Clean install over Vista but still have several duplicates old files?

Hello

I am new to this forum and looking for help (arn't we all).

I had a Dell laptop that has 3 hard disk partitions.

C: = Data (298 GB)

D: = OS (282 GB)
(I take it that this partition was meant to be for the operating system but Vista and programs were on C: when I purchased from Dell???

E: = Recovery. (14.9GB)

I went for a clean install of Windows 7 x64 on C: I was told to leave everything as it is as a clean install will wipe everything off anyway.

The install went well, but on checking I find that I had 2 x Windows Old and all my old program files duplicated on both the C: & D: drives. C drive is now half full and D drive is 75% full. I tried to move the old program files to an external hard drive (just in case) but most of the files cannot be moved. I have administrator permissions but I still cannot delete or move this files. I have seen the disk cleanup method for the Windows old files but these folders do not show up. This also does not help with the duplicate programs files on both drives.

Any help will be much appreciated.

Ian108 said:

Hello

I am new to this forum and looking for help (arn't we all).

I had a Dell laptop that has 3 hard disk partitions.

C: = Data (298 GB)

D: = OS (282 GB)
(I take it that this partition was meant to be for the operating system but Vista and programs were on C: when I purchased from Dell???

E: = Recovery. (14.9GB)

Are you sure about those drive letters?

I would expect C for the OS and D for data.

Did you accidentally direct the new install to D instead of C?

You can't drag program files around if you do a clean install. You have to reinstall programs.

If you have windows.old it means you didn't boot the installer to install, so if you installed to D it blocked the letter C from being used by Win7 as it would if you booted the installer.

You should have installed to first partition C anyway since that's where the OS normally goes and runs best.

If you have data you need to protect then back it up externally as should be done anyway, and certainly should be done before an install or reinstall.

I would copy your data off then boot the Installer, delete C and D but save the Recovery partition, create a New partition or two as you wish in the deleted space, format each then install Win7 to the first partition. Ignore any 100mb System Reserved partition which the installer may create for boot files.

Illustrated steps here: Clean Install Windows 7

The names of the drives C: data etc where already defined by Dell. Despite this, Vista was on the main C: drive and this is where I clean installed Windows 7 booted from DVD. For some reason the install saved windows old & windows old 000 on C: drive also old program files on both C: & D: drive. I think I can get ride of both the Windows Old folders but I am denied moving or deleting the old program files on both C & D drives. I even tried to format the D drive but also denied. As far as I am aware a clean install should get ride of all old docs and programs? I should point out that I am using a Window 7 upgrade for a clean install to C drive booted from DVD. I was aware that there would be a Windows old folder left but not all the other stuff. Is there no way to remove all the unwanted folders, programs and files? Even if I went for a reinstall I would now want to get ride of all this old stuff first otherwise it will probably still be there again.

I couldn't have been more specific as to what I would do.

gregrocker said:

I would copy your data off then boot the Installer, delete C and D but save the Recovery partition, create a New partition or two as you wish in the deleted space, format each then install Win7 to the first partition. Ignore any 100mb System Reserved partition which the installer may create for boot files.

Illustrated steps here: Clean Install Windows 7

Take it or leave it.

Hi Greg

I see you are a respected expert and thank you for your advice. My concern is that I was led to believe by other experts that when using the upgrade version of Win 7, you should not delete or reformat anything otherwise the upgrade will not work. I think I got that info from someone linked to this forum off a YouTube clip.

If it is safe to delete drives etc, I am happy to reinstall to get it sorted.

First clean the HD Drive of all partitions & Data.
SSD / HDD : Optimize for Windows Reinstallation
Than Clean install the OS.
Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version
Clean Install Windows 7

Thanks Guys

I will go for it again following the advice.

Be sure to make your Vista Recovery disks so you can restore to factory condition if you decide to sell or give away the machine but keep Win7 - which is good for life and can migrate to the machine of your choice.

Then you can delete the Recov partition if you want along with the others. You can Delete using the installer's Custom Drive Options, then repartition as you please, format and install to the first partition (ignore any 100mb System partition the installer creates). Clean Install Windows 7

The benefit of doing it this way is that the installer when booted will see Vista and pass a flag allowing use of Upgrade version key - even if you delete and repartition - whereas if you wipe the HD it sees no OS which requires that you leave the Product Key blank during install and do the quick registry edit given here to activate on a new or cleaned HD: Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version

A massive thank you to all who helped

I went for the reinstall and deleted the drives and it worked a treat. On gregrocker advise I also saved a backup of the old Vista etc. I now have a faster and better set up PC than I originally recieved from Dell

My local PC guru was very sceptical of deleting the drives for an upgrade and admits he has now learnt something.

Just to feed back into the pot:
I am not sure if each version has a different install method, but my retail version of Home Premium did not give the order of options advised on here. I booted from disk using F12 instead of Bios so maybe that alters things.

I did not get a choice about entering the key until the end of the install. It ran as follows:
Select country
Accept Licence
I then had to go into advanced options to define /delete drives. I would not have seen this otherwise and I missed this the 1st time I installed.

For those not so technically minded (like me) my PC has 2 seperate drives. When I finally finished the install the 2nd drive was not showing after being deleted. I searched for computer management > disk management and right clicked on the unseen drive. I then selected New Volume and went for the quick format. This gave me back my 2nd drive.

Once again...thanks to all.
Ian