Windows 10: Deleting WindowsApps Folder from an external Hard Drive

HelloI have been unable to find the answer to this questionI have and external hard drive that I used to use with a Windows 10 laptop, I recently got a windows 11 desktop and I was trying to clean some stuff off of the External HD and noticed that it has a WindowsApps folder on it that I don't have access to. I am assuming the reason that I don't have access to it is because it was probably created by my old laptop, which I don't have anymore, so I'm just looking for a way to delete this folder from the HD so I can free up some more space. I'm assuming that reformatting the drive would fix thi

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External Hard Drive

Hi John,

We suggest that you try the troubleshooting steps below:

• Open your External Hard Drive file in File Explorer.
• Type the name of the file you want to search on the search box and click Enter.

The file will show up in Search Results and you will be able to move it to the correct folder.

Let us know if you need further help.

 

Deleting the WindowsApps folder on secondary drive?

Hmm, which is faster. I attempted a Live Linux Drive already but it was very slow and would not boot, not to mention I don't know a thing about using linux.

Would option 2 be easier? I looked at Macrium, but the install steps themselves are confusing me, and I fear not knowing how to navigate it once I boot to it.

EDIT: I installed Macrium Reflect Free, went through these steps to create the media.
Don't forget to check the UEFI/MBR box if you are attempting this yourself.
I then booted to it, "browsed my files for an image", but for real, navigate to the WindowsApps folder on your secondary drive, and delete it. It doesn't disappear instantly, but when you exit the drive, and log back into windows, the folder will be gone.

Thanks for the suggestion cereberus!

 

RETRIEVE FILES FROM WINDOWSAPP EXTERNAL DRIVE

The folder is named " WindowsApps " plural. The spelling on my initial entry was incorrect.

The last step of the take ownership process results in a "bad data" message. I am very concerned about loosing the file.

I scanned the file and nothing was found.