Change ownership of data partition restored from W7 machine

I’m back again, after having successfully used Macrium R to “restore” the backup image of my data from Windows 7 laptop to Windows 10 laptop. I now need help to reconfigure the ownership of the partition (D:), the main folders and subfolders and files within.

Here’s the screenshot of the drive D’s Properties Advance Security settings dialog window.



FYI: I had moved the default location of Document Folder to D: on Windows 7 (for both user accounts – standard and administrator) and intend to do the same on Windows 10 afterwards. Please note the hidden files (shown in red text in screenshot below) that were also in the data D: drive on Windows 7 machine when I made the backup image.



First a couple of housekeeping questions: 1) Since the hidden files are tied to the user profiles on Windows 7 machine, is it safe for me to delete them on this drive on Windows 10?

and 2) Is it also safe to remove the two "Account unknown" in the list of permissions entries (probably again, associated with W7 machine user profiles)?

Additionally, I have two user accounts created on W10: a standard and an administrator accounts, but most likely would be using the standard one 95% of the time. I would like to give full control to both profiles so that I’d be able to access the data D: partition, regardless of which account I may be logged into.

Main questions: To which account should I change the ownership? What other actions do I need to do through this dialog window?

Currently my System Specs shows W7 laptop information and 2nd PC specs shows the W10 laptop info. If there is a particular sequence of steps to do, please specify the order. I only did this once 5+ years ago when I had to move from XP to W7 and only with help from SevenForums gurus. Much gratitude for your guidance!

dpwoodpecker said:

1) Since the hidden files are tied to the user profiles on Windows 7 machine, is it safe for me to delete them on this drive on Windows 10?

The RECYCLER folder is a left-over from when this drive was last used with Windows XP. It is not used in W7 or W10, the $RECYCLE.BIN folder is used instead. Their function is to hold the files you send to the Recycle Bin, they may still contain files that were deleted under XP or W7, but you won't be able to restore (or permanently delete) those with your W10 Recycle Bin. They are now just junk, possibly taking up space and would best be deleted. This tutorial tells you how to delete $RECYCLE.BIN. If you delete it Windows will create a new empty one.

Fix Corrupted Recycle Bin in Windows

System Volume Information is where Restore Points are stored, there may be restore points in there left over from W7 or earlier so this too may be 'junk' taking up space. You should be able to clear the restore points (if any) in System Protection settings.

Delete System Restore Points in Windows 10

You can look inside System Volume Information and $RECYCLE.BIN and see just how much space they may be taking up with TreeSize Free when run as administrator. I use the Portable Apps version.

TreeSize Free Portable (directory size and usage analyzer) | PortableApps.com


Pagefile.sys is a swap file used for virtual memory. Depending on how your virtual memory is configured under W10 it may or may not be in use. It may not be in use and may only be there because you restored it along with everything else from your backup. Try deleting it, if it's in use you won't be allowed to, if it isn't then you'll be able to delete it and free up 3.32GB.

You can check if Windows is using the page file on D: and if it is, choose whether you want a page file on D: with this tutorial.

Manage Virtual Memory Pagefile in Windows 10



More about those folders here:

About $Recycle.bin, Recycler and System Volume Information Folders in Windows • Raymond.CC

Continued to be amazed with everyone's generosity of your time & expertise....many thanks to Samuria, Bree, TairikuOkami! I will check the links you've kindly provided and hopefully, will be back soon with good results.