Can I delete old boot files?

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After upgrading to Win 7 from XP on March 2 there were several files left over from XP in the boot directory. Are these safe to delete?

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The safe thing to do is to rename them first, then reboot to see the effect. i.e. IO.SYS to IO.SY1

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Make yourself a repair disc before doing anything else.

You purchased an upgrade version of W7 and did the “custom” instal???

You can’t “upgrade” from XP to 7, only clean instal via the “custom” instal method,
but you certainly can “migrate” files over from the XP instalation with the MS tool.
I know “ntdlr” should’nt be there, so you have either migrated some things you should’nt have by mistake, or are dual booting.

Think back over your instalation method, see if you can find any miss-steps along the way. Many of those files should’nt be there.

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Make yourself a repair disc before doing anything else.

You purchased an upgrade version of W7 and did the “custom” instal???

You can’t “upgrade” from XP to 7, only clean instal via the “custom” instal method,
but you certainly can “migrate” files over from the XP instalation with the MS tool.
I know “ntdlr” should’nt be there, so you have either migrated some things you should’nt have by mistake, or are dual booting.

Think back over your instalation method, see if you can find any miss-steps along the way. Many of those files should’nt be there.

I did the custom install method, but I didn’t reformat the boot drive. I also have a file called _restore{B8609072-8601-4A45-BAE6-A4353D6C0D3A} in System Volume Information, with about 6 Gb of folders containing what looks like old restore points from XP. I can’t delete these. When I try, a box comes up telling me they’re being deleted but they’re still there afterwards. I’d like to get rid of them and regain the space. I’ve tried doing it in Safe Mode, but no luck.

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Try this Lounge Article by Fred langa titled: Delete files that Windows labels ‘undeletable’
Or google: How to delete undeletable files+Windows 7

Another way around would be to go back and custom instal with a quick reformat.
…Sooner or later those undeleted files are gonna bite you rump.

I guess another method would be to boot a usb with free dos or something,
and systematically deleted them from a dos environment. Wouldn’t recommend it
if your not familiar with the syntax though.

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Try this Lounge Article by Fred langa titled: Delete files that Windows labels ‘undeletable’
Or google: How to delete undeletable files+Windows 7

Another way around would be to go back and custom instal with a quick reformat.
…Sooner or later those undeleted files are gonna bite you rump.

I guess another method would be to boot a usb with free dos or something,
and systematically deleted them from a dos environment. Wouldn’t recommend it
if your not familiar with the syntax though.

Here’s a strange story. I tried using GiPo@MoveOnBoot as Fred suggested. It turns out that some of the files in those old XP system restore point folders are shortcuts pointing to various documents files. When I used GiPo@MoveOnBoot to delete them, it not only deleted the shortcuts, it also deleted the files they were pointing to, even though they were on a separate drive. Fortunately I had backups. Also, GiPo@MoveOnBoot only deleted files, not the folders. Long story short, I downloaded Unlocker and it worked like a charm, getting rid of folders and files and not touching the document files. And I regained 11 Gb of disk space.

I was also able to remove the XP boot files without any negative effect, which is where this thread started. If you’re trying this at home be careful not to remove bootmgr, since it’s a Win 7 system file even though it has a date prior to installation.

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