How to remove the “folders” from my computer in windows 8.1

Taylor Gibb is a professional software developer with nearly a decade of experience. He served as Microsoft Regional Director in South Africa for two years and has received multiple Microsoft MVP (Most Valued Professional) awards. He currently works in R&D at Derivco International. Read more.

Windows 8.1 bought some of the more common folders to the top of the “This PC” window. Having used Windows since its inception, we find this looks odd and sought to fix it.

If you’re using Windows 10, the process is a bit different, and you’ll need to read our article on hiding folders from This PC in Windows 10, or you can read about disabling Quick Access in Windows 10.

How to Remove the “Folders” From My Computer in Windows 8.1

Press the Win + R keyboard combination to bring up a run box, then type “regedit” and press enter.

When the registry editor opens, navigate to:

You can see in the above screen shot that there are several registry keys with convoluted names. Most of them are mapped to one of those folders you see in the explorer Window. We managed to figure out which is which through trial and error, here are our findings:

To remove the folders from the explorer window, simply delete the corresponding registry key using the information provided above.

That’s pretty much all there is to it. Of course, if you are not comfortable hacking around in the registry you can just run one of the handy registry files we have created for you.

When its all said and done, you can have that familiar look and feel back.

Taylor Gibb is a professional software developer with nearly a decade of experience. He served as Microsoft Regional Director in South Africa for two years and has received multiple Microsoft MVP (Most Valued Professional) awards. He currently works in R&D at Derivco International. Read more.

Windows 8.1 bought some of the more common folders to the top of the “This PC” window. Having used Windows since its inception, we find this looks odd and sought to fix it.

If you’re using Windows 10, the process is a bit different, and you’ll need to read our article on hiding folders from This PC in Windows 10, or you can read about disabling Quick Access in Windows 10.

How to Remove the “Folders” From My Computer in Windows 8.1

Press the Win + R keyboard combination to bring up a run box, then type “regedit” and press enter.

When the registry editor opens, navigate to:

You can see in the above screen shot that there are several registry keys with convoluted names. Most of them are mapped to one of those folders you see in the explorer Window. We managed to figure out which is which through trial and error, here are our findings:

To remove the folders from the explorer window, simply delete the corresponding registry key using the information provided above.

That’s pretty much all there is to it. Of course, if you are not comfortable hacking around in the registry you can just run one of the handy registry files we have created for you.

When its all said and done, you can have that familiar look and feel back.

Windows 8.1 has modified itself a bit by bringing more common directories or folders in “This PC” window which to some extent looks odd. Thus many users wanted to delete these folders in Windows 8.1 and we are here to help you out to do so in simplest ways. The following procedure needs to be followed precisely.

How to Remove Folders From My Computer in Windows 8.1

Locating the registry keys:
Firstly one needs to press Win + R keys from keyboard which will bring forward a run box. In that box, user needs to type “regedit” and then press enter key. This keyword basically means editing the registry of Windows 8.1. It is nice to modify system settings always and it is innovative too though there must be a bit precaution and expert advice else one can end up messing the entire system. When registry editor will open, the user needs to browse to this location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\. This will open up a window similar to Windows Explorer.
Identifying registries:
There will be shown several registry keys with sequential names. Don’t get messed up seeing so many folders which you may not understand. But we will tell you exactly what to do, so just proceed and check whether every step is matching as we say or not. With lots of trials and errors, we have found out following details showing which folder is represented by which registry key:

1. Desktop Folder: This is represented by this registry key.
2. Documents Folder: This is represented by this registry key.
3. Downloads Folder: This is represented by this registry key.
4. Music Folder: This is represented by this registry key.
5. Pictures Folder: This is represented by this registry key.
6. Videos Folder: This is represented by this registry key.

Removing folders:
Now that you have all information about folders and their respective registry keys, you should not get messed up now. Hopefully you have decided which folder or folders you want to remove. So to do that, simply select the registry keys, right click and select “Delete”. There are many people who do not prefer handling with registry keys and system internal matters.
For those people, there are several readymade handy registry files ready for them. Those registry files are programmed to do specific tasks such as remove all folders, remove pictures, remove videos, etc. So this will be easier that following above procedures even and one can easily remove folders from Windows 8.1.

Library folders such as Downloads, Music, Pictures, Documents, and Videos have been moved to the center view when browsing My Computer with Windows 8.1. Now appearing above the drives, these useful folders were in the left sidebar in the previous versions. Although they can be collapsed by clicking on the Folders option at the top, you may want to remove them completely to save space for other items.

Before we start, make sure to back up your registry so that you can restore it later if your system behaves strangely.

1. To begin, open the Run window by pressing Ctrl + R. Type Regedit in the Open field, and hit Enter or click the OK button to process.

2. When the Registry Editor shows up on-screen, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace. There will be several subkeys in NameSpace.

To remove the folders, just delete the keys. You should delete only the folders that you do not use and keep the others unchanged.

After deleting the keys, close the editor window.

3. Come back to the Explorer window, right-click on an empty space, and choose Refresh. The libraries folders will disappear.

4. Next, you may want to show the removed libraries folders on the left-side panel, as they were in previous versions of Windows. To do that, right-click on an empty space on the left side, and choose Show libraries.

Then libraries items will be listed with subfolders on the left-side panel as seen below:

5. Later, if you change your mind and want to list the folders in the center view, launch the Registry Editor again, navigate back to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace, and create new keys with the provided code name of the folders above.

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Tip / Trick

Library folders such as Musics, Apps, Documents, Videos and Pictures have always appear on the left bar of My Computer in the previous versions of Windows 8 providing a quick access to these folders. However, in Windows 8.1, their place has been re-arranged such that they now appear on top of drives and devices. You have the option to collapse them, however if you want to completely remove them from their place, follow our quick guide below to find out how you can do so.

How to hide Library folders in My Computer in Windows 8.1

Step 1: Press Win + R combo keys in order to bring up the Run dialog box. Type in regedit and press enter.

Step 2: The Registry Editor Windows will now open. Navigate to the following directory:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace

Step 3: You will see the following subkeys in NameSpace:

Desktop Folder –

Documents Folder –

Downloads Folder –

Music Folder –

Pictures Folder –

Videos Folder –

To remove any of the folders from My Computer or the explorer window, simply delete them by pressing the delete key or by the old fashioned way, right click and delete.

Step 4. Once done, close the Registry Editor window and go to My Computer. You’ll notice that the folders have been completely removed bringing back the old look of My Computer.

Conclusion

This is one of the ways of how you can hide the library folders in My Computer completely instead of just collapsing them. All you have to do is to delete the corresponding subkeys from the Registry Editor NameSpace key.

Updated: September 25, 2020

Windows prevent certain files from being deleted or moved. This can be really frustrating when you want to remove a file that you don’t need but are unable to do so. If you’re in this predicament, try the methods below.

Method 1: Close associated process

If the file you’re trying to delete is in use by a program or process, you’ll not be able to delete it. Usually, you’ll get a message saying the file is locked. If that’s the case for you, follow the instructions below:

1. Right-click the Taskbar and select Task Manager.
   
2. Right-click the process or program that you know is using the file, then select End Task/Process.
3. Try deleting the file again.

If you still can’t remove the file, then check the next method below.

Method 2: Force delete files/folders using Command Prompt

Another way to force delete files or folders on your computer is by using Command Prompt. Follow the instructions below:

1. Right-click the file you want to delete, then select Properties and check the file’s location.
   
2. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time.
3. Type cmd, then press Ctrl, Shift and Enter keys on your keyboard to run Command Prompt as administrator.
   
4. Enter del and location of the file you want to force delete (e.g. del c:\users\pc\desktop).
   
5. Press the Enter key on your keyboard to execute the command.

If this didn’t work for you, then move on and try the next method, below.

Method 3: Delete files/folders in safe mode

If you can’t delete the file in normal mode, then try doing this in Safe Mode.

1. Boot your PC into safe mode.
   If you’re on Windows 7, check this to see how toboot your Windows 7 computer into safe mode. If you’re on Windows 10 or 8, please check this to see how to enter safe mode on Windows 8 or 10 devices.
2. Delete the file/folder once you boot your computer into safe mode.
3. To exit Safe Mode, simply restart your computer.

Hopefully, this post helped. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment below.

By Ellie Zhuang

Content crafter at Super Easy. Ellie is a foodie at heart who also happens to be an extreme couponer. She enjoys discovering new and helpful coupon tips and tricks. In addition to writing for Super Easy, she also posts technical guides, tips, and how-tos at Driver Easy.

Chris Hoffman is Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. He’s written about technology for over a decade and was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Chris has written for The New York Times and Reader’s Digest, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations like Miami’s NBC 6, and had his work covered by news outlets like the BBC. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read nearly one billion times—and that’s just here at How-To Geek. Read more.

Windows 10’s “This PC” view doesn’t just show hard drives, removable storage devices, and network locations. Unlike the traditional “My Computer” list, it also contains several folders — but you can hide them and make This PC look more like Windows 7’s Computer view.

You can hide the Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, and Videos folders — all of them, or just some of them. This requires a quick little registry hack. They’ll only be hidden from the This PC view in File Explorer. You’ll still have easy access to them via the Quick Access view.

