Windows 7: Having trouble deleting the old Vista files

When I u/g to 7 from Vista it left a bunch of folder on each partition of my hard drive. They were prefixed by the $ sign.

They are large - many Gbs and I want to get rid of them.
When I try to delete them I get the usual UAC window asking for permission, which I give, but then I get a window saying that i have to get permission from PBS - OFFICE - PC\PBS.
I am signed on as administrator and further checking with whoami.exe shows that I am PBS - OFFICE - PC\PBS.
I have given PBS - OFFICE - PC\PBS ownership and full control privileges via Properties/security/owner tabs but I still get this problem.
Why do I need permission to delete when it is telling me that the permission is needed from ME???? If I am logged on as PBS - OFFICE - PC\PBS - according to whoami, why is it still telling me that I need permission from myself??
This is really a pain which I just do not understand.
Any help greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

That's just Windows 7 trying to protect you from yourself. Vista had some of the same prompts, except they were more intrusive. Another possible reason is that you did an upgrade as opposed to a clean install...which can lead to all kinds of permission issues. Have you tried taking ownership of the files first? This is all assuming these files are safe to delete.

search for unlockerassistant.exe, that should solve the problem, it even comes in portable version, so no need to install it, if you desire so.
$ sign usually means system file, like recycle folder, so it would be hard to delete as such, also the folders were created under different operating system, so different admin account.
I had numerous problems with file permissions, pulling my hair out trying to figure it out, unlocker solved it in seconds.

Have a look at this tutorial, which explains how to allow or deny permissions.

Permissions - Allow or Deny Users and Groups

I would clean reinstall to avoid all of these kinds of issues with Vista corruption carrying over: Clean Install Windows 7

Adapt the tips given here to help you get a perfect reinstall: Reinstalling Windows 7

Many thanks for your quick reply.

I started out doing an u/g which somehow became a clean install??
The folders contain my old windows system and prog files etc. All were preceeded by the $ sign. Just to make doubly sure I renamed them and left them for a few days to make sure that 7 was not using them.
Yes, I have taken ownership of them and given myself total control to no avail.
At one point I thought about moving them to a spare hard drive to try to get away from any inheritance issues but I couldn't move them as it kept saying I needed permission from myself!!! I did actually copy one file to my spare hard drive and that went over OK. I was them able to delete the copy which made me suspect inheritance but the original files all show no inheritance.
To repeat - I own them, I have full control and they have no inheritance BUT I still cannot DELETE the b%^$&dy things!!
Best regards,

I can't say I've ever heard of your old files getting renamed that way, but then again I have never bothered with an upgrade install. There are plenty of reasons why most of us avoid them, and you're seeing one now. Clean installs don't take nearly as long as some people make them seem, especially if you plan ahead.

That being said, if it was my system, I'd back up the files, either with a system image, or using a Linux LiveCD, and copy them to an external. Then I'd do a proper clean install and be done with it.

Thanks for your reply. I might just end up doing that. The folders are not a problem other than taking up space on my hard disk. It is just a shame that one has to go to all this trouble especially having lived for a number of years with the vagaries of Vista!
Regards,

Hello PBS85

When I have a problem like this, I boot the computer with my system repair disk, then get to the CMD prompt and run Notepad. Using that, I open files - computer then tell it to look for all files rather than just .txt files. Then search for what I want to delete and it usually works. Hope this helps.
TJG