I've had some problems with updates not installing. Most download/install fine. However, for the past two or three months I've had one or two that never "finish." I get the Windows is installing Step 3 of 7 (or Step 2 of 3 or Step 4 or 7) that never completes. The first couple of times I did nothing for a day or two and still it never completed. I turn off the computer (power button depressed for five seconds) and it starts up just fine. The other day I noticed I had a lot of new files in my C drive that have a lock on them. I'm going to try and include a link to a picture which shows two of them but there are about 20 or 25. Those files take up 5 or 6 GBs of space. I would like to delete them. But when I do it says that I need permission to perform this action. But I'm logged in as an Administrator. I think the problem might be from a bad update because whenever I try to install a new program (like yesterday with WinAmp) it says it first has to stop installing a System update for some program (don't remember which right now). What I would like to do is find a way to remove those locked files so I can recover that disc space. Is there a way for me to take control of those files and then safely delete them? Thanks in advance for any and all help that you can give. It is very much appreciated. Picture Link: http://img214.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=794767829_locked_system_folder_122_1121lo.jpg

I had something similar happen to me about 2 months ago. What finally resolved the issue in my case was: 1. I did a system restore to a point well before the problem (i used 1 month before) 2. I installed my favorite 3rd party defrag program as my disk had gotten really full and I suspected this had caused my disk to fragment badly. 3. Defragmented my drive before allowing windows to re-install all the updates it now needed as a result of the System Restore I did. 4 All updates now installed without a hitch I've noticed that i tend to get way more random unexplainable problems when I neglect regularly defragmenting the drive. Also as the drive gets fuller the fragmentation becomes worse exponentially. My solution on past systems I've used has been to install a 3rd party defragmentor that can run automatically and transparently so I actually end up using it and this whole aspect of normal maintenance actually gets done and it worked yet again on my latest system. Check out this link to learn more about fragmentation and what's out there —it's been a good move for me: TOP DEFRAG REVIEW 2011 Hope this helps Cheers!

Do a system restore remove everything that has been added to the computer since the restore point or only Windows items? I have a ton of work on here that I would hate to lose if I have to go the system restore route. I'll back stuff up but I know myself and I'll end up forgetting some things. Thanks.

Hi, I would like to verify the exactly folder location. Are they on root C? Although you are not willing to perform system restore, I want you to know it is the most efficient and safe way to fix the issue. If you want to delete the folders directly, I suggest using Disk Cleanup to remove the folder. Click Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Cleanup -> Select C drive. If it doesn't work, please boot in Safe Mode, take the ownership of the folder, then delete it. Before deleting the folders, please back up them first. Take permission of folder http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Troubleshoot-access-denied-when-opening-files-or-folders Best Regards, Niki Please remember to click "Mark as Answer" on the post that helps you, and to click "Unmark as Answer" if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

"OOTinAtlanta" wrote in message news:e674b3b2-125e-46b5-9ca4-b64f0f7d1c2a... Do a system restore remove everything that has been added to the computer since the restore point or only Windows items? I have a ton of work on here that I would hate to lose if I have to go the system restore route. I'll back stuff up but I know myself and I'll end up forgetting some things. Thanks. So long as data has not been stored in strange locations, it should be unaffected by a System Restore - System Restore only looks at files in certain locations which exclude the User Profile folders (except the AppData folders), and only affects certain filetypes. The danger usually arises when the user places data inside system folders which may be deleted during a restore operation (which is why I never store data on the desktop!) -- Noel Paton | Nil Carborundum Illegitemi | CrashFixPC | The Three-toed Sloth

Hi, Please follow the below steps to fix the issue : Go to the Start icon, write "User account control settings", click on the corresponding text that appears. In my case, the ruler was on "Always notify". I put it on "Never notify", went to Explorer and at last was able to delete the folder without any problems. Then I went back and put the setting again on "Always notify. Step 2: Right click on the problem folder --> Properties. 2. Select the Security Tab. 3. Mark your username and authorize full control. 4. Apply and Ok. 5. Now you can delete the folder without problems. you can just 'rename' folders to shorten its/their names and then delete! Just do it in Explorer, shorten each folders name until you can open up last folder, then delete! Rahmath Khan