Cannot delete back up file.

[up2you2]

I created a System Backup using Aomei Backupper of my C Drive on a Samsung SSD, to a brand new WD 3.5 WD 1.0TB.

Instead of creating just file, it created masses of them.

I now wished to update this back up by deleting the original.
I cannot as 1766 GB is still showing as Used, these files are:
Program Files
Program Data
Windows

Obviously I am doing something wrong here.
I would be most grateful for a solution please.
My preference is to clean up my new back up drive, but I have Window error messages are coming up saying it can't be deleted.

[JamJar]

Is there anything you wish to keep on the back-up drive? If not, format it.

[Farangwithaplan]

It might be unable to delete the files as they are administrator protected files. Go here https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/3841-add-take-ownership-context-menu-windows-10-a.html to download a little reg script that adds a right click context menu. That might solve the issue.

 

But as JamJar said, it might just be easier to format the partition again if there is nothing else of use stored on the drive.

[up2you2]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is the easiest and simplest method to reformat a hard drive please?

[KneeDeep]

Right click on the drive letter and select Format...from the menu.

 

Have you exhausted all other options?

[up2you2]

4 hours ago, KneeDeep said:

Right click on the drive letter and select Format...from the menu.

 

Have you exhausted all other options?

Farangwithaplan's option was using Win10, I'm using Win 7.

I don't need to keep anything on it, but also want to be sure it is clean, as I hope to put a new back up on it.

[KneeDeep]

1 minute ago, up2you2 said:

Farangwithaplan's option was using Win10, I'm using Win 7.

I don't need to keep anything on it, but also want to be sure it is clean, as I hope to put a new back up on it.

 

That's fine, just choose Format and then NTFS

[chrisinth]

2 hours ago, up2you2 said:

Farangwithaplan's option was using Win10, I'm using Win 7.

I don't need to keep anything on it, but also want to be sure it is clean, as I hope to put a new back up on it.

Open your file explorer and under This PC/My PC, select and right-click on the external drive you want to format. Default is to do a quick format (which is fine) but if you want a sector by sector format, un-check the quick format box and leave your computer on overnight as this takes a bit of time. You should see something like this below:

 

 

As Knee Deep says, select NTFS as the file system and go for it. The drive will be clean for you to keep your backup on.

 

[up2you2]

On 3/24/2019 at 10:55 PM, chrisinth said:

Open your file explorer and under This PC/My PC, select and right-click on the external drive you want to format. Default is to do a quick format (which is fine) but if you want a sector by sector format, un-check the quick format box and leave your computer on overnight as this takes a bit of time. You should see something like this below:

 

 

As Knee Deep says, select NTFS as the file system and go for it. The drive will be clean for you to keep your backup on.

 

Thank you - this looks good.

But I have run into a problem, that I thought it would be best to check first.

 

I attach a screen shot of what drives are appearing.

The Win7 Samsung SSD (C) and WD 2.0TB (D) are correct.
Could you please tell me why when I put the WD 1.0TB into the mobile rack it doesn't appear, and in lieu Win7 Samsung SSD (F) appears please?

[chrisinth]

54 minutes ago, up2you2 said:

Thank you - this looks good.

But I have run into a problem, that I thought it would be best to check first.

 

I attach a screen shot of what drives are appearing.

The Win7 Samsung SSD (C) and WD 2.0TB (D) are correct.
Could you please tell me why when I put the WD 1.0TB into the mobile rack it doesn't appear, and in lieu Win7 Samsung SSD (F) appears please?

The graphic that you posted shows your drive F has 232GB available (drive size would be likely 240GB). This could be due to the image/clone you took of your system previously and that you have 'unused' space on the drive.

 

If you go to the control panel\administrative tools\computer management\disk management, this will show you the physical layout of the external disk.

It is a good idea to look at the disk through disk management if only to make sure that it is a 1TB drive and you haven't been ripped off with a 240GB one instead. But in all likelihood it will be a case of unused space.

 

The below snap is similar to the one you should see; disk 2 in this case is an old 500GB drive removed from a laptop, just to show you the usage of the disk. Notice that there is 471MB unallocated, you will likely see something like 750GB unallocated.

 

This was taken on a W10 machine but W7 is similar if not the same.

 

 

If all is good, go back to file explorer, right-click on the drive you want to format, click format and follow the instructions. Just make sure you select the right disk...................