Without Editing Your Registry

If you’ve gotten this far, you probably want to use the registry hack below. But you don’t necessarily need to. You can simply click or tap the “Folders” heading at the top of the This PC view and it will collapse. Windows remember this setting, so it will stay collapsed and out of your way each time you open a File Explorer window.

This is the best you can do if you’re on a computer you can’t edit the registry on — for example, a work PC you don’t have administrator access to. To actually remove the entire “Folders” heading from here, you’ll need to use the registry hack below.

Check if You’re Using a 64-bit or 32-bit Version of Windows 10

Before running one of the below registry hacks, you’ll need to check whether you’re using a 64-bit or 32-bit version of Windows 10. You’re probably using the 64-bit version, but you can quickly check if you’re not sure.

To check, open the Start menu and launch the Settings app. Select System, select About, and look next to “System type” to see whether you’re using a “64-bit operating system” or “32-bit operating system.”

Download and Run a .reg File

Download our “Remove User Folders From This PC” registry hack. Open the zip file and run the appropriate .reg file for your system by double-clicking it and agreeing to the Registry Editor warning.

You just need to double-click a single file here — either the “Remove All Folders From This PC 64-bit.reg” file or the “Remove All Folders From This PC 32-bit.reg” file. This will remove all the folders from the This PC view.

These changes won’t take effect immediately. You’ll need to restart the Explorer.exe process or log out of your computer and log back in for this to take effect.

To quickly restart Explorer, you can open the Task Manager — right-click the taskbar and select Task Manager or press Ctrl+Shift+Escape. Click the “More details” option, click the “Processes” tab, select “Windows Explorer,” and click the “Restart” button. Explorer will restart and the folders will vanish from File Explorer.

If you don’t want to remove all the folders but just want to remove specific ones, we’ve included individual .reg files for removing the Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, and Videos folders individually, as well as restoring them individually.

If you decide you want all of — or just one of — the folders back later, run the appropriate Restore .reg file included with the download. You’ll have to restart Windows Explorer after this, too.

Specifically, Windows 10 stores the list of folders under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\ in the registry. On 64-bit versions of Windows 10, the list of folders is also stored under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\ , where it’s used by 32-bit programs in their file save and open windows. The registry hacks above just remove the individual folder keys from these locations in the registry, while the Restore ones re-add them. You can right-click the .reg files and select Edit to see exactly which keys they’re removing and adding.

You can also rename “This PC” to anything you like. Just right-click “This PC” in File Explorer, select Rename, and type a name. You’re free to rename it “Computer”, “My Computer”, or anything else you want to call it.

Sometimes, you might be unable to delete a file in your computer. Check this post, it would provide 4 methods about how to delete files that cannot be deleted in Windows 10/8/7.

By Dervish / Last Updated March 7, 2022

Scenario

“There is a file on my desktop which cannot be deleted. It says the action can’t be completed because the folder or a file in it is open in another program. And I do definitely not open it. And my desktop is running with Windows 10. What should I do to delete files that cannot be deleted?”

Why can’t delete files?

Sometimes, you may find that you can’t delete a file or a folder on your computer. No matter how many times you try, you still can’t delete the file, and it would come along with some information like “The action can’t be completed because the folder or a file is open in another program”.

The reason why the file can’t be deleted might be that a program may be currently occupying it. If so, the windows will lock the file, so you can’t delete, modify, or move it. In this case, you can press “Ctrl + Alt + Delete” and click the “Task Manager” option. End unnecessary programs, and then try to delete the file.

Besides, you can restart your computer and run anti-virus software to check if you can delete the files. If these files are still there and cannot be deleted, you can refer to the next content to find a solution.

4 Methods: delete files that cannot be deleted in Windows 10/8/7

There are 4 methods of force deleting a file provided in the following content; you can try them to solve your problem.

Method 1. Delete files with Command Prompt

You can use the built-in tool, Command Prompt to execute a deletion command to delete a file or a folder.

Step 1. Type “cmd” on the search box, and open Command Prompt.

Step 2. In the Command Prompt window, type “del [/f] [/q] [/a] + the file directory”, as the picture shows. And press Enter to execute the deletion

вњЌNote: The Del command syntax meanings:

/f = delete read-only files.

/q = turn off delete confirmation.

/a = delete archived files and folders

Method 2. Enter Safe Mode to delete files

If Command Prompt can’t delete a locked file as expected, you can enter Safe Mode to delete the file or folder.

Step 1. Click “Start” on the desktop, and go “Settings” > “Update & Security” > “Recovery” >Advanced Startup, and click the “Restart now”.

Step 2. Click “Troubleshoot” >“Advanced options” >“Startup Settings” >“Restart”.

Step 3. In the Startup Settings, press “F4” or “F5” to enter Safe Mode

Step 4. The computer will be started to Safe Mode, and then, delete the file or folder in the Safe Mode.

вњЌTip: If your computer is using Windows 7 system, just restart your PC, and tap “F8” to enter “Advanced Boot Options” and choose “Safe Mode”.

Then restart your PC, it will exit the Safe Mode.

Method 3. Repair disk errors

Another cause of failing to delete files is errors on the disk. You can close all opened files, and check if there is an error on your disk, and fix it.

Step 1. Open “This PC” on the desktop or start menu.

Step 2. Right-click the disk on which the files you want to delete stored.

Step 3. Click “Properties” in the drop-down menu.

Step 4. Under the “Tool” tab, click “Check”. And it will check if there is error on the disk.

If there is an error, this program will fix the error automatically.

Method 4. Free Software to delete files that cannot be deleted

If the 3 methods above still can’t delete the files you want to delete, you can try professional third-party wiping software to delete files that cannot be deleted- AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard . It can force delete a hard disk or a partition by writing zeros in a few simple steps.

вњЌ Note: Using writing zeros to force delete the files would wipe the whole partition preventing most of recovery tools from lifting information from it. So before wiping the files, please back up the other useful files.

Step 1. Install and open AOMEI Partition Assistant, right-click the partition where the undeletable files stored, and select “Wipe Partition”

Step 2. You can choose the “Fill sectors with Zero” wiping method to force delete files. And click “OK”.

вњЌ Note: You can also upgrade to Professional Edition to choose the other 3 wiping methods, which can delete files more thoroughly.

Step 3. Then go back to the main interface, click “Apply” to commit the operation.

After that, the files that cannot be deleted will be wiped. And it is worth mentioning that this method should not be applied to deleting files from SSD, because it entirely differs from HDD. If you are using SSD, you might need to use another feature called “ SSD Secure Erase ” provided by AOMEI Partition Professional Edition.

After the partition is deleted, you will see it become unallocated. You can also use the Professional Edition to add the unallocated space to C partition or create a new partition.

Conclusion

That is all about how to delete files that cannot be deleted. These 4 methods can be applied to Windows 11/10/8/7, and other most of Windows OS. Hope you can solve your problem with them.

SkyDrive has been deeply integrated into Windows 8.1 operating system and it’s now used as default location to save documents, backup settings, and save camera roll folder. The SkyDrive in Windows 8.1 works in a sophisticated way and lets you manage files in a better way.

With default settings, SkyDrive shows all files and folders saved in your account as if they are available offline by creating shortcut links to all files, and pulls up files from the server only when you try to open them. If you would like to access a file offline, you can right-click on a file and select Make available offline option.

Those of you who have enabled SkyDrive integration in Windows 8.1 will know that the SkyDrive is now part of Windows Explorer as well. The SkyDrive folder now appears in the navigation pane of Windows Explorer or File Explorer, and lets you quickly upload and manage files.

While the SkyDrive folder in the navigation pane means that you get quick access to your cloud files without having to install desktop version of SkyDrive, some users who don’t use the cloud service from Microsoft may like to hide or remove SkyDrive folder from navigation pane in Windows 8.1 Explorer.

The fact that SkyDrive can be browsed with the help of Modern SkyDrive app may also encourage users to remove SkyDrive folder from File Explorer. Unfortunately, unlike Libraries and Favorites in the navigation pane, SkyDrive folder can’t be removed or disabled with a click. You need to edit Windows Registry to remove the SkyDrive folder.

Complete the instructions given below to hide or remove SkyDrive folder in navigation pane of Windows 8.1 Explorer:

Step 1: While it’s possible to edit the Registry using Registry Editor, you need to first take the ownership of the Registry key that you’re going to edit to avoid errors. So, visit this link and download a small tool called RegOwnershipEx.

Step 2: Extract the downloaded RegOwnershipEx.zip file to get two folders titled Windows 7 and Windows 8. Open up Windows 8 folder, then double-click on x86 or x64 depending on the version of Windows 8.1 you’re running to see RegOwnershipEx.exe file. Double-click on .exe file to launch it.

Note that Windows may show a warning saying that “Windows SmartScreen prevented an unrecognized app from starting. Running this app might put your PC at risk.”. Click More info and then click Run anyway option.

Step 3: Once RegOwnershipEx is launched, in the Select the registry key box, enter the following key:

Click Take Ownership button to take ownership of that key and then click Open in Registry Editor to open the key in native Windows Registry Editor.

