Can't Delete Windows.old due to SecuROM files

I've got a windows.old directory from an install of Win 7 over Win 7 RC that I can't delete because of two files in the following path:

"c:\windows\users\Andy\AppData\Roaming\SecuROM\UserData"

They look to be in some foreign character set. Maybe not Arabic script, but similar.

Any idea how to get rid of this directory? It's more of an OCD thing than anything at this point, but it's annoying.

Check out this link. There's an app called DirectoryFixer there that might work for you.

Figured it out with more searching. Did this:

1) Open up Command Prompt (CMD)

2)type in cd then the location of the file

3)type in dir /x

4)Next to the file you want to delete it will say the files 8.3 name
(ex. FILENA~1)

5)type del then the files 8.3 name (ex. FILENA~1)

Ok, I hope someone will read this (I hate starting new threads). I recently wiped the version of windows 7 that came with my laptop and just put plain vanilla windows 7 on. Other issues aside, I tried deleting the Windows.old file and have managed to remove everything except the Users\myname folder. I viewed the hidden files and found the file the author of this thread indicated.

This is the file path:

C:\Windows.old\Users\***myusername***\AppData\Roaming\Real\Update\UpgradeHelper\RealPlayer\10.20\agent\......

and directories just keep going down further. Every level down I have to try to take ownership of it and unlock it from read only status to get to the next level down. Am I just looking at having to dig down all the way (is it turtles or elephants all the way down?) only to find I may not be able to delete the files anyway, or is there some better way to do this?

The way I delete files from Windows filesystems when Windows refuses to allow it:

IMAGE(http://i.qkme.me/3r6mnb.jpg)

A Knoppix boot CD can come in handy in situations like these.

OK, this should work. Sorry this is complex, but the NT permissions system is really intricate. It's actually superb, wonderful for controlling shared access to objects, but when evil programs like SecuRom turn the permissions system against you, it can take some real digging to put things right.

Go to the C: drive. Do the following:

  • Right-click on Windows.old and choose Properties
  • Click on the Security tab
  • Click on the Advanced button; a new window will pop up.
  • Click the Owner tab.
  • Click the Edit button, say Yes to any UAC prompts.
  • In the "Change Owner to" listbox:
    • Look for your name. If it's there, click it, and skip to Step 7.
    • If it's not there, click Other Users or Groups, type your login name, and hit enter. The listbox should now have your name in it. Click it, and continue.
  • With your name clicked in the Change Owner To listbox, click on the checkbox at the bottom that says 'Replace owner on subcontainers and objects'.
  • Click OK.
  • A window will pop up, showing you the progress of taking ownership of the files and subfiles. It can take quite awhile, or it can be very fast.
  • A warning window pops up, saying that if you have changed owner (you have), you may not be able to edit permissions. So click OK twice to close the Properties window.
  • Repeat steps 1-3. (properties on Windows.old, security tab, advanced button).
  • Instead of clicking on the Owner tab, this time click on the Change Permissions button.
  • First, we'll clear out all existing permissions:
    • Uncheck the box "Include inheritable permissions from this object's parent".
    • A dialog box pops up, asking if you want to Add a copy of the parent's permissions, Remove, or Cancel. Click Remove.
    • The permissions list will probably now be blank. If it's not, remove any that are left until it says "No groups or users have permission to access this object. However, the owner of this object can assign permissions."
  • Now you want to add a specific permission for yourself:
    • Click the Add button, type your login, hit enter.
    • A window pops up, asking what permissions to grant. The first line is Full Control; click on the Grant box. This should check all the other boxes. Click OK.
  • The only permission now visible should be your user name, granting full control.
  • Click the checkbox to 'replace all child permissions with inheritable permissions from this object'. This means you won't have to do this again for every subfolder and file, it'll do everything all at once.
  • Click Apply
  • A window should pop up as it replaces permissions on all the files and subfolders of Windows.old.
  • When it's done, click OK two or three times to get back to the C:\ window. Then delete Windows.old, and hopefully, it will just vanish.
Malor wrote:

OK, this should work. Sorry this is complex, but the NT permissions system is really intricate. It's actually superb, wonderful for controlling shared access to objects, but when evil programs like SecuRom turn the permissions system against you, it can take some real digging to put things right.