[up2you2]

2 hours ago, chrisinth said:

The graphic that you posted shows your drive F has 232GB available (drive size would be likely 240GB). This could be due to the image/clone you took of your system previously and that you have 'unused' space on the drive.

 

If you go to the control panel\administrative tools\computer management\disk management, this will show you the physical layout of the external disk.

It is a good idea to look at the disk through disk management if only to make sure that it is a 1TB drive and you haven't been ripped off with a 240GB one instead. But in all likelihood it will be a case of unused space.

 

The below snap is similar to the one you should see; disk 2 in this case is an old 500GB drive removed from a laptop, just to show you the usage of the disk. Notice that there is 471MB unallocated, you will likely see something like 750GB unallocated.

 

This was taken on a W10 machine but W7 is similar if not the same.

 

 

If all is good, go back to file explorer, right-click on the drive you want to format, click format and follow the instructions. Just make sure you select the right disk...................

Again thank you.

 

I attach an image of what you have suggested.

 

The point and concern I was trying to make please, is why when I put a WD 3.5 1.0TB hard drive into my mobile rack, is that it should then be displayed as a Win 7 Samsung SSD?

Why is the Disk Management not recognising it as a WD?

[taotoo]

14 minutes ago, up2you2 said:

Again thank you.

 

I attach an image of what you have suggested.

 

The point and concern I was trying to make please, is why when I put a WD 3.5 1.0TB hard drive into my mobile rack, is that it should then be displayed as a Win 7 Samsung SSD?

Why is the Disk Management not recognising it as a WD?

When you made the backup you possibly did a clone operation rather than a backup, and Aomei copied the C drive's name to the backup disk. This would also account for why the backup disk is full of thousands of files. Format the backup disk, and this time do an image backup - this should result in a single file on the backup disk.

 

edit: before making the new backup, you may need to right-click the partition in disk management and choose "extend volume" so that you get the whole terrabyte available to use. Not sure.

Edited March 27, 2019 by taotoo

[chrisinth]

1 hour ago, up2you2 said:

Again thank you.

 

I attach an image of what you have suggested.

 

The point and concern I was trying to make please, is why when I put a WD 3.5 1.0TB hard drive into my mobile rack, is that it should then be displayed as a Win 7 Samsung SSD?

Why is the Disk Management not recognising it as a WD?

Quite possibly the software you used to clone changed the name of the drive during it's operation? That would make sense if it was a full clone. It obviously didn't extend the partition but good to see that it is a 1TB drive......, you should have no problem reformatting it by the way mentioned in earlier posts.

 

If you need to rename the disk the easiest way to do it is to open the file explorer, right-click on the drive and select Rename. Actually, you can rename during the format stage as well (volume Label), which would make that the easiest way.

 

Now, just reading the OP again, it may be that your Aomei Backupper made a direct copy of your SSD and not an image or clone. I am not familiar with this software. If it made a clone of the drive that would explain the multiple folders/files that you saw.

 

The best way to make a backup is by 'imaging' the drive; this will be saved in one file and can be used to fully reinstall the disk (updated to the time the image was taken) or to partially copy back selected files or folders. Making a clone of the SSD and copying to the 3.5 HDD doesn't really achieve anything unless you are swapping the HDD for the SSD. 

 

If you are intending making an image, and Aomei can't handle that, I would recommend downloading the free version of Macrum Reflect 7 from their website. This is a very simple, powerful program that can do it all. Click on the Home Use, it is all you need:

 

https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree 

 

Good luck and I hope my post makes sense.

 

Edited March 27, 2019 by chrisinth

[up2you2]

3 hours ago, chrisinth said:

Quite possibly the software you used to clone changed the name of the drive during it's operation? That would make sense if it was a full clone. It obviously didn't extend the partition but good to see that it is a 1TB drive......, you should have no problem reformatting it by the way mentioned in earlier posts.

 

If you need to rename the disk the easiest way to do it is to open the file explorer, right-click on the drive and select Rename. Actually, you can rename during the format stage as well (volume Label), which would make that the easiest way.

 

Now, just reading the OP again, it may be that your Aomei Backupper made a direct copy of your SSD and not an image or clone. I am not familiar with this software. If it made a clone of the drive that would explain the multiple folders/files that you saw.