Step 4: On the right-hand side, double-click Attributes, and change its value data from the default f080004d to 0. Click Ok button. That’s it!

Step 5: Either reboot your computer or restart Windows Explorer by opening Taskbar manager, right-clicking on Windows Explorer, and then selecting Restart option to see Windows Explorer without the SkyDrive folder.

NOTE: To add the SkyDrive folder back to the navigation pane, open up the above mentioned key and change it’s value to the default f080004d.

You might have noticed a folder on your computer called “Windows.old.”

If you did, you probably also noticed two other things: It is using a lot of hard drive space (potentially as much as two dozen gigabytes) and you can’t delete it using your keyboard’s Delete key.

Since it has “old” in its filename, it seems unnecessary – is there a way to get rid of it?

If you’ve recently upgraded to a new version of Windows, the Windows.old folder contains your previous installation of Windows, which can be used to roll back to the previous configuration if you want to.

If you don’t plan to go back – and few people do – you can remove it and reclaim the space.

Also, keep in mind that if you do nothing, Windows will automatically discard that folder 30 days after the upgrade. But if you want to delete it right now, here is how.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Windows 10 Home (From $139 at Best Buy)

How to delete the Windows.old folder on your computer

1. In the Start menu search box, type “cleanup” and then click “Disk Cleanup” in the results.

2. If you see the Drive Selection dialog box, make sure that the C: drive is selected, and click “OK.”

3. Click “Clean up system files.”

4. You may need to choose drive C: a second time and click “OK.” Then you’ll need to wait while the program scans your drive.

5. Select the checkbox for “Previous Windows installations” from the list of files to delete.

Like a computer, your brain can store and process large amounts of information. It can remember names, solve math problems, and save tips that you might need at a later time.

Unlike a brain, though, computers tend to collect information that might not be important. Not only that, but they can collect information that may be broken, outdated, and even already duplicated on the hard drive, taking up extra space and slowing down your machine.

How can we solve the problem of making our computers run as smoothly as our super-computer brains?

There’s often tons of data sitting around that can be done away with to free up space on your hard drive and help your computer run better. For Windows, you can download a program to perform each of these tasks, but for Macs, there’s usually a simple process involved.

Here’s how to get rid of the most common types of useless information.

Empty Folders

Mac

It’s actually quite easy to find empty folders on your Mac. All you have to do is open Finder, then press Command + F to open Find. Under Kind, select Folder. Add another search criterion by pressing the + and choose Number of items, then set it to less than one.

This should show you all the empty folders on your drive, so all you have to do is select them and delete.

Windows

Download Remove Empty Directories, which searches your computer for empty folders.

The program will show you all the folders on your system with nothing in them, and then let you choose which ones to keep and which ones to delete.

Duplicate Files

When users switch computers, files can sometimes duplicate themselves. There are times when I forget whether or not I’ve downloaded a file and end up with triplicates. To find duplicates on your computer, you can use an application such as dupeGuru, which works on Mac, Windows, and Linux.

It scans either filenames or contents and finds duplicates in folders, even when they may not be exactly the same, and you can set preferences so that it only finds duplicates of a certain type. It can also help you move or copy the files somewhere else if you don’t want to get rid of them.

Duplicate Folders

Mac

While there are many applications to find duplicate files, there are not as many out there for folders. The reason is because files tend to take up more space than folders. Also, if you find duplicate files, there’s a decent chance you might find the duplicate folder that it is stored in, as well.

If you tried a duplicate file finder to no avail and still need to search for duplicate folders, you can use TidyUp for Mac.

Not only does it find duplicate folders, but can also find duplicate files like dupeGuru. The only problem with this application is the steep price—$30. If you know of any free alternatives, please comment below.

Windows

Windows users are in luck—a free program called V Folder Dups makes it easy to get rid of all your duplicate folders.

Broken Shortcuts

As stuff gets moved around, files can get lost and shortcuts can break. This can be very frustrating, but luckily, it’s pretty easy to fix.

Mac

Right-click on the broken shortcut and select Show Original, which will open separately. On the same broken link, right click again and choose Get Info.

From there, click Select New Original and choose the original file, which you opened earlier.

Windows

A free program called Broken Shortcut Fixer will do the same thing for Windows users. It scans all your shortcuts and automatically fixes any that are not working correctly, so it may even find a few you didn’t know were broken.

Any shortcuts that the program can’t fix will come up in a list, where you can choose to just delete them, or investigate and see if you can’t fix them yourself.

Old Bookmarks

Websites change, and so bookmarks can also quickly become broken. To get rid of them, you can use Prairiefire for Safari, which helps retire old/expired bookmarks and check for duplicates.

Windows users can try AM Deadlink, which works for Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, and Chrome.

Do you know of any other tricks or programs that can help solve any of these problems? Let us know in the comments below.

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[dropcap]B[/dropcap]efore buying a new computer, we choose to donate, recycle or sell the old one. However, before lending your computer to any other hand, we need to take care of a few things like our personal data, apps, etc. So, it’s always a good time to know how to factory reset any old computer. Here’s how you can remove all of your data from the computer.

How To Remove All Of Your Personal Data From Computer

Well, if we look around, we will find that almost every other day someone purchases a new computer. Before buying a new computer, we choose to donate, recycle or sell the old one. However, before lending your computer to any other hand, we need to take care of a few things like our personal data, apps, etc.

We are in so hurry to purchase a new computer that we forgot to clean the old one properly. These things can create lots of privacy and security hazards. Just think once what if the computer that you have just sold to someone has your banking details like login credentials, passwords, etc?

So, it’s always a good time to know how to factory reset any old computer. It doesn’t matter if you are using Windows, Linux, or MacOS, the Factory reset option is available on every OS with different names. So, in this article, we are about to discuss how to remove all of your data from the computer.

What are the benefits?

Well, its worth to note that to wipe a hard drive means to erase each and every piece of information that’s stored on the drive. Factory reset or the restore option on the various operating system doesn’t wipe a hard drive. It just removes the apps and personal data that you have stored after the OS installation.

So, it will remove all those apps, saved passwords, text files, and almost everything that you see on your desktop. Whereas formatting the computer removes everything including the old OS. Formatting needs a fresh installation of the OS, whereas the system reset doesn’t.

Moreover, the Resetting, restoring, or Factory reset can also help to eliminate issues with computer software, drivers, corrupted files, malware infections, etc. So, let’s know how to wipe all data from the computer.

How To Wipe Your Hard Drive Before Selling Your Computer

#1 Windows

Well, removing personal data from Windows computer is an easy process. But, you need to consider a few things before you begin the factory reset process. If you are doing the complete system reset to fix different computer issues, then you need to create a proper backup. Since the process removes all files and folders, it’s essential to back up all files on other computer or external hard drive.

Windows

For Windows 10, Open the Start Menu and then search for ‘Update & Security’. Under the Update & Security Menu, click on the Recovery option. Now under the Recovery menu, you need to click on ‘Reset this PC’. On the next window, you need to choose Get Start and follow the on-screen instructions to revert your computer back to the previous state.

#2 Apple

Just like Windows Users, Apple users also need to create a proper backup before performing the factory reset. Apple users can back up their important files to an external drive or on the cloud storage. However, make sure to disable the iCloud features after backing up the files and folders.

Apple

Now you need to restart your computer and during the startup, press the Shift + Option + Command + R keys until the Apple logo appears. The key combination will force your computer to reinstall the operating system and revert your computer back to when it was first unboxed.

Now you will get to see a popup window where you need to open the Disk Utility. Now on the Disk Utility, find and erase your built-in hard disk. Now select the MacOS Extended (Journaled) format. Now, wait until the Disk Utility finishes the reset process. Once done, quick the Disk Utility.

#3 Chromebook User

Well, Chromebook users don’t need to do much before wiping their computer. Since most of the files are already stored online on Google Drive. So, there’s no need to back up. However, if you think that you have some file that you need to back up, then do it before you factory reset your laptop or computer.

Chromebook

Chromebook users need to click on the photo shown on the account. Now open the Settings and scroll down to the ‘Advanced’ section. Now, under the Advanced Section, find Powerwash and click on the icon. Now your computer will restart and will remove all your personal data.

So, this is how you can wipe all data from the computer. Since Apple, Windows, and Chromebook is the most used operating system, we have listed the factory reset process of the three. If you have any other doubts, then make sure to discuss with us in the comments.

BT folders after you upgrade Windows

How to remove the Windows.old and $Windows.

BT folders after you upgrade Windows

Lawrence Abrams

• December 6, 2012
• Read 359,786 times

When you upgrade your current version of Windows to a newer version, the upgrade process will create backups of important directories from your previous version of Windows. These directories include your user profiles, Windows folder, Program Files directory, and other important locations. These backups are then stored in two folders called Windows.old and $Windows.

BT, which can be used after the upgrade to recover any data that may not have been properly migrated over to the new version of Windows. These two folders, though, can use up a significant amount of hard drive space on your computer. Therefore, if you are sure you no longer need any of the files in those folders and all of your data and apps have been migrated successfully, it is a good idea to remove these two folders to reclaim that space for other programs to use.

