Windows 10: How do I delete the Windows and Program Files folders of a Windows install from within a...

Discus and support How do I delete the Windows and Program Files folders of a Windows install from within a... in Windows 10 Ask Insider to solve the problem; This is a very specific problem but let me explain. I have two drives in my laptop: a 240GB SSD and a 1TB HDD. The 1TB originally had a Windows 8.1... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Ask Insider' started by /u/TreatmentForYourRash, Oct 30, 2019.

  1. /U/TREATMENTFORYOURRASH
    /u/TreatmentForYourRash Win User

    How do I delete the Windows and Program Files folders of a Windows install from within a...


    This is a very specific problem but let me explain.

    I have two drives in my laptop: a 240GB SSD and a 1TB HDD. The 1TB originally had a Windows 8.1 install on it until I got the SSD, upon which I installed Windows 10. At this point, I thoroughly broke the Windows 8.1 install on the HDD (deleted the ESP, recovery partition and deleted a whole bunch of files to essentially make that Windows install unbootable without a lot of errors) but now I face a new problem: the following folders absolutely refuse to be removed.

    These are the folders:

    • $WINDOWS.~BT
    • $Windows.~WS
    • Program Files
    • Program Files (x86)
    • ProgramData
    • Windows

    I've changed ownership of all these folders to myself (that is, my account on the Windows 10 install) and then tried to delete them all, but Windows says I need permission from myself and, for some files, TrustedInstaller, to delete them.

    I really don't want to have these files around any more. How can I get rid of them?

    submitted by /u/TreatmentForYourRash
    [link] [comments]

    :)
     
    /u/TreatmentForYourRash, Oct 30, 2019
    #1
  2. ANUSHA
    Anusha Win User

    C windows installer folder - Delete?

    He can do symbolic link redirection and move the files in it to a different location. *Wink How do I delete the Windows and Program Files folders of a Windows install from within a... ;)
    Better try it out in a virtual of first. Just a suggestion.

    Like:
    First move everything in c:\windows\installer to d:\installercache
    Then delete c:\windows\installer folder
    Then type this in command mode as admin
    mklink /d c:\windows\installer d:\installercache

    Removing those installer files is a bad idea. it might prevent you from updating or uninstalling apps.
     
    Anusha, Oct 30, 2019
    #2
  3. WILE E
    Wile E Win User
    C windows installer folder - Delete?

    I have it in mine. Looking thru it, it looks like certain programs keep their installer in there. Probably not a good idea to delete it, as you might lose the ability to uninstall some programs.
     
    Wile E, Oct 30, 2019
    #3
  4. GOFIGUREITOUT
    GoFigureItOut Win User

    How do I delete the Windows and Program Files folders of a Windows install from within a...

    Windows installation folder

    A couple of years ago, I read that Windows has a special folder that contains files used during the installation process. Also, I heard there's another folder that Windows uses as a back-up of every system file, just in case the user wants to do a system restore. Where can I find both folders and are they safe to delete?
     
    GoFigureItOut, Oct 30, 2019
    #4
Thema:

How do I delete the Windows and Program Files folders of a Windows install from within a...

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