%*:"=""
    echo UAC.ShellExecute "cmd.exe", "/c ""%~s0"" %params%", "", "runas", 1 >> "%temp%\getadmin.vbs"

    "%temp%\getadmin.vbs"
    del "%temp%\getadmin.vbs"
    exit /B


:gotAdmin

Cls & Mode CON  LINES=11 COLS=104 & Color 0E & Title Created By FreeBooter
Echo.
Echo.
Echo.
Echo.       
Echo         Do You Want To Add Take Ownership to the Right-Click Menu in Windows Explorer (Y/N)?    
Echo.       
Echo.
Echo.


Set /p input= RESPONSE: 

If /i  Not %input%==Y (Goto :_Ex) Else (Goto :_Start) 

:_Ex
If /i Not %input%==N  (Goto :EOF) Else (Goto :_RegRestore)



:_Start

Reg.exe add "HKCR\*\shell\runas" /ve /t REG_SZ /d "Take Ownership" /f > Nul
Reg.exe add "HKCR\*\shell\runas" /v "NoWorkingDirectory" /t REG_SZ /d "" /f > Nul
Reg.exe add "HKCR\*\shell\runas\command" /ve /t REG_SZ /d "cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%%1\" && icacls \"%%1\" /grant administrators:F" /f > Nul
Reg.exe add "HKCR\*\shell\runas\command" /v "IsolatedCommand" /t REG_SZ /d "cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%%1\" && icacls \"%%1\" /grant administrators:F" /f > Nul
Reg.exe add "HKCR\Directory\shell\runas" /ve /t REG_SZ /d "Take Ownership" /f > Nul
Reg.exe add "HKCR\Directory\shell\runas" /v "NoWorkingDirectory" /t REG_SZ /d "" /f > Nul
Reg.exe add "HKCR\Directory\shell\runas\command" /ve /t REG_SZ /d "cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%%1\" /r /d y && icacls \"%%1\" /grant administrators:F /t" /f > Nul 
Reg.exe add "HKCR\Directory\shell\runas\command" /v "IsolatedCommand" /t REG_SZ /d "cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%%1\" /r /d y && icacls \"%%1\" /grant administrators:F /t" /f > Nul


Cls & Mode CON  LINES=11 COLS=60 & Color 0E & Title Created By FreeBooter
Echo.
Echo.
Echo.
Echo.       
Echo          Take Ownership Context Menu Enabled   
Echo.       
Echo.
Echo. 

Taskkill /im Explorer.exe /f >Nul

Start Explorer.exe

ping -n 6 localhost >Nul 
Exit


:_RegRestore


Reg.exe delete "HKCR\*\shell\runas" /f > Nul
Reg.exe delete "HKCR\Directory\shell\runas" /f > Nul


Cls & Mode CON  LINES=11 COLS=60 & Color 0E & Title Created By FreeBooter
Echo.
Echo.
Echo.
Echo.       
Echo         Take Ownership Context Menu Disabled    
Echo.       
Echo.
Echo. 

Taskkill /im Explorer.exe /f >Nul

Start Explorer.exe

ping -n 6 localhost >nul 
Exit

That's beautiful. Works like a charm. Wonderful.<br><br>But surely that's not how win10 expects us to cope with this, is it? Not by design? So is this a glitch, a flaw, a problem with win10 or just my machine - that old disk that gave me so much trouble?<br><br>And still is really, isn't it?<br><br>For the script did a wonderful job on the found and the windows folder but windows.old has come up with a new hassle - now it keeps stopping on the delete claiming it can't find the file... the folder.... that it 'no longer exists in this location..'<br><br>Any clues on that ?<br><br>It's quite mysterious this windows thing isn't it?

edit.

Hmmm... sorry about that bad text. I lost the internet connection, don't know why, and things went loopy for a while...

Have you used Disk Cleanup utility to delete Windows.old folder.

Have you used Disk Cleanup utility to delete Windows.old folder.

Nope. Where's that? Should I? I certainly should know about it. I'll look for it. :)

add your actual user to the list of "full control" users,

I thought that's what I'd been doing before I posted here.

There's often a difference between what I think I'm doing and what I am doing though....

edit: Phew... found disk cleanup... write in search field and there is a disk selection, click 'ok' and woaa.. off it goes looks like it's cleaning the disk without asking me what I want...

things like that make me nervous, I abort them...

I think good programming would alert you to what's coming....

If I'd stayed with it I would have been able to choose files.... ?

edit: aaah... I'm too nervous... yes, stay with it, it was only calculating something...

thanks for the link to the page.. I just saw that second post.... :)

How to Delete Windows.Old

If you want to leave nothing on the old drive, not even partitions, then the quickest way to get rid of everything is to use DISKPART's CLEAN command (for a forensic wipe there is a CLEAN ALL command, but that can take a long time).

CLEAN will leave the whole drive unallocated, so you'll have deleted the recovery partition and other hidden system partitions too, leaving the whole disk available for reformatting.


Erase Disk using Diskpart Clean Command in Windows 10

I will use diskpart's clean. After I've got all my data off it. Thanks for the tip.

That looks like amanita muscaria to me......

:)

abrogard said:

I will use diskpart's clean. After I've got all my data off it. Thanks for the tip.

That looks like amanita muscaria to me......

:)

Indeed it is - watch it for 33 seconds