To delete these folders you can use a Windows tool called Disk Cleanup. To access Disk Cleanup, type cleanmgr in the search field of the Windows Start Menu or on the Windows 8 Start Screen. When the search result appears as cleanmgr.exe or Disk Cleanup, please click on that result to launch the program.

When the program launches it will perform a scan of your computer’s hard drives to determine what files can be cleaned up and how much storage space they use.

It may take a few minutes to scan your drives, so please be patient. When it is done you will be shown the Disc Cleanup screen.

The default Disk Cleanup screen does not allow you to remove system files, so we need to enable those options first. To enable them click on the Clean up system files button as indicated by the red arrow in the image above. When you click on this button, the Disk Cleanup program will restart and scan your hard drives again. When it is finished scanning the Disk Cleanup program will open again, but this time with some extra options that you can select as shown in the image below.

As you can see you can now see a Previous Windows installation(s) option that you can select. This option refers to the Windows.old and $Windows.

BT folders that we discussed earlier. If you scroll down you will also see another option labeled Temporary Windows Installation Files, which corresponds to temporary files that were left over from when you installed the new version of Windows. As we no longer need these files, we will remove them as well.

To remove the Windows.old, $Windows.

BT, and windows install files put a check mark in the optioned labeled Previous Windows installation(s) and Temporary Windows Installation Files. Then click on the OK button. The Disk Cleanup wizard will now ask if you are sure you wish to permanently delete these files.

If you are sure you wish to delete the files, click on the Delete Files button. The Disk Cleanup wizard will now begin the process of deleting the selected files and data from your computer.

If there is a lot of data to delete, please be patient while they are removed from your hard drive. Once the files have been removed, the Disk Cleanup program will automatically close. The Windows.old, $Windows.

BT, and the Windows temporary installation files have now been removed from your computer.

If you have any questions regarding these steps, please ask us in the Windows 8 Forum.

Users who read this also read:

How to recover your personal files from the Windows.old folder in Windows 8

When you upgrade to Windows 8 there may be situations where your personal documents are not transferred to the new version of Windows. These reasons may include permission issues on the files or folders or because you selected the Keep Nothing option when you upgraded to the newer version of Windows. If your personal document folders are empty after an upgrade that does not mean that your data is .

How to add a Start Menu to Windows 8 using Classic Shell

Windows 8 no longer includes the traditional Start Menu that Windows users have become associated with using. Instead they replaced it with a new interface called the Windows Start Screen that many people find to be not as intuitive as the traditional Start Menu. This is especially the case if you are not using a touch screen. With this in mind, a free program called Classic Shell has been updated .

How to close an app in Windows 8

When you run apps from the Windows 8 Start Screen and switch to another one, the original app that you were using is not actually closed. Instead this App is left running in the background so that you can easily switch between them. When you leave apps running in the background they use resources such as memory and CPU power that could be better used by other programs on your computer. Therefore .

How to use the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant

The Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant is a program by Microsoft that allows you to quickly assess whether or not your computer is capable of running Windows 8 and then purchase it. It does this by scanning your computer and devices for any conflicts and then provides a summary of what applications or devices may not work properly or may prevent you from running Windows 8. If the program feels that your .

How to upgrade to Windows 8

This tutorial will guide you through upgrading Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 to Windows 8. As Windows 8 can be temperamental when performing upgrades on older computers, it is important to make sure your computer is compatible and has the proper hardware requirements before upgrading. The easiest method to determine if your computer will have problems upgrading to Windows 8 is to use .

Learn how to delete undeletable files and folders in Windows

We all have a lot of files and folders stored on our Windows PC, and deleting them was easy; all we had to do was right-click on the files and select Delete.

However, the problem occurs when some files or folders fail to delete. Many Windows users have tried to delete files or folders without success. It is a common problem and might have happened to everyone.

Generally, Windows locks files and folders that it feels necessary to work properly. Thus, if you attempt to delete those files, you will fail. Sometimes, the malware also prevents you from deleting files & folders.

Methods to Delete Undeletable Files and Folders in Windows 10

So, if you are trying to delete a file or folder without any success on Windows, you are reading the right guide. In this article, we will share the few best methods to force delete undeletable files & folders in Windows.

1. Using The Command Prompt

With the command prompt, you can delete any file or folder on the Windows 10 operating system. Here’s how to use the Command prompt to delete undeletable files.

1. First of all, open the Windows Search box.

2. On the Windows Search box, search for CMD

3. Right-click on the ‘CMD’ and select the option Run as administrator

4. Now, you need to navigate to the folder where the file is stored.

Find file path in Windows: Right Click > Properties > Details

To navigate the folder, use the command:

cd folderpath

Note: Replace ‘folderpath’ with the actual path where the file is stored. For example, cd C:\Users\techviral\desktop

5. After navigating to the folder, you need to execute the delete command. Execute the command given below.

del /f /s

Note: Replace the with the file’s actual name. Also, put the extension of the file type. For example, del /f /s notepad.txt

6. Now, on the Command prompt, type ‘Y’ and press the Enter button.

That’s it! You are done. This is how you can delete locked files in Windows 10 via Command Prompt.

2. Using IObit Unlocker

IObit Unlocker is a powerful tool designed to fix file & folder lock problems. It does so by terminating all related processes that prevent you from deleting or accessing files/folders that you need to. Here’s how you can use IObit Unlocker to delete undeletable files.

1. First of all, download & install IObit Unlocker on your Windows computer. You can follow this link to download the tool.

2. Now open the tool, and you will see an interface like below. You can either drag and drop the file which you want to delete or right-click on the file and select ‘iObit unlocker’

3. Once added, you need to check the ‘Forced Mode’ and then from the drop-down menu, select ‘Unlock & Delete’

That’s it; you are done! This is how you can use IObit Unlocker to delete undeletable files and folders from the Windows computer.

3. Third-party Softwares

Like the above two programs, you can use other tools to delete undeletable files & folders in Windows. Below, we have shared some of the best third-party software to force delete files & folders in Windows.

1. Unlocker

Unlocker is a simple tool that lets you get rid of stubborn files that can’t be deleted in the standard way. Deleting a file from your computer isn’t always as easy as it seems.

Have you ever got an irritating error message telling you that the file is being used by another application and can’t be erased? Unlocker is the solution.

2. XL Delete

XL Delete is a powerful, secure delete tool that permanently deletes your sensitive and private files using its powerful wipe engine.

Apart from that, XL Delete can permanently remove any type of file, entire folders, and even your Internet cookies, history, and cache files.

3. LockHunter

Lockhunter is one of the best Windows tools which you can use to delete stubborn files and folders. The tool can effectively scan and detect malware that prevents the files from deleting.

The great thing about Lockhunter is that it deletes the files into the recycle bin, so users get the option to restore them if deleted by mistake.

4. NoVirusThanks File Governor

NoVirusThanks File Governor is one of the most advanced tools that allow users to unlock files and folders due to some malware or virus attack.

The tool shows whether the file you are trying to delete is used by any other program or user, or if the source or destination files are in used, etc. After knowing the reason, users could fix it quickly and delete stubborn files.

5. EMCO UnLock IT

EMCO UnLock IT is another free tool that can help you to delete undeletable files and folders from your Windows computer. The tool works similarly to the NoVirusThanks File Governor, and it detects a list of locking processes and eventually allows to unlock the resource by closing file and library handles.

If you are still not able to delete any file or folder, you might need to restore your operating system to a previous state. In the worst case, you might even need to reset your Windows 10 PC. I hope this article helped you! Please share it with your friends also.

This article describes how to permanently remove the contents of the Temporary Internet Files folder from your computer. Watch a video about how to delete the contents of the Temporary Internet Files folder yourself.

Delete the contents of the Temporary Internet Files folder

Follow these steps according to your version of Windows.

Press and hold (or right-click) Start > Control Panel > Internet Options.

Select the General tab, and then select Delete under Browsing history.

Select Delete all > Yes > OK.

Select Start > Control Panel > Network and Internet > Internet Options.

Select the General tab, and then select Delete under Browsing history.

Select Delete all > Yes > OK.

Exit Internet Explorer.

Exit any instances of Windows Explorer.

Select Start > Control Panel, and then double-click Internet Options.

On the General tab, select Delete Files under Temporary Internet Files.

In the Delete Files dialog box, click to select the Delete all offline content check box.

Select OK two times.

Note: If the Temporary Internet Files folder contains a large amount of webpage content, this process may take several minutes to complete.

The Temporary Internet Files (or cache) folder is used by Windows Internet Explorer and by MSN Explorer to store webpage content on the computer hard disk for quick viewing. This cache lets Internet Explorer or MSN Explorer download only the content that has changed since you last viewed a webpage, instead of downloading all the content every time that the page is displayed.

An administrator might have customized the settings for your Temporary Internet Files folder to prevent you from changing the settings. For example, the administrator can remove the General tab from the interface in the Internet Options dialog box. If you cannot access the Internet Options dialog box or the General tab, contact your administrator for more information.

