Resolved Want to delete archived files with unknown passwords

The hard drive in my Acer Aspire 5740 laptop w/Win 7 had a corrupt hard drive and a friend replaced it for me a spare one he had from a bunch of old ones he had purchased. Everything has worked well for over a year but trying to clean up files I found hundreds of "Archived files with passwords" They are obviously belonged to a previous owner. I want to upgrade to Win 10 but delete all these Archived Files first. Anyone have a clue for me to follow ? ...please

 

You could try reading this: How to Delete Undeletable Files in Windows Scroll down to WindowsVista/7 instructions. The only other way I can think of is reformat the drive and reinstall Windows 7

 

Guess I was sort of afraid that was the only way ... just hope there was another one or two... thanks lj50

Would I still be able to get the Win 10 free upgrade ? If I were to just go with the upgrade 'as is' I assume these 100's of Archived files would follow me ?

 

You can save your Files externally or to cloud before the W10 upgrade and then use the option with W10 to Delete all files and install fresh.
That would mean installing any software/programs again after W10 installed so make sure you have the DVD/CD and Product Keys recorded.
Belarc or Jellybean? can get the keys for you.
How old is the 2nd hand HDD your friend installed?
I would renew the HDD with a SSD and install W7 SP1 and all updates before W10 as it would a pity if the old HDD failed shortly after the W10 install. Neil.

 

I like the idea of having Win 10 delete all files and install fresh especially as I have searched and not been able to find the original Win 7 disk.. it could have been pre-installed. I don't mind re-installing the software programs. Guess the only gamble would be if the old HDD failed after the installation....in which case, time to dump it. I have a newer one with Win 8.1 (which I hate) but want to upgrade this one first.
No idea how old the used HHD is and my friend died over the winter, not that he would have known anyway....just a gamble but it has worked OK so far. Will report back the results in a day or two... Thanks for your help

 

Sorry, just one more thing - would you recommend downloading from the Icon in the tray at the bottom right of pc. or directly from the Microsoft web site and is there any difference/advantage???

 

Well, I installed Win 10 and everything worked fine as far as I see.... I then went into settings to re-set and delete all for a "clean install" an to get rid of the Archived files.... now I receive an "Inaccessible Boot Drive" as this now becomes a Windows 10 problem I'll post under Windows 10