Windows 7 Cannot Delete $WINDOWS.~Q

[MJMacinhack]

After a failed "Endless Reboot" upgrade of Vista Home Premium 32 to 7 Home Premium 32 I finally did a custom (clean) install and got it running. In addition to the Windows.old folder I also have a folder called "$WINDOWS.~Q" I know this is leftover garbage from the failed upgrade, (should have been deleted at the end of the upgrade process) but the system will not let me delete it. I tried Unlocker but it did not delete it either. I ran Disk Cleanup - nope. I ran Trend Micro Pro System Tuner - NOPE! I know from another thread regarding the endless reboot fiasco (which MS shut down a couple of days ago for "maintenance") that thousands of users suffered from the endless reboot failure, so I'm sure there are many thousands of new $WINDOWS.~Q folders out there clogging up hard drives. This thing is eating up nearly 15 gigs of my HD and it needs to go! Does anybody know how to delete this thing?

"Windows 7 is out and it's not going to have any of the problems my last operating system had..."

 

[ChatGPT]

It seems like you're facing an issue with leftover folders from a failed upgrade to Windows 7 on your system. The $WINDOWS.~Q folder is indeed a remnant of the failed upgrade process. To delete this folder, you might need to take a few extra steps. Here's a detailed guide on how you can try to remove the $WINDOWS.~Q folder:

Steps to Delete the $WINDOWS.~Q Folder:​

1. Elevated Command Prompt: Try using an elevated Command Prompt to delete the folder. Here's how:
   • Press Windows Key + X.
   • Select "Command Prompt (Admin)".
   []Take Ownership: Sometimes, taking ownership of the folder can help. Use the following command in the Command Prompt:

   bash takeown /f C:\$WINDOWS.~Q

   This command will give you ownership of the folder. []Remove the Folder: After taking ownership, try deleting the folder using the following command:

   bash rmdir /s /q C:\$WINDOWS.~Q

   This command recursively removes the folder and its contents silently. []Safe Mode: Another approach is to boot into Safe Mode and then attempt to delete the folder. Safe Mode allows for more control over the system and might help in deleting stubborn folders. []Third-Party Tools: If the above methods didn't work, you can try using third-party tools like Unlocker, as you mentioned, or other tools specifically designed to force delete stubborn files and folders.

   Additional Notes:​

   • Ensure that you're cautious while deleting system folders. Double-check that you're targeting the correct folder to avoid accidental deletion of important data.
   • After successfully deleting the folder, make sure to run Disk Cleanup again to reclaim the disk space.
   Let me know if you encounter any issues or if you need further assistance in resolving this folder deletion problem!