Files that start with the word “Cookie” may remain in your Temporary Internet Files folder after you follow these steps. These files are pointers to the actual cookie files that are located in your Cookies folder. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

158769 Emptying Temporary Internet Files folder leaves cookies files For more information about how to delete cookies, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

278835 How to delete cookie files in Internet Explorer

In some cases, files that are downloaded from websites may remain in your Temporary Internet Files folder but will not be visible in Windows Explorer after you follow these steps. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

301057 Temporary Internet files use more disk space than specified

For more information about the Temporary Internet Files folder, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

155353How to adjust cache size for temporary Internet files

172949 How to change the location of temporary Internet files

263070 How Internet Explorer cache settings affect web browsing

175885 Cannot view temporary Internet files on shared computer

To Manage Users in Windows 8 / 10 and Win 8.1 or to add, remove, enable, disable or delete the User Accounts, is the Program lusrmgr.msc (Local Users and Groups Manager) best suited.

To start program (Local Users and Groups Manager) at Windows 8, please start “RUN” via shortcut key combination [Win-Logo] + [R] and enter in the Edit-Box the cmd (command): lusrmgr.msc (. See Image-1 Arrow-1).

This run command will open “Local Users and Groups Manager” Program. (. See Image-1) Here is very easy to add more Windows 8 and 8.1 users, remove, disable, manage and . .

But also over the Control Panel In Windows 8 Home:
Point ►User Accounts and Family Safety ► User Accounts ► Manage Accounts, (. See Image-2)

OR: also via the cmd command control userpasswords2

Note: The Admin account must have a password, it can’t work without!

Use Local Users and Groups to create and manage users and groups that are stored locally on a computer.

There are three types of accounts. Each type gives you a different level of control over the PC:

• Administrator accounts provide the most control over a PC and should be used sparingly. You probably created this type of account when you first started using your PC.
• Standard accounts are for everyday use. If you’re setting up accounts for other people on your PC, it’s a good idea to give them standard accounts.
• Guest accounts are useful when people need to use a PC temporarily. You can turn on your PC’s guest account in Control Panel.

If you still have some files remaining after uninstalling a program using Add / Remove Programs in XP, for example, the uninstalled the program still appear in your control panel. This trick can help you to remove these files.

Warning: This trick can not uninstall software, but only withdraw it from the Add/Remove Programs list. To do this use the Windows uninstall or use specialized software as shown here.

How to remove files after uninstalling programs?

With Regedit

To remove the entry you must go into and open the registry. You will need to make up a backup of the registry as any action taken is irreversible. Once that is done, follow these steps.

• Select Start, then Run, then type “regedit” and press the Enter key.
• Find the key:
  • The tree on the left are the entries to these programs available in Add/Remove Programs.
  • Select the entry to delete, then click the right mouse button and select Delete.
  • Click Yes to accept the deletion.

With CCleaner

by Jenefey Aaron Updated on 2020-03-05 / Update for Windows Care

Your Windows 8 is running like a slow snail? Your PC is full of crud, junk, and gunk day by day? Massive gathering of junk files cause the slow performance of your system and make your computer sluggish. Here we get the best free Windows 8 junk files cleaner – Tenorshare Windows Care Genius for you to remove junk files on Windows 8 thoughtfully.

What Can Windows Care Genius Clean for You?

Windows Care Genius is an all-in-one PC care tool that allows you to comprehensively clean registry and junk files from your PC with one click.

• Clean invalid registry entries on your Windows 8 computer.
• Remove useless files, download history, browsing history, form history, invalid shortcuts, traces, cache, cookies, passwords, Windows components.
• Clean files with specific extensions on specified drives.
• Remove unnecessary files of Windows on the system drive like downloaded installation files, installer baseline cache, IME, help files, wallpaper files, sample music/pictures/videos/media of Windows

How to Clear Junk Files on Windows 8 with Windows Care Genius?

Windows Care Genius is specializing cleaning up junk files and keeping your PC running at its optimum speed. Now follow easy steps below to clear Windows 8 junk files completely.

Firstly, download and install Windows Care Genius on your PC.

Step1. Run Windows Care Genius after installing and click Checkup to analysis the whole heath status of your PC. Moreover, to clean up your Windows 8 computer more deeply, you can use System Cleaner on Windows Care Genius.

Step 2. After scanning, you can see all the junk files including useless files, invalid registry entries, etc. Click Fix to fix all the problems on your PC.

Step 3. After fixing, all the junk files are completely removed from your computer.

Cleaning Windows 8 junk files is such an easy thing with Windows Care Genius. So discarding the complex course about how to remove junk files on Windows 8, simply get Windows Care Genius and all problems will be solved with only 1 click.

Updated on 2020-03-05 / Update for Windows Care

Owing to some reasons, such as bad sectors, viruses or just deleting sensitive information on the old hard drive, you may want to permanently delete files from hard drive.

By Dervish / Last Updated March 31, 2021

About permanently deleting files?

In general, when your hard disk gets low disk space warning message, you will choose to delete some unused files or applications to free space. But, do the files be deleted permanently?

In fact, this operation cannot delete files forever. Because every file has its structure, including directory and blocks. When you delete files, you just remove the directory of it. If you want to permanently delete files from hard drive, you need to add new items to your hard drive and overwrite the deleted files.

When do you want to permanently erase files?

1. Some files on the hard drive containviruses.

Viruses are everywhere. And you cannot make sure your hard drive will be safe forever. Thus, once your files on the hard drive are infected with viruses, you need to remove the files in order not to affect the entire hard drive.

2. Erasing the sensitive data on the hard drive before selling or purchasing.

Usually, after you use the computer for a period of time, you may meet various problems like low disk space problem. Thus, some users may want to sell the old computer or buy a new computer . However, the old computer contains sensitive information (eg: bank account information ) and users do not want anyone else to know.

To fix this problem, you are supposed to permanently delete these files from hard drive.

Disk wipe freeware: permanently delete files from hard drive

AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard is a free software, which devotes to partition management. With this software, you can permanently remove files from hard drive without effort. All the steps are easy to learn, even for a beginner.В

And you can enjoy more useful features in this software, including Convert GPT to MBR, Merge Partitions, Migrate OS to SSD, etc. Also, this software can solve dozens of problem like dynamic disk invalid, Diskpart list volume there are no volumes, etc. Now, free download it and see how to permanelty delete files from hard disk drive.В

Step 1. Install and run the tool.In the main page, click the disk you want to wipe and select “Wipe Hard Drive”.

Step 2. If you ensure you want to permanently erase files from the hard drive, choose “Fill Sector with Zero” and click “OK”.

Step 3. In this window, you can preview the final result and click “Apply”.

Notices: When you want to leave a period of time, It’s a great option for you to tick the checkbox before “Shut down the computer after completing all operations” at the bottom of the window. In this way, you can leave there anytime you have something else to do. To permanently delete files from SSD, you cannot do as the way wiping an HDD. SSD is different from HDD. It has a limited number of writes. If you use the regular processes to clean SSD, it will actually leave data behind, and it may degrade the SSD’s lifespan. You can ugprade AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard to Professional to securely erase SSD. To delete specific files rather than all files from hard disk drive, you can use “Shred Files” function in AOMEI Partition Assistant.

Summary

AOMEI Partition Assistant can be a great choice if you want to permanently delete files from hard drive. And, you still can permanently remove files from SSD. All the operations can be finished in merely a few steps.

And this software offers you more advanced features, including Move Partition, Disk Copy Wizard, Delete all partition, etc. And it can solve many problems Windows does not, containing extend volume is disabled, mark partition as active greyed out, the selected disk of the GPT partition style, etc.

– Last updated on January 3, 2014 by VG

Whenever we want to get details of a file or folder such as file type, size, date of creation, owner, etc, we open its “Properties” window and get the desired details. We also access file or folder’s properties window to change its attributes such as read-only, hidden, etc.

“Properties” window of a file or folder also contains an extra tab called “Security“. This tab allows you to change owner of the file or folder. It also allows you to modify permissions such as full control or limited control over the selected file or folder as shown in following tutorial:

Sometimes you may want to restrict users from changing ownership or permissions for any file or folder in Windows. In other words, you may want to completely remove “Security” tab from file and folder properties window so that no one can change security settings of any file or folder in your computer system.

Recently similar question was asked by our reader “Mohamed Nabil”. He wanted to restrict “Security” tab from properties of all file and folders in Windows.

Today in this tutorial we are going to share a simple Registry tweak which will allow you to disable “Security” tab in files and folders properties windows as shown in following screenshot:

If you also want to remove “Security” tab from files and folders properties window, just check out following simple steps:

1. Type regedit in RUN dialog box and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

3. In right-side pane, create a new DWORD NoSecurityTab and set its value to 1

That’s it. It’ll immediately remove “Security” tab from all files and folders properties window. If it doesn’t remove the tab, you can log off, restart your system or restart Explorer .

4. In future whenever you want to re-enable “Security” tab, simply change the value of NoSecurityTab to 0 or delete the DWORD.

This method will work in all Windows versions such as Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, 8 and 8.1.

You are here: Home » Troubleshooting Guides » How to Remove “Security” Tab from Files and Folders Properties Windows?

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

NOTE: Older comments have been removed to reduce database overhead.

