Giveaway of the Day Forums

1. 

   mikiem2
   Moderator

   neowin[.]net/news/microsoft-cautions-about-new-windows-11-and-10-reset-issue-that-fails-to-delete-files/

   zdnet[.]com/article/microsoft-warning-some-files-might-not-be-deleted-when-you-reset-a-windows-pc/

   petri[.]com/microsoft-workaround-windows-11-and-10-reset-bug

   Microsoft has warned Windows 10 and Windows 11 users that files might not be deleted after resetting the device using the "Remove everything" option.

   If / when you want to sell or give a PC/laptop to someone else, you can either wipe the hard disk(s) & reinstall Windows, or do a Windows Reset, removing all your stuff, returning it to a sort of out-of-box status. When stuff is backed up / synced to OneDrive however, some stuff may be stored in a new Windows.old folder that should have been deleted.

   Posted 2 years ago #
2. 

   gergn
   Member

   Re "some stuff may be stored in a new Windows.old folder that should have been deleted."

   PrivaZer will clean that Windows.old folder. I saw your(?) tip yesterday and got a portable version of it at PortableApps. It cleaned this desktop and shut it down when I was at the workout/fitness/eGym.

   Posted 2 years ago #
3. 

   Whiterabbit-uk
   Games Guru

   For years I'd tried to delete Windows.old folders from various hard drives without having to format the drive first; but had failed miserably. It was usually to free up some space that the folder was taking up, especially when I first purchased SSD's which when first available were very expensive, so my first few SSD's were only small 125GB drives, which soon filled up with documents, photographs and game folders.

   It was only recently that I discovered that it's actually easy to get rid of the folder using Windows own applications. I'd just been too lazy to research the method.

   Posted 2 years ago #
4. 

   mikiem2
   Moderator

   This bug was fixed on Patch Tuesday.

   Mentioned just on the offhand chance this ever happens in the future...
   There was a bug [yeah, one of many] in earlier versions of Win10, where some files in the Windows folder might use filenames that Windows wouldn't work with. After upgrading Win10 versions requiring a reinstall, those files were moved to Windows.old, and because of them Windows.old could not be deleted. They had to be deleted booting to a USB stick using the Command Prompt. It was a real joy on my tablets since not using Windows meant the display wasn't enlarged 150% -- needed a magnifying glass!

   Otherwise, there's something I always add to Windows... added to the context menu, it lets you take ownership of files/folders, including nested, so you have permissions to delete them. Create a simple .reg file in Notepad, then merge [double click] with the registry.

   ------------

   Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas]
   @="Take Ownership"
   "NoWorkingDirectory"=""

   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas\command]
   @="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F"
   "IsolatedCommand"="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F"

   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas]
   @="Take Ownership"
   "NoWorkingDirectory"=""

   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas\command]
@="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" /r /d y && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /t"
"IsolatedCommand"="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" /r /d y && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /t"

   -----------------

   Posted 2 years ago #

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