Deleting old clone

[foxy]

I use Macrium Reflect to clone (no, not image) my disc. Because very little changes, I just delete the old C clone, called
(E)CLONESYSPROG
(F)CLONEDATA drive isn't a problem.

It keeps asking me for permission to delete system files, but permission isn't enough. I'm stuck at thousands of files that refuse to delete. I didn't have this problem before. It's not the first time I've cloned my drives.

[foxy]

Edit:
Some folders worked with "Take ownership."
It's taken me a few hours just to delete most of the folders, but it refuses to delete Windows>winsxs. I've already "Taken ownership" of the folder.

I don't remember what I did before my last clone, but I don't remember taking hours to delete the old one. Can this be done in DOS? if so, I need the exact command, because I don't code.

[jdc2000]

On the WinSxS folder, you have to take ownership and select the correct options to be able to delete the contents. Check the links below. This is one reason why making an IMAGE rather than a Clone makes deleting old backups much easier.

https://superuser.com/questions/5879...-nonsystem-dri

https://social.technet.microsoft.com...w7itprogeneral

[foxy]

I make clones in case my HD blows. I've had the computer for 2 years, and I absolutely DID NOT have this problem when I've cloned before. :-( Maybe it's time for a repair install, but I've never done one on this computer.

I'm already the owner, PC-02, but I did the first step anyway. After the 2nd step, I got this error.

"An error occurred while supplying security information to E\Windows\winsxs\amd64_av...api-ms-win-core-console-1-1-0.dll. Access is denied."

If I click the "continue" button, it starts enumerating dozens of files. Some others were skipped. There are 66,000 files in winsxs

[jdc2000]

It would actually be easier to restore an image to a new hard drive in case of a failure.

However, if you are getting this error, that means that Windows is not going to let you take ownership of those files, so you won't be able to delete them from Windows unless you reformat the drive. To delete them, you will need to do one of the following:

1. Use some software that runs under Windows and bypasses the check for ownership and permissions.

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&....0.aew11J-HWu4

2. Boot from a Linux or other disc that will ignore permissions and allow you to delete the files.

[foxy]

Oy vay. I don't have Linux or know how to use it, but I can reformat that drive, as there's nothing else on it. Should I do it in Windows or Macrium?

Why is easier to restore an image to a new drive, which I don't have anyway, rather than just switching the cloned one in?

[jdc2000]

As long as there is nothing else on the drive that you need to save, then a quick format would much faster and easier than deleting all files and folders. You could then re-clone the boot drive to that drive with the latest files and updates.

An image is usually easier to restore to a new, blank, hard drive after a drive failure, since you would normally use the imaging software's bootable disc to perform the restore and not have to install Windows or another OS to a bare drive first. However, if you are cloning the drive to a spare drive that you already have, and the boot sectors are also being cloned, then you can just swap the drive if the regular boot drive fails and you will only (potentially) lose any new files or updated that were not on the clone.

[foxy]

::facepalm::Formatting took about 30 seconds. I'm impressed.

[foxy]

I ran it a few hours and nothing happened. It won't clone, so I imaged.

If I do a repair install of Win 7, do I have to download all the updates again?