I also found this feature accidentally a while ago. =)

Can a restricted user (i.e., one for who the Security tab has been removed), but who has access to regedit, reset the NoSecurityTab value to 0?

^^ Yes but you can also restrict Registry Editor:

Thanks for another useful tip.
Best regards and Happy New Year!

Hello VG, Nice Tips. Could you please explain both NoResolveSearch and NoResolveTrack

^^ Both DWORDs are used to make the process of resolving a shortcut faster. They prevent the system from searching the drive and using NTFS tracking feature.

Please check following topic for more information:

this proves to me very helpful thanks for hosting such a technical issue

Is there any way to see the permissions of a file or folder when the tab is disabled?

Hi!
I have a question, I want to know if this security tab in properties, is also available when you send a file to another person, but with his/her own settings. I am asking this because i sent a file and when I checked the properties, I accidentally found that my email address was shown in the security tab. I have windows 8/ Thanks for your help and sorry for my ignorance.

^^ I dont think so. Also you can remove personal details from a file using remove properties button.

i cant find it theres nothing under policies i have windows 7 home premuin

Is it working for windows 10 also?There were the same sub keys in one of the main sub keys which was’H Key-Current-Machine’is it all wright if i follow those steps from that key?

‘If you’ve got time to lean, you’ve got time to clean’
Ray Kroc

Why should you keep your PC clean?

We are pretty sure a computer is an environment that must be kept neat and tidy – otherwise, it may fall apart from neglect. Indeed, junk makes your PC slow, unresponsive, and even vulnerable to multiple threats. Thus, if your machine seems suspiciously sluggish and acts weird, the chances are it is stuffed full of clutter.

Why does your computer become cluttered?

But where does that all garbage come from? Surprising though it may sound, your software generates it. The point is, the unwanted programs you delete do not vanish into thin air: their leftovers stay behind and clog your operating system, which turns your computer into a total mess.

Undoubtedly, such an outcome is undesirable, since your PC is not a rubbish dump. Thus, it is essential to know how to remove apps’ leftovers from your computer. The good news is, you have come to the right place: we will help you declutter your device and skyrocket its performance.
P.S. If you don’t want to read the full article, you may simply watch a short video showing a quick fix here:

Ways how to remove apps’ leftovers from your PC

To begin with, there are basically two ways to sweep out the software debris from your machine. First, you can use special software to automate the process. Another method is to do the cleaning manually.

Employ a special tool

This approach will save you a lot of time and effort, as a thorough clean-up requires skill, precision, and a lot of resources. As such, we recommend you to find a reliable third-party tool for this purpose. For example, you can use Auslogics BoostSpeed: this powerful utility will check your Windows for junk, registry problems, speed-reducing issues, and vulnerabilities, and then it will tweak your OS for maximum performance.

Wipe software leftovers off your PC manually

If you want to take matters into your own hands, you are free to clean up your system yourself. Here is our detailed guide on how to delete software leftovers:

Step 1. Use Control Panel to uninstall a program

1. Open your Start menu and locate the Control Panel option.
2. Click on Control Panel. Navigate to Programs.
3. Click on Programs and Features.
4. Locate the piece of software you wish to uninstall.
5. Click on Uninstall. Wait for the uninstallation process to finish.
6. Get the all-clear to proceed and exit Control Panel.

Step 2. Check the Program Files and AppData folders

1. Press the Windows logo key + S shortcut on your keyboard.
2. Type %programfiles% into the Search box.
3. The Program Files folder will open.
4. See if there are any folders there that have the name of the uninstalled software. Delete such folders.
5. Insert %appdata% into Search. You will be taken to the AppData folder.
6. Repeat the step 4 from this list.

Step 3. Clean your Windows Registry

Please keep in mind that you should be very careful when modifying your registry, since one false move is enough to cause your system to go haywire. Therefore, we strongly advise you to use a reliable registry care utility. For instance, Auslogics Registry Cleaner is a free tool that will remove all the leftover keys and entries from your system registry so that you can enjoy a noticeably faster computer.

Nonetheless, if you still wish to edit the registry yourself, make sure to back up all your important data – just in case. Saving your files to an external storage device or migrating them to another computer are among the easiest ways to prevent permanent data loss.

You should also back up your registry – things do not always go as planned, you know. Here is how you can perform a registry backup:

1. Press the Windows logo and S keys simultaneously.
2. Type ‘regedit.exe’ (without quotes) into Search. Then Press Enter.
3. Once you are in Registry Editor, select what you want to back up.
4. Click on File. Then select Export.
5. You should give your backup file a name.
6. Choose the location to which you wish to save the file.

To restore your registry, do the following:

1. Go to your Registry Editor and click on File.
2. Select the Import option. Locate and restore your backup file.

Now it is time to remove unneeded keys from your Windows Registry:

1. Open your Registry Editor.
2. Locate the following keys:

• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE
• HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software
• If your PC runs a 64-bit version of Windows, you will need to check the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node key as well.

1. Explore the keys mentioned above and see if you can find any keys with the name of the program you uninstalled. Delete such keys.

When trying to delete a key in Registry Editor, you may receive the following message: “Cannot delete key: Error while deleting key”. Do not worry, since you can easily tackle this issue. What you need to do is take the ownership of the key in question, and we will show you how to do that:

1. Right-click on the key you failed to delete and select Permissions.
2. Then select the Advanced option.
3. If you are a Windows 7 user:

• Go to the Owner tab.
• Locate the ‘Change owner to:’ section and select your username.
• In addition, check ‘Replace owner on subcontainers and objects’.
• Click Apply and OK to save your changes.
• Those who run Windows 10:
• Navigate to the Owner section and click on Change.
• Once in the Select user or group window, go to the ‘Enter the object name to select’ area and enter your username.
• Make sure to click on the Check Names button. Then click OK.
• The Permissions for Display window will open. Once in the Security tab, go to the Group or user names box and select your username from the list.
• Go to the Permissions for Administrators section. Check Allow for Full Control.
• Click Apply and OK to save the changes.

Now you can delete the registry key you have taken the ownership of.

Step 4. Remove the temporary files left on your computer

To do this, you should empty the Temp folders:

1. Open the Search box by pressing the Windows logo key + S shortcut.
2. Type ‘%temp%’ (without quotes) into Search. Press Enter. Empty the folder.
3. Then type ‘temp’ (no quotes) into the Search bar. Hit Enter. Empty this folder as well.
4. This is it. There are no traces of the deleted software left in your system.

Have our tips proved useful?

We are looking forward to your feedback!

by Jenefey Aaron Updated on 2019-07-25 / Update for Windows Care

What Is Registry?

The Windows registry is a central hierarchical database that stores low-level settings for the Windows system and for application that opt to use the registry. It has been widely applied in various Windows system platforms. The registry plays a very important role in your computer operating system by allowing Windows to start and ensure the stability of the entire system.

Why Would I Remove Invalid Registry Entries?

A large number of hazardous software such as browser hijackers, spyware and adware threats have the ability to change the Windows registry. Generally some malicious applications will add various registry entries and generate new keys and modify default values. At the same time, those invalid registry entries may be a major reason for sluggish performance of your PC. That’s why it is crucial to learn how to get rid of invalid registry files from Dell/Samsung/HP/Lenovo/Acer.

How to clear invalid registry entries from Windows 10/8.1/8/7 with one-click?

Before your cleanup, you should make sure you choose a tool that’s reliable and safe. Here is an excellent option. Tenorshare Windows Care Genius is the best invalid registry cleaner for Windows 10/8.1/8/7, which offers up to 22 powerful features such as cleanup junk files and free up space, definitely more than removing invalid registry entries free.

Before you do that, please make sure you have downloaded and installed program on your computer. Next, do it as follows.

Step1. Start the program and click System Cleaner in the interface. Then go to left sidebar menu and select Registry Cleaner. Click Scan to checkup registry on your computer.

Step2. After scanning finishes, all the registry entries are displayed. Click Clean to remove all useless registry entries from your computer.

Additional Powerful Functions with Windows Care Genius:

PC Cheackup: do basic cleanup and optimize PC to best performance with one-click
System Tuneup: do deeper optimization to improve overall performance
Privacy Protector: permanently erase usage log to protect your computer privacy from being traced
System Monitoring: monitor all active process in real-time and shut down unemployable programs to gain better experience

Done. As you can see, it will be easy to clear invalid registry entries. Of course, you can have a try on other powerful functions on this program to run your computer the best. If you have any problem, you are welcomed to leave it in the comment section.

Updated on 2019-07-25 / Update for Windows Care

This article is written for users like you who want to reimage your computer in Windows 7/8/10. Scroll down to learn detailed steps.

By Lily / Last update April 24, 2022

When do you need to reimage your computer Windows 7/8/10?

To reimage computer means to delete all the data on the computer. It is similar to restoring computer to factory settings. When you have the following situations, you can reimage your computer Windows 7/8/10.

1. When you feel your computer is extremely tardy or it is not running well as it should be.

2. When there is something wrong with your Operating System, you cannot even load Windows.

As mentioned above, reimaging a drive can be done quite simply and quickly, but it is a very serious and destructive process to any data on the computer. When reimaging a hard drive, everything will be overwritten on the hard drive. All personal data and programs will be gone with nothing saved. Personal data should be backed up in advance in case that there is any problem occurs when you reimage your computer in Windows 7/8/10.

