Which folders are safe to delete?

Below is a screenshot of my WD HDD-1021, called “Elements”, where I keep my important back-up files under the folder “Mel’s Stuiff”. I have expanded the drive so all of the folders may be seen.

I don’t know where all of the other folders came from (or just what generated them), but would like to delete any which are not necessary.

So…which ones are safe to delete?

Spectrum49

Hi, welcome to the community.

The alphanumeric folders seems to be folders created by Windows if you had the drive plugged in at the moment an update took place, you should be able to delete them without causing issues to the system.

  • The $Recycle.Bin is a system folder for the recycle bin for when you delete a file/folder.

  • The Recycler is another folder created by the Windows system for then you delete a file/folder on Windows.

  • The System Volume Information this if for the drive to be added to the libraries of your computer, you can take a look at this link that is from Microsoft that would show you how to remove it if you want it.

  • The HD_C I don’t really know how to resolve it, as it seems that it was a folder either created by you at one point or a backup software, go into it and check what it have, if its information that you already have on the computer at another location, you can delete it if you want.

Dear lluna,

Thank you so much for your help! All is settled now. You probably don’t need this “extra info”, but (appearing to be somewhat of a “geek”) I thought it might be interesting to you after all: (At the end, I even have a “gift” for you…if you want it!)

· $Recyle.Bin & Recycler: I did not delete these, understanding they are “necessary system folders”, as you indicated.

· System Volume Information: I read a lot about this from the link you provided. It seems to be related to “System Restore”, and (even though I cannot access it) it isn’t hurting anything; so I’m content to just leave it alone.

· HD_C: Quite some time ago, I remember downloading and installing some “back-up software”, which (in its instructions) had me create this folder on my F-Drive. That all worked just fine for a while, but I decided to stop using it after I got “viciously attacked” one day. So I just now deleted it, as you suggested I might.

(You see, I used to have the folder “Mel’s Stuff” on my C-Drive, and the back-up program would “automatically track” any changes I did to it there, and update that info to my duplicate folder “Mel’s Stuff”, which was within the HD-C folder.)

As I was saying, I got attacked by a horrible “trojan” which messed up quite a bit of those files (in both locations!), encrypting them beyond repair! I got through that ordeal OK, and had to reinstall Windows — whew! (Fortunately, I had unplugged my WD HDD in time to save many of my important files, and plugged it back into the USB hub after reinstalling Windows.

I have an “even better plan” in force now: “Mel’s Stuff” is only on the F-Drive; and (although I’m not running any “automatic back-up software” for it) I have the entire “Mels Stuff” on another external hard drive I recently bought, which I keep UNPLUGGED, except for the few minutes when I manually make changes to it MYSELF, on a regular basis! (This plan seems safe enough for me at the present time.)

As for the rest of those “yellow folders” on my F-Drive: I checked the properties for each of them. The ones with no “+” (to expand them further) were completely empty, so I deleted those. The one named “autorun” only had an icon file (wdlogo.ico) in it, which is used to “highlight” my F-Drive as being a “WD” product, so I kept that one.

Of the ones with the “+” beside them (excluding “Mel’s Stuff”, of course!) only 2 actually contained anything at all. But the rest (even thought they contained a couple of folders each) were also completely empty. (I would have deleted those if I could, but I don’t seem to have access to them. However, I believe they won’t be causing any problems at all, being empty.)

In the picture (just below) I expanded the remaining 2 folders for you to see (which I can access just fine). They contain what appear to be important files which (for all I know) might just be used to operate the “WD Elements” drive itself, so I’m leaving those alone!

This has taken quite some time to straighten out today, but (thanks to your help!) I am peaceful once again, and am VERY GRATEFUL for your assistance! And so much so, that I have a gift for you if you want it. I’m a published author, and would like to give you a free book!

This is just a “heads up” so you can decide if you want it or not: It’s mainly about the first book in the Bible, Genesis Chapter One. I seem to have made some recent “new discoveries”, which nobody on the planet had ever seen before they were “somehow revealed to me” by our creator, God. (My book is entitled: Genesis One: God’s Table of Contents to the Bible.)

If this seems interesting to you, then simply trust me with your email address and I will send you a FREE PDF COPY of it. If you are yet “somewhat leery” of that, then you may easily find a paperback copy to purchase at Amazon. [Also: My email is [[Deleted]], and you may send me a request there if you like, instead of posting your email address for me (and perhaps others!) to see in the forum.]

Again, thanks for your time and expertise. I appreciate it a lot!

If you want to view a 30-second book trailer my publisher made for me, here is the link: - YouTube

God Bless You,
Mel Elliott (aka: Spectrum49)

Hi, I am glad that I was able to assist you. Please remember to mark the post that help you as a solution so maybe another user with the same questions would find it.