 

The best way to make a backup is by 'imaging' the drive; this will be saved in one file and can be used to fully reinstall the disk (updated to the time the image was taken) or to partially copy back selected files or folders. Making a clone of the SSD and copying to the 3.5 HDD doesn't really achieve anything unless you are swapping the HDD for the SSD. 

 

If you are intending making an image, and Aomei can't handle that, I would recommend downloading the free version of Macrum Reflect 7 from their website. This is a very simple, powerful program that can do it all. Click on the Home Use, it is all you need:

 

https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree 

 

Good luck and I hope my post makes sense.

 

Thank you.

I got so far, and then it said my hard disk was full.

Please have a look at the various screen shots, which hopefully may explain.

[chrisinth]

1 hour ago, up2you2 said:

Thank you.

I got so far, and then it said my hard disk was full.

Please have a look at the various screen shots, which hopefully may explain.

Hi up2you2. Looking at the screenshots above it appears that the format of your drive F didn't work, it is still showing 232 GB with 698.63 GB of unallocated space. That said, you are only using 86.9 GB on your C drive so there should be enough space anyway. We need to sort out your destination drive (F) first, I know, the whole purpose of your thread. I would like to suggest using Diskpart to do this. Diskpart is a built-in tool in Windows with a great number of uses, one of which is cleaning problem drives. If you are game, I will try to help you through it step by step.

 

1. Make sure your drive F is connected, preferably by USB. I see that you are using a mobile rack; that should be OK as long as the computer sees F drive.

 

2. Open Search and type in cmd. When you see Command Prompt, right click on it and select Run as Administrator. A command window will then open looking something like this:

 

3. Type in 'diskpart' and then enter. This will open Diskpart for you.

 

4. On the next line type 'list disk' and then enter. This will list the disks attached to your computer. You should see your drive F as Disk 2 or Disk 3. Check the size of the disks to make sure you know which one you are going to clean, this is very important.

 

5. On the next command line type 'select disk x' (x being the number of the disk you want to clean). Your command window should now look something like this (without the red boxes):

 

6. On the next command line type 'clean' and then enter. You can also use the command 'clean all' if you want but this will take a bit longer.

 

7. Once the operation has finished on the next diskpart command line type 'exit' and type 'exit' once again on the windows line to escape from command prompt.

 

8. Open your file explorer (or go to Disk Management) and check what size you see on your F drive.

 

With Macrum Reflect, I normally make a folder on the destination drive (your F drive) and save the image in that folder. You also have the option of just doing a file & folder backup but, IMO, the better option is to image the whole drive as you can restore that image in times of emergency.

 

The above might look overwhelming but it is easy. Just be 100% correct with the drive you pick to clean................

[up2you2]

11 hours ago, chrisinth said:

Hi up2you2. Looking at the screenshots above it appears that the format of your drive F didn't work, it is still showing 232 GB with 698.63 GB of unallocated space. That said, you are only using 86.9 GB on your C drive so there should be enough space anyway. We need to sort out your destination drive (F) first, I know, the whole purpose of your thread. I would like to suggest using Diskpart to do this. Diskpart is a built-in tool in Windows with a great number of uses, one of which is cleaning problem drives. If you are game, I will try to help you through it step by step.

 

1. Make sure your drive F is connected, preferably by USB. I see that you are using a mobile rack; that should be OK as long as the computer sees F drive.

 

2. Open Search and type in cmd. When you see Command Prompt, right click on it and select Run as Administrator. A command window will then open looking something like this:

 

3. Type in 'diskpart' and then enter. This will open Diskpart for you.

 

4. On the next line type 'list disk' and then enter. This will list the disks attached to your computer. You should see your drive F as Disk 2 or Disk 3. Check the size of the disks to make sure you know which one you are going to clean, this is very important.

 

5. On the next command line type 'select disk x' (x being the number of the disk you want to clean). Your command window should now look something like this (without the red boxes):

 

6. On the next command line type 'clean' and then enter. You can also use the command 'clean all' if you want but this will take a bit longer.

 

7. Once the operation has finished on the next diskpart command line type 'exit' and type 'exit' once again on the windows line to escape from command prompt.

 

8. Open your file explorer (or go to Disk Management) and check what size you see on your F drive.

 

With Macrum Reflect, I normally make a folder on the destination drive (your F drive) and save the image in that folder. You also have the option of just doing a file & folder backup but, IMO, the better option is to image the whole drive as you can restore that image in times of emergency.