Backup files before reimage Windows 7/8/10

To backup files, it is recommended to use AOMEI Backupper Standard. It is a freeware which allows you to create backups with more options. It supports to create system backup, disk backup, partition backup, file backup. You can create backup to external hard drive, cloud drive, NAS, etc. Unlike Windows built-in backup tool, this software supports any File System detected by Windows instead of only NTFS.

To backup files, download AOMEI Backupper Standard, click Backup and select File Backup on the main page, then follow the wizard to complete the process. When the backup is complete, you can also create a bootable rescue media using CD or USB drive in order to protect your computer from attacks or being unable to boot.

Reimage your computer in Windows 7

To reimage windows 7 is different from that of Windows 10/8, because there is no option for you to reset or refresh this PC. You should resort to installation disc. To reimage your computer in Windows 7, download Media Creation tool to create one. You can create it either on a USB drive or a CD. If you do not want to use CD, you can create it on USB drive.

After preparing the backup and installation USB drive, you can get started. Let’s see how to reimage a computer without disc.

1. Connect the installation USB drive and change boot order to allow your computer to boot from the installation media.

2. After Windows Setup is loaded, press the F8 key to accept the Windows license agreement.

3. At the “Where do you want to install Windows” screen, click the hard drive partition that you want to reimage and then click the delete button.

Tip: You can also press Shift +F10 key combination to use Diskpart to clean hard drive. Type the following command:

Diskpart

list disk

select disk [disk number]

clean all

exit

4. The hard drive will be shown as unallocated, and then you can click “Next” to start reinstall Windows. You can also create partitions before installing Windows.

Usually, it will take about half an hour to reimage your computer. After that, you will need to install all the software you like to use and restore your files back to your hard drive.

Reimage your computer in Windows 8/10

1. Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen. Select Settings, then Update & Security. Click the Recovery tab, then click Get started below “Rest this PC”.

2. When a new Windows prompted, click Remove everything.

3. At the new prompt Window, click remove files and clean the drive. This option will completely erase your computer’s hard drive and then reinstall Windows 10 on it. But if you have more than one drive, you can choose to remove all files from only the drive where Windows is installed.

4. Click Next when you see a warning about not being able to roll back to a previous version of Windows.

5. Click Reset when prompt. Your computer will begin resetting itself.

Conclusion

No matter reimage your computer Windows 7/8/10 or reinstall your Windows and restore your computer to factory settings, it is recommended to backup your computer in advance in case there is data loss.

After reimaging your computer, you can also use AOMEI Backupper to make an image backup of the new system. With the image backup created, you can easily restore to the previous good state even when your computer is unable to boot.

If you want to protect unlimited computers within your company, you can pick AOMEI Backupper Technician. With the inbuilt AOMEI Image Deploy tool, you are also allowed to deploy/restore system image file on server-side computer to multiple client-side computers over network.

There can be many situations where Windows may prevent you from deleting a particular file. The file might be in use, you may not have the privilege to access it, or the file itself may have an issue. Whatever the reason, it can be quite frustrating to see unwanted files in your PC.

If you are having a hard time trying to delete a stubborn file, let me give you a helping hand. In this post I’ll share five solutions to delete an undeletable file in Windows. Just choose the right solution according to your situation.

Also read: 4 Ways to Restore Deleted Files in Windows

1. Close associated program/process

It’s a quick and dirty way to solve the problem, but it usually gets the job done if you have enough information. Windows won’t delete a file if it is currently being used by a program. If there is a program that still has the file opened in it, simply close the program and try deleting it again.

Furthermore, there is a chance a program might have a hidden process that may still be using the file. Therefore, even when no program has the file opened in it, Windows will still say that a program is using the file.

To fix this, press the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to fire up the Task Manager and move to the processes tab. Look for a process associated with a program that could open your particular file. The “Description” section will help you find the right process. Once found, select it and click on “End Process” to stop it. You should be able to delete the file now.

2. Take ownership of the file

If Windows is giving an error that you don’t have the privilege to delete the file, then it must be an ownership issue. Usually, this happens when you upgrade Windows or there are multiple user accounts. Thankfully, if you are the administrator of the PC, you can easily take back ownership of any file and then delete it.

Although there is a manual method to take back ownership in Windows, it’s a bit complicated and prone to errors. Therefore, I personally use and recommend a third-party app called Take Ownership that could help you take back ownership with a single click.

Download and install the app, and it will create a context menu entry named “Take Ownership.” Then simply right-click on the file you want to take ownership of and select “Take Ownership” from the context menu. You’ll immediately become the owner and can delete or modify the file as you please.

3. Use a third-party app

There are also third-party apps that could fix common problems that lead to a file getting locked and unable to delete. Many times I have used the IObit Unlocker app for this purpose, and it has always managed to fix the problem. For me, it even fixed the “too long name” error that makes a file undeletable. If the above two methods didn’t work out, then you should give IObit Unlocker a try.

Once you have installed the app, it will let you unlock files and folders through both a dedicated interface and a context menu entry. You can either drag and drop files in the IObit Unlocker interface or right-click on the file and select “IObit Unlocker” from the context menu.

Once the file is added, you can either use normal mode or force mode to unlock a file. The force mode will stop all connected processes with the file. There is also a command to directly unlock and delete the file right from the IObit Unlocker interface.

4. Restart the PC

Even if IObit Unlocker failed to make your file deletable, there must be a file or system error. In most cases, a simple reboot is all you need to fix such issues. Restart the PC and try deleting the file. Additionally, you can again try using IObit Unlocker after the reboot, as it may work this time.

5. Boot into Safe Mode

If nothing works, then either the file is infected by malware, or the system itself is using the file. In both cases booting your PC into Safe Mode should allow you to delete the file. Safe Mode only loads the minimum of required drivers and system files, and most types of malware are also halted.

You can access Safe Mode in Windows 7 by repeatedly pressing the F8 key while the PC is starting. The process is a little different in Windows 8 and 10, so we are also including the instructions to access Safe Mode in Windows 8 and Windows 10. Once in Safe Mode, delete the file and restart the PC to enter the normal mode.

Ending thoughts

If you deal with this issue often, then I recommend you get IObit Unlocker. Every time the issue arises, you’ll just have to do a few clicks to fix it without having to figure out first what caused the problem. Other than that, the first two solutions will also allow you to delete undeletable files most of the time.

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The fastest way to delete large folders and files in Windows is to take the command-line approach. You could either do it manually via CMD or create and run a batch file for quick deletion. These two methods are a lot faster than the traditional way of deleting using the Windows Explorer delete option.

But before I go through the superfast way to delete large folders, here’s the reason why it takes so much time. If you are in a hurry, jump to the next section for the solution.

Why Does Windows Take Time to Delete Large Folders?

When you delete huge folders in Windows, you will notice that the process takes quite a bit of time to complete. It is the opposite of fast.

I keep backup folders of gHacks locally on a platter-based drive, and these folders come close to 30 Gigabytes in size with more than 140,000 files and 350 folders.

When I need to delete them again, it takes a long time if I run the delete operation in Windows Explorer. The problem is that Windows prepares to delete first. This includes running calculations first, which, in itself may take a very long time to complete. Then comes the deletion part, even if you choose to delete the folders permanently (force delete).

Then when the actual deleting takes place, Windows analyzes the process and posts updates to the file operation window.

It may take ten or twenty minutes, or even longer, to delete a large folder (of size greater than 10 GB, for instance) from your hard disk using Explorer on Windows devices.

Delete Large Folders in Windows Quickly Using CMD

If you run delete commands from the command line instead, you will notice that the operation completes a lot faster. You may notice that the operation needs just a fraction of the time that the same operation requires when you run it in Explorer.

Using CMD in Windows XP/7/10 to delete huge folders

Matt Pilz, who wrote about this back in 2015 saw a reduction from 11 minutes to 29 seconds, which made the command line operation more than 20 times faster than the Explorer option.

The downside to this is that it requires the use of the command line. Matt suggested adding the commands to the Explorer context menu so that users could run them in Explorer directly. This makes it both faster and easier.

The two commands that users require are Del, for deleting files, and Rmdir, for removing directories.

Here’s the step-by-step process to delete large folders using CMD:

1. Tap on the Windows-key, type cmd.exe and select the result to load the command prompt.
2. Navigate to the folder that you want to delete (with all its files and subfolders). Use cd path, e.g. cd o:\backups\test\ to do so.
3. The command DEL / F / Q / S * . * > NUL deletes all files in that folder structure, and omits the output which improves the process further.
4. Use cd.. to navigate to the parent folder afterwards.
5. Run the command RMDIR / Q / S foldername to delete the folder and all of its subfolders.

Here are descriptions of each of the commands used above.

DEL / F / Q / S * . * > NUL

• /F — forces the deletion of read-only files.
• /Q — enables quiet mode. You are not asked if it is ok to delete files (if you don’t use this, you are asked for any file in the folder, which can be time-consuming and therefore counter-productive).
• /S — runs the command on all files in any folder under the selected structure.
• *.* — delete all files.
• > NUL — disables console output. This improves the process further, shaving off about one quarter of the processing time off of the console command.

