Windows 7 Selling old laptop-can't get permission to delete "old windows" partition

[Pittguy578]

Selling an old laptop of mine on EBAY. Did a fresh install of Windows 7. For some reason I cannot get permission to delete the "old windows folder" I keep going on to the security tab and setting permission for administrators to have full control of that folder, but it is still not letting me delete it. Always says need permission when I try to drag it to recycle bin. There is only one user account on laptop and that is an admin.
Any idea what I am doing wrong?

 

[patcooke]

Reinstalling will often leave old data behind. I'd repeat the install using advanced options to reformat the drive before installing. Just installing will not necessarily remove all previous files etc. Even then there will be files and folders which although nominally deleted are still easily recoverable by whoever buys your laptop. You should use some disk wiping software such as the one here:

http://www.diskwipe.org/download.php

 

[davidhk129]

This may not be what you are looking for....

Are you referring to Windows.old folder ?

If yes, and if you have CCleaner installed, you can use it to remove windows.old.....
Open CCleaner > left side, click Windows tab at the top > scroll down to Advanced section > you should find "Old Windows Installation " entry > check the box > click Analyse which will tell you how much disk space will be retrieved > click Run Cleaner.

You can also use the built-in Disk Cleanup program to remove Windows.old
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows7/how-do-i-remove-the-windows-old-folder