 

The above might look overwhelming but it is easy. Just be 100% correct with the drive you pick to clean................

Thank you for this detailed solution.

 

Okay I have got down as far as 6., please see attached screen shot.

 

Now I am lucky to have a second computer with a mobile rack, that's running on Win 10.

Carry out the same procedure on it, might be a way round this?

[chrisinth]

Hi up2you2, Yes, you could certainly try it on the W10 machine. If that fails, we can try another 3rd party software approach. I have just formatted one of my drives to prove the software works; I have sent you a message with a link to the portable 64 bit version of Macrorit 5.3.9_Free. For anyone else that needs something like this, the website URL is: https://macrorit.com/download.html 

 

OK, Diskpart gave you an error; this happens even though I was hoping it wouldn't. I was trying not to involve 3rd party software or having to run off a PE disk, but it is what it is. The next set of snapshots reflect what I have just done, so it should work for you as well. All very straight forward. This will also involve window's disk management.

 

1. Open Macrorit Partition Expert. The snap above shows the interface. Select your drive F, make sure it is the correct drive, as above and click on Delete all Partitions.

 

2. A confirmation box will appear, if happy click Yes.

 

3. The interface will display what will happen after the completion of the operation. Nothing will happen until you click Commit. If happy, click commit.

 

4. A confirmation box will appear, close all other applications and click OK.

 

5. When the operation is complete the above information box will show, click OK and you can now close Microrit. The drive will not be visible in your file explorer at the minute as there is only unallocated space and no volume created. We now have to go to Disk Management (Control Panel\Administrive Tools\Computer Management\Disk Management)

 

6. You should see your drive F shown here as above.

 

7. Right click on the drive and click on New Simple Volume. Follow the next snapshots.

 

 

 

 

 

8. On completion of making the new volume, open your windows explorer and you should see your new formatted drive.

 

Hope this works for you! Let me know how you get on.

C

Edited March 28, 2019 by chrisinth

[up2you2]

18 minutes ago, chrisinth said:

Hi up2you2, Yes, you could certainly try it on the W10 machine. If that fails, we can try another 3rd party software approach. I have just formatted one of my drives to prove the software works; I have sent you a message with a link to the portable 64 bit version of Macrorit 5.3.9_Free. For anyone else that needs something like this, the website URL is: https://macrorit.com/download.html 

  

OK, Diskpart gave you an error; this happens even though I was hoping it wouldn't. I was trying not to involve 3rd party software or having to run off a PE disk, but it is what it is. The next set of snapshots reflect what I have just done, so it should work for you as well. All very straight forward. This will also involve window's disk management.

 

1. Open Macrorit Partition Expert. The snap above shows the interface. Select your drive F, make sure it is the correct drive, as above and click on Delete all Partitions.

 

2. A confirmation box will appear, if happy click Yes.

 

3. The interface will display what will happen after the completion of the operation. Nothing will happen until you click Commit. If happy, click commit.

 

4. A confirmation box will appear, close all other applications and click OK.

 

5. When the operation is complete the above information box will show, click OK and you can now close Microrit. The drive will not be visible in your file explorer at the minute as there is only unallocated space and no volume created. We now have to go to Disk Management (Control Panel\Administrive Tools\Computer Management\Disk Management)

 

6. You should see your drive F shown here as above.

 

7. Right click on the drive and click on New Simple Volume. Follow the next snapshots.

 

 

 

 

 

8. On completion of making the new volume, open your windows explorer and you should see your new formatted drive.

 

Hope this works for you! Let me know how you get on.

C

I have sent you a message with a link to the portable 64 bit version of Macrorit 5.3.9_Free.

I am using 32 the 32 bit version?

 

[up2you2]

25 minutes ago, up2you2 said:

I have sent you a message with a link to the portable 64 bit version of Macrorit 5.3.9_Free.

I am using 32 the 32 bit version?

 

A result, thanks, much appreciated.

[chrisinth]

22 minutes ago, up2you2 said:

A result, thanks, much appreciated.

Excellent!

[up2you2]

1 hour ago, chrisinth said:

Excellent!

 

[chrisinth]

5 minutes ago, up2you2 said:

 

Perfect, well done sir..............................

 

Reflect is a nice little program for this, especially when it is free.