RMDIR / Q / S foldername

• /Q — Quiet mode, won’t prompt for confirmation to delete folders.
• /S — Run the operation on all folders of the selected path.
• foldername — The absolute path or relative folder name, e.g. o:/backup/test1 or test1

Method #2: Creating a Batch File for Quick Deletion

If you don’t need to run the command often, you may be perfectly fine running the commands directly from the command prompt.

However, if you do use it frequently, you may prefer to optimize the process. You may add the command to the Explorer context menu so that you can run it from there directly. This saves even more time without depending on a third-party software.

For this, the first thing you need to do is create a batch file. Create a new plain text document on Windows, and paste the following lines of code into it.

@ECHO OFF
ECHO Delete Folder: %CD%?
PAUSE
SET FOLDER=%CD%
CD /
DEL /F/Q/S “%FOLDER%” > NUL
RMDIR /Q/S “%FOLDER%”
EXIT

Save the file as delete.bat afterwards. Make sure it has the .bat extension, and not the .txt extension. You can do this by selecting Save as type as All Files.

The batch file comes with a security prompt. This provides you with an option to stop the process; important if you have selected the context menu item by accident. You can use CTRL-C or click on the x of the window to stop the process. If you press any other key, all folders and files will be deleted without any option to stop the process.

You need to add the batch file to a location that is a PATH-environment variable. While you may create your own variable, you may also move it to a folder that is already supported; e.g.: C:\Windows. In other words, you need to place this .bat file in C:\Windows so that the Windows registry can easily access it.

Adding batch file to Windows registry

Do the following to add the new batch file to delete folders quickly to the Windows Explorer context menu. This can be executed in all major versions of Windows including Windows XP, Windows 7, and Windows 10.

1. Tap on the Windows key, type regedit.exe, and tap in the Enter key to open the Windows Registry Editor.
2. Confirm the UAC prompt.
3. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\
4. Right-click on Shell and select New > Key.
5. Name the key Fast Delete
6. Right-click on Fast Delete, and select New > Key.
7. Name the key command.
8. Double-click on default of the command key.
9. Add cmd /c “cd %1 && delete.bat” as the value.

Fast Delete option in Windows Explorer context menu

If you want to speed up the deletion process even further, you can always check some third-party tool like byenow.

It’s important to keep your system clean from junk or irrelevant files occupying unnecessary space on the drive. Despite having admin privileges in Windows, users sometimes face this issue where they are not able to delete some files or folders.

This can be caused by a virus, malware, spyware, adware, Trojan horse, or corrupt/damaged system files and permissions that locks the files, thereby making them undeletable.

In few cases, the file can’t be removed or deleted as it is being used by another application or essential program. Some frequent errors that appear in Windows when trying to delete undeletable or locked files are:

1. The file is in use by another program
2. There has been sharing violation
3. Cannot delete file: Access is denied
4. The source or file destination is in use
5. The file or directory is corrupted or unreadable.

This could be frustrating when you are struggling to free up some space and a few troublesome files stop you from proceeding. These files can vary from a few bytes to sometimes gigabytes.

How to Delete Undeletable Files

If you have also come across a similar situation, you can forcibly delete and get rid of these undeletable files and folders either manually or by using a software.

1. Reboot the System

First, try a reboot. It’s possible that the file or folder location might be in use by a software or essential Windows programs in the background. When you shut down the system, these processes stop. After reboot, open File Explorer and browse the file or folder location. Try deleting it. If this doesn’t work, boot into ‘Safe Mode’ in Windows by following these steps:

In Windows XP & 7

• Shutdown your system and then press power button to turn it on.
• Immediately start pressing ‘F8’ key on the keyboard until you see the ‘Advanced Boot Options’ screen.
• From ‘Advanced Boot options’ select Safe Mode by using arrow key and hit ‘Enter’.

In Windows 10, 8.1, and 8

• Go to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery and click the ‘Get Started’ button under Advance Startup.
• From the available options, go for Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.
• After the restart, press 4 or F4 to boot the system into Safe Mode.

When you have successfully booted in Safe Mode, open the File Explorer and try deleting the files or folders or proceed to the next solution if this doesn’t work.

1. Using Command Prompt

Command Prompt or cmd can help you get rid of most troublesome files and folders from your Windows PC. Follow these instructions to permanently delete undeletable files and folders.

WARNING: Be very careful with these commands. Confirm the location of the file or folder at least two to three times before executing these commands. You may accidentally delete some important files.

Followed by the location of file or folder

If command prompt fails to delete undeletable files and folders, you can use a reliable tool like BitRaser File Eraser that can delete undeletable and locked (or infected) files and folders from your PC and helps you free up unnecessarily used space on your system. Follow these steps:

• Download and install BitRaser for File software.
• Run the software.
• In the left-pane, click on ‘Erase Now’. In the right-panel, all drives and partitions are displayed.
• Double-click (or click on ‘+’) on the drive to expand it. Keep expanding until you locate the undeletable or locked file or the folder that you want to get rid of.
• Click the file or folder checkbox to select it. You can select multiple files and folders/subfolders.
• Click the ‘Erase Now’ button at the bottom right corner. Confirm when prompted.
• After cleaning selected files and folders, a popup appears where the BitRaser for File asks you to reboot the system. Click ‘Reboot’ to restart the system.

The selected undeletable files and folders are permanently removed from the system after reboot.

Moreover, this tool can also help you to clean up your internet activities, system traces, application traces, and other files and folders permanently beyond the scope of recovery and helps safeguard your privacy.

It erases data securely using 17 International erasure standards like NATO, U.S. Department of Defense (DOD Standard 5220.22-M) 3 Pass/7 Pass, etc.

Conclusion:

Remove or delete your files cautiously and securely or else you may regret deleting some important files or folders accidentally. Use a reliable and trusted antivirus and anti-malware program to protect your system and files from infection.

It will also help you avoid data loss situations due to virus or malware attacks like Ransomware. Also, run schedule cleanup tasks to remove unnecessary files and folders from your system.

You can use BitRaser File Eraser to delete undeletable files and folder and to schedule or automate erasure process (once, daily, weekly, monthly, on first boot, or on every boot).

About The Author

Satyeshu is a Windows blogger and data recovery expert. He is having good technical knowledge and experience in Windows data recovery. He writes about latest technical tips, Windows issues and tutorials.

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by Jenefey Aaron Updated on 2020-05-30 / Update for Windows Care

Your Browser cache stores web page elements that the browser think it will need again. Cookies are the little files that websites leave behind in your browser with information like site preference and login status.

Cache and cookies can let the sites remember your preferences and speed up a site’s page loading the next time you visit the same page. However, they also take up disk space and put your privacy at risk. So you will need to delete cache and cookies periodically for more space and privacy issues.

This article explains how to clear memory cache and buffers for the most common internet browsers, including IE, Google Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge on Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7.

Part 1. Clear Browser Cache and Cookies in IE 11, 10, 9 – Windows 10/8.1/8/7

1. Select Tools icon at the top right of the IE web browser.
2. Choose Safety > Delete browsing history.
3. Tick box as required and click Delete button.

Part 2. Delete Browser Cache and Cookies in Chrome 19 and Above – Windows 10/8.1/8/7

1. Click on the settings menu icon.
2. Select Tools > Clear browsing data…
3. Tick the following: Cookies and other sites and plug-in data, Cached images and files. Select “the beginning of time” in the drop down box and click on the “Clear browsing data” button.

Part 3. Remove Cache and Cookies in Firefox – Windows 10/8.1/8/7

1. Click the Menu (three stacked horizontal lines), click History, then click Clear Recent History.
2. Select “Everything” in “Time range to clear”. Then click on “Details” and tick both “Cookies” and “Cache”, and click “Clear Now”.

Part 4. Get Rid of Cache and Cookies in Microsoft Edge – Windows 10

1. In Edge browser, click on the 3-lined hub button at the top right corner.
2. Click History > view your browser history.
3. Select “Cookies and saved website data” and “Cached data and files”, and then click “Clear”.

Part 5. Clean Up Cache and Cookies in All Web Browsers With 1 Click – Windows 10/8.1/8/7

The aforementioned four ways need a setting to clear the browser cache on exit. With Windows Boot Genius, a professional cache and cookies cleaner, you can clear up all browser cache and cookies in IE, Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge. The whole process works quickly with one click on Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, XP, Vista.

Download the trial version free from the following button first.

1. Run Windows Care Genius and select “System Cleaner”.
2. Click “Common Cleaner” and then tick all the options provided, and click “Scan” button to scan all browser cache, cookies and other files.
3. After scanning, click “Clean” to delete them. Note that you should close the browser you are running. Or caches and cookies can’t be cleaned.

You can feel free to choose any of the five ways. Considering Windows Care Genius works for clearing cache and cookies on majority of browsers, it is often your first choice to work out the whole process in an easy and efficient way. You can also use it to delete internet history permanently on your PC.

Updated on 2020-05-30 / Update for Windows Care