Windows 10: Can't delete folder - Windows requires Administrator permission

Hello,
I try to completely delete a folder from C:\Program Files (x86), after I uninstalled the program it contained, but I get this message:
"You require permission from administrators to make changes to this folder"
But I am the administrator, no?
Thanks *Smile

:)

 

Permissions denied for account which is administrator

I can't modify folder and remove read only property on it, but I am with administrator account and the folder is within this account home directory. If I try to delete it it says "You require permissions for computers's administrator to make changes to
this folder". Current account is administrator and there is no another account on this PC.

If I try with right click->Properties->Security, I see "You must have Read Permissions to view the properties of this object".

I am using Windows 10 latest version.

 

After June Windows 10 update: black screen after log-in. slow boot. Firefox crashes within minutes of opening everytime.

When logged in on Safe mode I got a message: Get Started can't be opened using the Built-in Administrator account. I closed that message and proceeded to follow the steps to delete the windows files. When I tried to delete the files the $Windows0WS file
went to the recycle bin but the $Windows.-BT gave a message: You need permission to perform this action

You require permission from SYSTEM to make changes to that folder.

So I couldn't delete that folder. I don't have any other accounts on this computer. I don't know how to get permission to perform that action so I can finish this fix.

 

I think you might be having the same problem as in this thread...I posted a link to my fix near the end:
Unable to move/copy etc. files within C: drive? - Windows 10 Forums

 

Hello! mibaup Welcome to the Ten Forums! There are a few ways to take care of any leftovers in areas otherwise managed by the System admin not the user admin account.

First you have to elevate the permissions as prompted or when possible take ownership over the files and folders you are trying to clear off left there in case you reinstall the same program again. Sometimes a program is removed and reinstalled in order to get it working.

Besides elevating permissions and taking ownership over something which automatically will elevate the user to see admin privileges you can even Add "Take Ownership" to Explorer Right Click Menu in Windows which is a slight additional entry placed into the system registry that works on 10 as well as XP, Vista, 7, 8, and 8.1!

This one also comes in handy when you need to get rid of the Windows.old folder manually since you first have to dig down deep into sub folders of sub folder in order to change the attributes from "Read only" which is why you are not able to simply dump the folders there and then right click to uncheck the read only box and click apply when you have enough permissions in Windows. And this is precisely what you are running into!

The reg edit there is the easy for most without the need to follow the manual steps in order to take ownership over each folder one by one if you have a lot to clear off! In fact we have a tutorial guide for the same "registry hack" as the article there named it with a slightly different title for the same little reg mod. How to Add 'Take Ownership' to Context Menu in Windows 10


The other tutorial with different options as well as that there can be looked at
How to Change Owner of File, Folder, Drive, or Registry Key in Windows 10

Again once you have taken ownership over any file or folder in particular you will see a command prompt type window appear and watch as the lines of text appear and scroll quite fast indicating successes with taking ownership as this option goes to work.

 

Still, you won't be able to delete some files no matter what you do on a live system.
For that, you need to boot from the install disk / recovery mode, press Shift + F10 and use the cmd prompt to delete files (or launch totalcmd or alternative filemanager to delete files using a gui).

 

There isn't any non system files you can't get rid of as long as the program they are for isn't running and keeping them active by accessing them. With a program already uninstalled it's a simple matter of taking ownership over them in order to uncheck the read only box which prevents you from simply tossing them into the Recycle Bin. I get rid of the Windows.old enough times by going deep first to change file attributes so what is deep gets dumped first before the main folder goes so you never end up with hidden files taking space other then protected system files. The guides there will see to it you have all the permissions you will need in order to zap everything left behind.

 

Your first phrase bends logic a litle. I'm telling you it happened to me several times even on the Windows .old folder.
takeown + cacls is the first thing I've tried ending up wasting time since the problem might have been Defender doing something stupid like locking similarly named files.

But what if it's something else? The time you waste waiting for the takeown / cacls / rd (failed) processing + the time you waste finding the app locking the files + the time you waste trying to kill that app (and you might not be able to do it) is far longer than the time to boot into recovery and Shift + F10.

Just pointing out takeown is not perfect, hell, even effective tools like psexec / paexec fail sometimes.

 

I will do two things first going into the properties>advanced to the owner tab there if any problem as far as the right click menu option not working. The explanation there was simple rather then going into any lengthy detail about Defender or something else hanging onto any one particular file for example. Once you take ownership of the Windows.old folder you can't simply delete that in one shot since there are too many sub folders and files still seeing the read only box checked off where you need to change the attributes and then go in a few layers of sub folders deep and start there to work outward nuking the subs under other subs first until you arrive at the root folder and first line of sub folder or simply let the Disk Cleanup tool handle that as well as other temp installation files and folders to clean up drive space.

