soulburner Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 I have a terrible problem. I've installed Windows Vista Beta 1 on my computer - I had no space on other partitions (and had no partition resizing tools), so I installed it on my main partition where all the data is (documents, movies, music, etc.). Now, I had to remove the Vista installation to install something else (no space on disk after Vista install ;)). I use Windows XP with SP2 right now (and I'm glad to be back, Vista Beta 1 is still... too beta :D). The funny thing is, the Vista system files CANNOT be erased! I'm having dialog windows saying "Access denied" and that the file is being in use by another program. I am sure no programs use these files. I've tried removing the files by booting from the CD and launching BartPE - same problem! So I got NTFS4DOS and tried removing the files from DOS... could not see any files in the Vista folders and could not remove any folders. I could see and delete other files on this partition. So right now I have 1GB system left-overs... is there any way I can delete those files without formating the partition? I have no place to archive my data :( I have 88MB in Program Files and 931MBs in Windows dir... desperately need hd space :p Please help! Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+chorpeac MVC Posted August 31, 2005 MVC Share Posted August 31, 2005 Here is a quick tip, and I only say this because you didn't say it. Always format the drive, quick or full, when you install an OS from scratch. Better yet, kill the partitions, and recreate them. No left over files.... *wipes hands clean* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulburner Posted August 31, 2005 Author Share Posted August 31, 2005 Yeah, I know that, but I was desperate to install Vista ;) Gonna ask a friend to temprarily store my data. So... there is no chance to erase those files? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raskren Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 It could be a permissions issue. In Beta 1 the default user account is "administrator" while in Xp, you are given the opportunity to create an account with your name or whatever you wish. Open a folder in Xp. In the menu bar go to Tools > Folder Options. Click the View tab. You'll see a list of checkboxes. Scroll to the bottom of the list and UNCHECK "Use simple file sharing." Hit OK. Then go to the Vista folder you want to delete. Right click on it and select properties. Hit the security tab. Here you will see a list of users with permission to perform operations on the file. If your name is not in the list, add it. Then click the "Full Control" checkbox and then OK. Then try to delete again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulburner Posted August 31, 2005 Author Share Posted August 31, 2005 Well, it seems it's not that simple. When I read your response, raskren, I was like "wow, it's so simple!". But when I entered the Security tab, I've noticed that everything is greyed-out and not available to modify. Here's a screen: The Advanced button also takes me into a place with disabled stuff. I will try loging in as Administrator, but don't think it'll help because I'm already one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyder2k Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 If it is in fact a permissions issue, boot up vista and assign 'full control' permissions to 'everyone' on the relevant folders/files. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulburner Posted September 1, 2005 Author Share Posted September 1, 2005 It's also impossible to change the security settings in Vista :( Oh, well, at least I've learned something ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveLegg Developer Posted September 1, 2005 Developer Share Posted September 1, 2005 Click the advanced button on the security dialogue and try taking ownership of the folders, that should allow you to change the permissions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulburner Posted September 2, 2005 Author Share Posted September 2, 2005 Everything under the Advanced button is greyed out and unmodifiable :blink: But have no fear, reformatted and happy ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpu killer Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 I just recently made an elaborate article on how to do this - I myself had a hard time. Here you go: http://cpukiller.aeroxp.net/blog/?page_id=9 :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eliaztheone Posted September 3, 2005 Share Posted September 3, 2005 Boot up with Erd Commander and delete every vista folder U see :) worked for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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