I'm having trouble removing the old Windows OS folder.
I'm having trouble removing the old Windows OS folder.
Hi,
I recently got a new hard disk with Windows 10 installed and am still using the old hard disk for storage which previously ran Windows 7.
When I try to delete the Windows 7 program files, I get a message: Folder access denied - Need permission to make changes to this folder. I tried to change the folder settings by giving full control to modify it but was unable to do so.
Not sure if I am missing a step here but I need help to delete the old OS files because it is using up a lot of space in the disk.
Thanks.
your best bet is to back-up the data and do a quick format to rid the drive of everything. then you can do as you wish.
you're running into permission problems from win 7. kind of like putting a bitlocker drive into another pc and it refusing to allow you access.
sometimes you can take ownership of the folders to remove the issue. 50/50 if it will work or not. here's a quick tutorial of how to try it
How to Take Ownership of Files and Folders in Windows
If you've ever been denied access to a file or folder in Windows, chances are you need to take ownership of them with your user account.
www.howtogeek.com
I attempted this but it didn't succeed. Perhaps I didn't carry out the steps correctly, so I'll try again. Also, if I remove the old Windows 7 files, could it affect the setup of Windows 10? Are there any hidden partitions or files from my previous drive being used where Windows 7 was saved? Just want to confirm I'm not making errors.
Remove the previous storage device and power on it. If the process succeeds, nothing requires updating in Windows 10. If booting fails, it indicates a missing component such as a boot partition. The situation hinges on your setup and installation of Windows 10. Taking ownership can sometimes succeed, other times not. It's essentially a chance decision, similar to flipping a coin. As mentioned before, you'll likely need to back up your data and completely format the drive to eliminate old Windows files.
You have three drives on your PC: a new SSD with Windows 10, an HDD with Windows 7 files, and another HDD for general storage. If you're trying to boot the computer, you should remove the HDD containing Windows 7 files and attempt to start up. If it boots correctly, you can format that HDD. If not, it suggests file sharing is occurring, which is necessary for Windows to load. You may need to reinstall Windows 10 in this scenario. Regarding the physical removal process, simply unplugging the drive and checking its operation is straightforward. No major software changes are required after the procedure.
Just remove power from the two drives except the Win 10 one.
Standard practice when setting up an OS is to eliminate all other drives to avoid conflicts.
If everything looks fine, proceed with testing first.
When you confirm no data is stored on the target drive and it's saved elsewhere, delete partitions on that drive, create a new single partition, and you're ready to use it.
If it fails to boot, we'll look for ways to fix it without a full reinstall.
To remove a Windows folder from drives, rename it to Windows.old and then apply Disk Cleanup to eliminate it.