Now with 10 unlike the depth seen with Vista onto 7 as far as that folder I took over the first line of subs and then when each of those disappeared simply nuked the top folder. It still takes some time obviously considering just what folder that is but was done is fewer steps. That was one improvement noticed so far in 10 besides now seeing an animated graph when transferring files that shows the megabyte per second speed for both file transfers or copying or removing files and folders. That can tell you when a drive is slowing up as well possibly from wear and tear.

 

I can confirm AveYo's account. I also had 3 files and 2 folders in the Windows.old folder that simply would not delete. Even after drilling down and 'taking ownership' multiple times.

What I ended up doing was booting from a live Linux CD and delete from there. This issue rarely happens but it does in fact sometimes happen.

YMMV.

~sent from Core's 'droid.

 

The program "Take Ownership" is getting old and not as efficient the day it was written.
I use the New and Improved version called "Grant Admin Full Control".

I have to use that often on my system(s) so it's one of the first programs I load, when setting up a new PC or a PC with a new OS.

As for getting rid of the "Windows.old" folder after a Win-10 upgrade, that can be done quite simply in the Disk Cleanup program that comes with every version of windows since.....well, a very long time.

I dump that worthless Windows.old folder on every system I set up.
Another elephant in the room is the Hiberfil.sys file created by "Hibernation". so I disable that beast too. No harm, no foul!

Cheers mates!
*Cool

PS: I read somewhere, that if you just ignore that Windows.old folder, it will go away all by itself in just a few weeks. ???

 

Yes, Windows 10 will automatically remove it in a month. If you don't rollback to your previous system. Yes Disk Cleanup will get rid of it. Doing either is much less efficient than a simple right click>delete SHOULD be.

As for the 'Take Ownership', it's not a 'program' or an 'app', it's a simple registry edit. Can be implemented by importing the already written registry entry from a .reg file. No external programs or apps need. It's just turning on a built in Windows function, that is disabled by default.

 

I presume you had no issues using Windows 10. Thanks

 

I've never had any problem manually note not when using the DiskCleanUp option which at times can remove other files and folders around the drive you may need to keep! No Thank! I prefer to verify first what does get dumped as well as not simply doing in the Windows.old if there are still files in there you want to keep including program files for stand alone program that come with their installers where you may only have to simply copy those folders which may also include configuration or with pc games saved game files back to the Programs or Programs(x86) they were in but now copied to the new Windows install.

When nothing important like a first full install attempt fails on a clean drive you can simply nuke everything obviously when booting live from a Windows dvd as well simply using Disk Part at the command prompt for a full wipe if not manually arriving at the C: root to enter the deltree command there.

The TakeOwnship tweak was originally written for 2000/XP but has worked out quite well right through Vista and 7 sa well as having been run on the 8 Customer Preview back in '12. The too often overlooked reason some files won't delete right away after taking ownership is simple. You forgot to go into the properties screen and uncheck the "Read Only" box and then click the Apply button to watch the file or folder attributes are changed. Once done say good bye to file or folder!

As the "Grant Admin Full Control" reg tweak that amounts to the same thing only under a different name. The system registy hasn't changed any in it's basic structure since the Legacy days when everything afterwards with 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 8.1, and now 10 still use the regedit command and still see the exact same type of structure just as the 32bit remains the 32bit kernel and the 64bit remains the 64bit kernel. The entries are slightly different being the only difference simply when someone else came along and changed the name for the same type of reg mod.

Speaking of which people were reporting problems when going to add that one while the TakeOwnership download comes complete with it's own remover! Here's one such problem indicated over at SevenForums where the solution pointed to was addressed in guide linked to the VistaForums on how to add the command without downloading any reg mod to start with.
GrantAdminFullControl REG problem


Now for the DiskCleanUp tool in 10 I would expect to most planning to run that right after a full clean install anyways to clear off all of the temp clutter the Windows installer is known for! As for an upgrade where you have all your personal files and apps from the previous version found intact and wanted on 10 you have to tweak the DC a little so it won't nuke any of those since the tool is intended to go over things on the entire drive as well. You wouldn't want to that run automatically when other things you want could be at risk but run it yourself when you can go over things first to pick and choose what gets wiped.

 

Next time, please, do open that .reg file in notepad
Code: @="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" /r /d y && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /t"[/quote] Text in bold represents just that, programs from System32. Most of commands are actually stand-alone programs (i.e. find.exe ping.exe tracert.exe)

Forgot to mention Disk Cleanup was also failing! And having a really small partition meant I had to get rid of windows.old ~30GB fast, before starting to install games for testing (Dota ftw!)

Also I was using Total Commander, setup to delete read-only files. It's like I've said first, Defender must have been locking files. Or other process.