Removing other Windows installations

hey guys, I know there's other windows.old installtion removal posts bu
mine is on a separate drive and not an upgrade installation or anything

Anyway, I'm running Vista x64 right now and I'm trying to removal
Vista x86 copy off a separate harddrive (one that's not on my syste
disk), I can't pick up this copy to remove from the disk cleanup an
manually trying to remove it results in it denying my access

I've ran the administrator account and set the ownership to my use
account for full access yet it still gives me the same access denied an
will not let me delete it. Help

--
boogiepop

Hi, boogiepop.

It should be easy to delete any Vista installation other than the one you
are currently booted into. Just locate its \Windows folder and delete it -
along with all the GBs of subfolders and files in the entire tree. You can
do this from Windows Explorer, or from a Command Prompt window with the RD
(Remove Directory) command, not the Del command.

Of course, if there's nothing on that volume that you want to keep, just use
Disk Management to delete that volume or reformat it. MANY computers have
the original Windows installation on good ol' Drive C:, right along with the
System Files. That makes it impossible to delete or reformat that
partition. But, since the installation you want to remove is on a separate
HDD, that should not be a problem in your case.

> Vista x86 copy off a separate harddrive (one that's not on my system
> disk),

Terms like "system disk" are often misused and misunderstood because the
official definitions are counterintuitive: We boot from the System Volume
and keep the operating system files in the Boot Volume - as explained in KB
314470, Definitions for system volume and boot volume,
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314470/EN-US/

In Disk Management while you are booted into Vista x64, which volume on
which HDD is shown as System and which is Boot?

Tell us more - in step-by-step detail - exactly HOW you are trying to delete
it and, verbatim, any error messages you see.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP
Windows Live Mail 2009 (14.0.8064.0206) in Win7 Ultimate x64 RC 7100

"boogiepop" <> wrote in message
news:...
>
> hey guys, I know there's other windows.old installtion removal posts but
> mine is on a separate drive and not an upgrade installation or anything.
>
> Anyway, I'm running Vista x64 right now and I'm trying to removal a
> Vista x86 copy off a separate harddrive (one that's not on my system
> disk), I can't pick up this copy to remove from the disk cleanup and
> manually trying to remove it results in it denying my access.
>
> I've ran the administrator account and set the ownership to my user
> account for full access yet it still gives me the same access denied and
> will not let me delete it. Help!
>
>
> --
> boogiepop

Thanks for your reply R.C.Whit

I boot up Vista x64 on my C:\, it's the System/Boot volume as shown i
my disk management. My Vista x86 is on D:\, it has no special volume
listed

I have other files on the D:\ that I have to keep, yet I also have thi
Vista installation on it that I'm trying to remove. I'm just trying t
hit delete on the Windows folder and it informs me that I do not hav
permission and the access is denied. So I tried to set the securit
permissions and add my Vista x64's user account to have full contro
over the folders so I could delete it, but I still am not able to do so

--
boogiepop

Hi, boogiepop.

Permissions and such are not my strong suit. :>( As a one-man,
one-computer kind of guy, I never had to know much about such things until
Vista. Now I've had to learn a little about them, but not very much.

Is the structure of your Drive D: as I've pictured it in my mind? Do you
have both D:\Windows and D:\Windows.old? And does each of those top-level
folders contain dozens of subfolders with several GB of files? Can you use
an elevated command prompt to Take Ownership of the \Windows folder? In an
Administrator:Command Prompt window, enter takeown /? for the required
syntax and parameters.

Maybe a true guru will jump in hear and guide both of us.

You posted your original question on some "forum" that simply relayed it to
this microsoft.public.windows.vista.general Usenet newsgroup on the
Microsoft public news server, where I am reading and replying to it. But
your "forum" didn't bother to include the whole thread, so people reading in
the MS newsgroup will not see The Rest of the Story. So please set your
software to copy the context when you post.

Better yet, just click here:
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsof....vista.general

That one click with start your default news reader (Windows Mail or Windows
Live Mail or Outlook Express - or a non-Microsoft news reader); create a
News Account for you on the Microsoft public news server, which is free and
does not require you to log on; connect you to THIS newsgroup; download the
300 newest messages, and present the latest one for you to read. Try the
newsreader interface for a day or two; you might like it better than the
"forum" interface, especially after you customize it to fit yourself.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP
Windows Live Mail 2009 (14.0.8064.0206) in Win7 Ultimate x64 RC 7100

"boogiepop" <> wrote in message
news:...
>
> Thanks for your reply R.C.White
>
> I boot up Vista x64 on my C:\, it's the System/Boot volume as shown in
> my disk management. My Vista x86 is on D:\, it has no special volumes
> listed.
>
> I have other files on the D:\ that I have to keep, yet I also have this
> Vista installation on it that I'm trying to remove. I'm just trying to
> hit delete on the Windows folder and it informs me that I do not have
> permission and the access is denied. So I tried to set the security
> permissions and add my Vista x64's user account to have full control
> over the folders so I could delete it, but I still am not able to do so.
>
>
> --
> boogiepop