Residual windows.old folder despite everything that comes to mind

I managed to attempt to clear windows.old folder after the anniversary update using Disk Cleanup utility of Windows , surprisingly few files remained despite everything , the files were denied of access to delete , remaining files are :
dsquery.dll
Kswdmcap.ax (2x)
i tried File Unlocker / File Assassin , both didn't work
tried Hiren's boot cd still had access denied
tried a Linex boot cd still had access denied !!! (so its not a Microsoft process protecting which)
i did already set ownership to everybody in case that comes to mind
i kind of even get to think this might be a file corruption issue and ran Scan Disk but it came clean

i'm out of ideas ...

any body ?

Hello, I can't imagine why you can't delete it especially when not running Windows.
You could try from a command prompt outside Windows (Shift + left click restart, work thru the prompts) realising the drive letters are different, so be careful.

Otherwise I'd suggest a little patience. It should disappear automatically 10 days after you upgraded.

I had to use CCleaner to remove residual files left behind after cleanup, these too were undeletable by usually means.

Hello, I can't imagine why you can't delete it especially when not running Windows.
You could try from a command prompt outside Windows (Shift + left click restart, work thru the prompts) realising the drive letters are different, so be careful.

Otherwise I'd suggest a little patience. It should disappear automatically 10 days after you upgraded.

I doubt this'll go just like that ...

I had to use CCleaner to remove residual files left behind after cleanup, these too were undeletable by usually means.

tried it , and tried the forum windows 10 bootable cd alternative to hiren's , they manage to live , they are like boot viruses , surprisingly made by microsoft !

I boot from my parted magic disk and delete them there.

There are two utilities in the Sysinternals suite that may be of help here, PendMoves and MoveFile.

There are several applications, such as service packs and hotfixes, that must replace a file that's in use and is unable to. Windows therefore provides the MoveFileEx API to rename or delete a file and allows the caller to specify that they want the operation to take place the next time the system boots...

I boot from my parted magic disk and delete them there.

I tried deleting them booting from a Linux disk as i stated up but they were still access denied

There are two utilities in the Sysinternals suite that may be of help here, PendMoves and MoveFile.

i used the tool and it still didn't work , funny though i can name the folder windows.old anything i want and yet unable to delete or rename these files .

i am kind of getting to believe this is an ntfs security issue , some advanced permissions set to those files during setup . trustedinstaller user locked them in place or something ...

Hi,

First run chkdsk
From an admin command prompt
[Windows key + X, click command prompt (admin)]
chkdsk C: /F
Your PC will need to restart.
Make sure the result is clear or fixed- else do not proceed.
Post back the result, which you can get after a restart as follows:
How do I see the results of a CHKDSK that ran on boot? - Ask Leo!

See cause 3:


If the chkdsk result is not clear, then you have another problem.

If it is, try deleting the files.

If this doesn't work, then returning to my comment about using a command prompt from outside Windows:
3 Ways to Delete Undeletable Files That You Don’t Know About

Be very careful to be accurate here.

You could try running the disk cleaner in admin mode.

Same here, run disk cleaner in admin mode few times, tried CCleaner which said 0 bytes cleaned.
This is what's left inside:

It's not big and would probably be able to get rid of it other ways but don't know if it's possibly needed.
Update:
Took ownership and deleted it, consequences unknown.