How to delete Windows Vista Folder ?

Deleting Windows vista folder is next to impossible. You cannot delete it even in multiboot environment - while booting from other partition having other versions of Windows OS. Windows Vista folder contains whopping 8GB space and at times it becomes essential to claim this unused space. To reclaim this space, you need to reformate the partition and eventually face risks of data loss. In some cases, you need pricy third party tool. Here is free easy workaround for you.

Download and burn Knoppix 5.1.1 (or later) Linux live cd from here and boot your machine using this live CD.

Knoppix 5.1.1 Live CD will automatically detect and place icons for your computer’s all available harddisk partitions on Knoppix desktop. Right click and select read write mode to mount the partition which contains Windows Vista files that you want to delete. The partition will be mounted in read write mode.

Now double click over this partition’s icon to open it with Konqueror. Go to Windows Folder, right click on it and select delete. Some time it will ask for root privilege – in that case, open terminal and with sudo Konqueror command, run Konqueror in root user mode and then delete the Windows folder.

4 comments:

makojad said...

Hi, you just need to change folder/files permissions/ownership (in safe mode as admin). It actually involves a few steps: 1. changing ownership, 2. experimenting with changing child permissions of the folders, 3. changing read-only to write (a bit picky). And you need to do it in single steps.
I've just done it with old Vista file system and worked like a charm. Needed a little bit of patience, though.

Anonymous said...

As per Makojad, after about an hour of experimenting, the following worked:

Take ownership of all the files and subfolders.
(I used properties->security->advanced->change permissions

Take off readonly

Delete!

Anonymous said...

Tried the change onership thing, didnt quite work, guess i missed somthing.

My backdor basicly became renaming the folder from Windows to windows.old Then using windows own remove old instalations function ;)

Anonymous said...

hi
thanks ravi your idea of knoppix worked i did it with 6.2 version of knoppix.

thanks again
keep up the god work