Go to the C: drive. Do the following:

  • Right-click on Windows.old and choose Properties
  • Click on the Security tab
  • Click on the Advanced button; a new window will pop up.
  • Click the Owner tab.
  • Click the Edit button, say Yes to any UAC prompts.
  • In the "Change Owner to" listbox:
    • Look for your name. If it's there, click it, and skip to Step 7.
    • If it's not there, click Other Users or Groups, type your login name, and hit enter. The listbox should now have your name in it. Click it, and continue.
  • With your name clicked in the Change Owner To listbox, click on the checkbox at the bottom that says 'Replace owner on subcontainers and objects'.
  • Click OK.
  • A window will pop up, showing you the progress of taking ownership of the files and subfiles. It can take quite awhile, or it can be very fast.
  • A warning window pops up, saying that if you have changed owner (you have), you may not be able to edit permissions. So click OK twice to close the Properties window.
  • Repeat steps 1-3. (properties on Windows.old, security tab, advanced button).
  • Instead of clicking on the Owner tab, this time click on the Change Permissions button.
  • First, we'll clear out all existing permissions:
    • Uncheck the box "Include inheritable permissions from this object's parent".
    • A dialog box pops up, asking if you want to Add a copy of the parent's permissions, Remove, or Cancel. Click Remove.
    • The permissions list will probably now be blank. If it's not, remove any that are left until it says "No groups or users have permission to access this object. However, the owner of this object can assign permissions."
  • Now you want to add a specific permission for yourself:
    • Click the Add button, type your login, hit enter.
    • A window pops up, asking what permissions to grant. The first line is Full Control; click on the Grant box. This should check all the other boxes. Click OK.
  • The only permission now visible should be your user name, granting full control.
  • Click the checkbox to 'replace all child permissions with inheritable permissions from this object'. This means you won't have to do this again for every subfolder and file, it'll do everything all at once.
  • Click Apply
  • A window should pop up as it replaces permissions on all the files and subfolders of Windows.old.
  • When it's done, click OK two or three times to get back to the C: window. Then delete Windows.old, and hopefully, it will just vanish.

Thanks. I have been doing just this for each folder, but when I do it for, say, the Windows.old folder, it doesn't do it for all the sub folders. It seems to want me to ensure I have this access for everything in the folder. Each level I go down I have to keep doing this over and over to dig in to the next level. I was hoping to avoid having to do that, since the number of levels down seems extremely unpleasant (mainly I'm just lazy). Thanks for confirming I was on the right track, though.

Well, if you click those checkboxes I mention (apply to all subfolders), then it should only need to be done once. If you have SecuRom installed on the new system, I suppose it might be actively interfering, in which case you might have to use Legion's sledgehammer approach. I hate using Linux to modify NTFS, hate it, but if that's your only option....

edit: it might work better if you boot up in Safe Mode.

When I try to delete the folder it just says I don't have permission. When I try to give myself the permission, it says:

An error occurred applying attributes to the file:

C:\Windows.old\Users\...\rnupgagent.exe

Access is denied

I did a little googling and apparently this might be a trojan horse? I can't get the right to delete it and I even tried scanning the folder with an antivirus and it comes up with no threats. Any suggestions folks?

Hmm. Maybe check the attributes on the file? Navigate there with the command prompt, and type attrib, and cut and paste the results?

Malor wrote:

Hmm. Maybe check the attributes on the file? Navigate there with the command prompt, and type attrib, and cut and paste the results?

A I C:\Windows.old\Users\**myusername**\AppData\Roaming\Real\Update\UpgradeHelper\RealPlayer\10.20\agent\rnupgagent.exe

There are 7 spaces after the A and four spaces after the I. I'm assuming the information you are looking for is similar to the permissions one would find in Linux? I tried looking up attrib online and it seems to be similar to a chmod in linux, but I wasn't sure about the different options enough to try screwing with it on my own. Any guidance would be appreciated.

Hmm. A and I are just normal, nothing special.

What happens if you try deleting it from the command prompt? Remember to run the command prompt as an administrator; you do that by right clicking on its icon, choosing Run As Administrator, and clicking Yes on the UAC prompt. Then change to that directory, and try:

del rnupgagent.exe

Finally got it to delete the entire folder. Thanks, Malor.

Phew! Stupid program.

IlleBellus wrote:

I did a little googling and apparently this might be a trojan horse? I can't get the right to delete it and I even tried scanning the folder with an antivirus and it comes up with no threats. Any suggestions folks?

One thing I've found over the years is that as much as google does let you identify bad things, "the wisdom of crowds" that it incorporates isn't foolproof, and there's lots of false positives with people crying wolf. There's probably a vocal minority effect too, for example you're only searching for rnupgradent because you've got a problem with it, and I'm sure there's some people who see the slightest issue, in your case a permissions problem, as malicious and scream malware or virus every chance they can. A pinch of salt is a handy tool.