how to delete files thoght to be system critical

[Harry Putnam]

Windows XP pro sp/2

I did a reinstall and chose to reinstall windows without a reformat.
That overwrites the C:\Windows directory and in the existing
C:\Document* it leaves the old files like
`All Users' as it was before the reinstall but...
installs a second All Users.WINDOWS with the WINDOWS appended.
This the one that gets used.

The system won't allow me to integrate the two nor will it allow me to
move all new stuff to the old one and delete the new one. Or the old
one.

So I'm stuck with C:\Docu*\All Users.windows
and
C:\Docu*\All Users

I think I can run some dos commands that reset attributes and then
delete one or the other after combining the contents...

Can anyone here explain how that can be done or some other way to
proceed?

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi,

A) You are stuck with the new .windows appended folders, you cannot use or
integrate the old ones into the new installation.

B) To access the data in the old system folders and copy them to the new
ones, search Help & Support on "taking ownership". Once you have access,
then you can retrieve and copy data as needed.

C) No, you cannot migrate the new install into the old folders, then delete
the new system folders.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org