Can't delete any file

Dannymcenrow

SatelliteGuys Guru
Original poster
Jun 1, 2009
145
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Detroit MI
My wife has this system with windows vista on it but now she has a bi problem.She has a lot of e mailssaved on her hard drive that it 's actually runing out of hd space and causing the computer to crash everytimeBut the thing is it won't let you delete anything the delete option is grayed out in windows explorer we tried to delete it from the e mail program I think it wascalled windows live mail or something but the delete option is grayed out too.Not only the e mails but we ant delete ANYTHING from this computer.The only one who has access to this computer is her so she is the administratorso it can't be a login issue.Even I don't have the password to this computer the only user is her.So it can't be a login status issue.So does anyone know a fix for this?
 
My wife has this system with windows vista on it but now she has a bi problem.........So does anyone know a fix for this?

WOW! I've always detested Vista- but making wives have a bi problem! :eek:

Have you tried Accessories - System Tools - Disk Cleanup?
 
Turn off advanced user control, reboot. Then go into the C drive and properties and take ownership of all files and sub-folders. Then it should let you delete files. I had the same problem with a 2nd hard drive that was showing up this same way. What a pain.

After than, download C-Cleaner and run it to clean up hard-drive space. Odd's are that you'll find a lot of wasted space.

Let us know what happens.
 
No that doensn't work for me that is for people who gets a pop up message saying they are not authorized to delete a file or something but in my case I don't get any pop up message just the delete option is grayed out so you can't click it.
 
Did you turn off AUC, reboot and still not get it to work? If not, try it. If so, did you do the rest of the recommendations above?
 
Yes.
Is there a way to boot into dosode wth this thing.
Last tme I used a windows machine it has win 98 on it thn I switched to macs now My wife as vista and it's a real pain because it seems like they made the operating system in a way that you ca't fix it yourself wen you have a problem so you need to go out and buy a new copy of vita.
The Computer didn't ome with a vista cd it's a mess because my wife downloads stuff like crazy the other day shehad so many toolbars internet explorer that she couldn'tsee the screen when she surfed the web.
She didn't know how t remove them so she asked me for help.
But the computer is so messed up I think i must have like 10 different viruses so this is one f the problems.
Now if I can boot n dos I can delete the files from Dos then free up some disk space and then try to boot windows with more hd space available and see if it works well then.
If not thn I guess she has to throw the computer away becauseit doesn't even have a floppy drive so there is no way to reformat n reinstall everything lie back in the day with win 98
 
You are thinking about throwing out a relatively new computer because of software issues. Pay someone who knows what they are doing to fix it.

If a computer doesn't come with install disks you have to make them. There is a built in utility to burn them (once) on many new computers to dvd or cd. Then if you need to reinstall you set the system bios to boot from cd and reinstall from the disks you made.

Is there an antivirus program on the computer? If so, run it. If not, download, install and run avast antivirus (schedule a boot time check). Also run windows defender and if that doesn't do the trick download install and run malwarebytes antimalware.

If the computer is bogged down by viruses try booting in safe mode (as soon as you hit the power button start tapping the f8 key until the computer gives you the option of entering safe mode).

Try start-accessories-system tools-disk cleanup.

If all else fails I would burn a copy of puppy linux to cd, boot from that and use this nifty little operating system to access and delete your windows files. If you are missing windows 98 then give puppy a shot, you might just have some fun.
 
F11 or Alt F11 on many computers during boot will boot up the recovery partition if you have one. You can then do a clean reinstall. Your manufacturer should also be able to get you a media disk for $5-$10.
 
... my wife downloads stuff like crazy the other day shehad so many toolbars internet explorer that she couldn'tsee the screen... i must have like 10 different viruses so this is one f the problems...
That is a problem.
I don't think you can solve it by simply regaining file deleting capabilities.

If you have an antivirus on that PC, boot into safe mode with networking (F8), upate the antivirus and run a scan.

If you don't have one, get a new hard drive and a Vista OEM disk (torrent it if your friends don't have one) and install Vista using the key on a sticker on your box. Install an antivirus and attach the old hard drive as a secondary to salvage files and reformat after that is done...

Diogen.
 
No it has antivirussoftware but it has expired and we're not gonna spend a lot of money just to get an antivirus software.My wif doesn't work she just gave birth so I am the only one working right now and I just bought a house and because of my age I'm paying a ridiculus high morgage $2059 a month!!!
So I don't have money for anything plus I have to buy everything for the kids I don't miss win 98 I haver my mac but hers is a windows machine but they made it so difficult to fix and that's the problem.
I don't use it only she uses it but when she has a problem she comes to me for help.
She is brazilian and has a very low I Q she works as a cleaning lady whe she works so she doesnt know nothing.
SO I have to make a startup disk but this computer doesn't have a floppydrive so how do I make it then?
 
As long as you are ready to lose the content of the hard drive, you can get away without spending any money.

Since your wife was downloading alot, you have internet. And a Mac.

1. Check what flavor of Vista you had by looking at the sticker on the box. Most likely Home edition.
2. Download and burn (using your Mac) a OEM disk of Vista Home (in ISO format) from any torrent site.
3. Boot from that disk (just like you would from a floppy), wipe the disk and install a fresh copy, i.e. follow the installation wizard.
4. Use the key on the sticker to activate the install.
5. Download the missing drivers, system updates.
6. Install an antivirus, there are free ones.

If you have files you cant afford to loose, you will have to find ways to transfer them first.

Diogen.
 
My neighbors and family members are always asking me to clean the viruses and spyware off of their computers. Apparently they download a lot of porn.

After battling one particularly nasty infection on my cousin's computer, which could only be cleaned up by taking the hard drive out of his computer and scanning it on one of mine (one of the viruses was blocking access to the entire mcafee.com domain), I've finally settled on always taking the hard drive out and scanning it on another computer. The cleanup goes much faster this way - usually it just takes one scan to remove all the viruses, and then another scan for spyware once it's back in the original computer, and it's completely clean. Otherwise you're battling viruses that block virus defintion update sites, spyware that blocks access to the Spybot S&D website, viruses and spyware that reinstall themselves at startup, etc.

So far no one has come back with the same computer after I've cleaned it up and installed up-to-date virus and spyware protection.
 
Is this a name brand computer? If so, can you tell me the brand and model number (like Dell Dimension 4500s)? Does it have a dvd burner?

If the antivirus has expired the first thing I would do is boot into safe mode (F8 at startup) and uninstall the antivirus program.
 
That's the problem it doesn't havea brand name.
A brazilian guy she knows build it himself using parts he bought at a local computer store and installed Vista on it.
It doesn't have a number on the box or anything and the burning on my mac thing somebody needs to explain to me a little more.
I don't believe I can just download vista on my ma Can I
 
1. Start your computer in safe mode.

2. Uninstall your expired antivirus since it is just slowing you down now [start-control panel-uninstall a program]

3. Run Windows Defender to find spyware [start-all programs-windows defender]

4. Restart in Regular mode.

5. Download and install free Avast Antivirus. During the install it will ask to run a boot time scan. Yes, you want to do this.

6. Download and install Malwarebytes anti-malware and run that.
 

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