can't delete file w/o permission?

[Peggy]

Hello,
I have an external hard drive that I have to return to the store. On it is
a backup of my Windows Mail. I have deleted everything off the drive except
the Windows Mail folder because it keeps saying that I need permission to
delete it. I am the administrator and the only user on this machine. I
have gone into properties and tried changing all entries that I could find
relating to this to no avail.
Please advise on how I can delete a file given the fact that this is my
computer, I am the owner, the ONLY owner, and I want the delete a file off
my own %^*$ computer!
peggy

 

[John Lee Brown]

Hello,
I have an external hard drive that I have to return to the store. On it
is a backup of my Windows Mail. I have deleted everything off the drive
except the Windows Mail folder because it keeps saying that I need
permission to delete it. I am the administrator and the only user on this
machine. I have gone into properties and tried changing all entries that
I could find relating to this to no avail.
Please advise on how I can delete a file given the fact that this is my
computer, I am the owner, the ONLY owner, and I want the delete a file off
my own %^*$ computer!
peggy

If you can't get it to delete and you want everything off of the hard drive
why not do a format of that drive. I believe that you should be able to do a
quick format if not a standard will work.

 

[Peggy]

Thanks for your reply John. The problem with that is there is software,
warranty and user manual etc. on the hard drive itself which if I am going
to return the drive I probably shouldn't wipe off.
peggy

 

[C.B.]

Hello,
I have an external hard drive that I have to return to the store. On it
is a backup of my Windows Mail. I have deleted everything off the drive
except the Windows Mail folder because it keeps saying that I need
permission to delete it. I am the administrator and the only user on this
machine. I have gone into properties and tried changing all entries that
I could find relating to this to no avail.
Please advise on how I can delete a file given the fact that this is my
computer, I am the owner, the ONLY owner, and I want the delete a file off
my own %^*$ computer!
peggy

Peggy,

If you delete the Windows Mail folder and no further drive activity
occurs you haven't actually deleted the folder and the information has not
been overwritten. You have only deleted Window's memory of where the folder
is located. All the information of the Windows Mail folder remains on the
drive. Is this what you want? Do you want other people to read your emails?
You need to reformat the drive, and contrary to what some people will
tell you, the information can still be gleaned from the drive by a
knowledgeable person. Personally, I would overwrite the drive several times
using different methods. There are many applications, both free and
subscription, that will do this for you.
Yes, you are the owner of your computer. However, you are not the owner
of the operating system. You are granted rights, under a license, to use the
software. You either play by the rules of the software or you learn how to
change the rules to your advantage. It is a simple matter to change the
ownership and permission rules using various methods. You can check out the
links below. The articles from Microsoft related to XP also apply to Vista.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308419/en-us

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/howdoi/?p=105

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/wind...ership-to-explorer-right-click-menu-in-vista/


C.B.