Folders you should not delete
There is times people need to move folders and files to an external storage device and remove files and folders from their computer to clear up space. There are folders that should not be deleted. Below is a list of folders you should not delete and information on the contents. This is not a full list of folders so take caution and be sure you are OK with deleting a folder. You should make up a backup of the files and folders in case you accidentally delete something you shouldn't.
Some of the folders you should not delete (For information on accessing the folder, click on the link)
- Contacts - you can delete the contents inside the folder but do not delete the folder itself.
- Desktop - you can delete the contents inside the folder Except for recycle bin, but do not delete the folder itself.
- Documents - You can delete contents inside Documents but not the Documents folder itself(There are specific folders inside My Documents that shouldn't be deleted as well)
- Downloads - you can delete the contents inside the folder but do not delete the folder itself.
- Favorites - Do not delete the folder. You can delete the contents but if you do, you will not be able to access your favorites at all, even if you have them on an external drive. Most folders are for storage only and the user has to manually access the folder on a different drive. This folder is different. When you use the favorites feature in Internet Explorer, that feature accesses the favorites folder that is located on the main drive. Internet explorer will not look at an external drive for the favorite. It will only look at this folder. If the favorite is not there it won't access it. Do not get confused. You can delete unwanted favorites out of this folder but do not delete favorites you want to keep.
- My Documents - You can delete contents inside My Documents but not the My Documents folder itself(There are specific folders inside My Documents that shouldn't be deleted as well)
- Music - you can delete the contents inside the folder but do not delete the folder itself.
- My Music - You can delete the contents inside My Music folder but do not delete the folder itself.
- My Pictures - You can delete the contents inside the folder but do not delete the folder itself.
- Pictures - You can delete the contents inside the folder but do not delete the folder itself.
- My Videos - you can delete the contents inside the folder but do not delete the folder itself.
- Saved Games - you can delete the contents inside the folder but do not delete the folder itself.
The folders above have contents that will not harm your system if you delete the contents. NOTE: be sure you saved the contents of those folders to a different location or you are OK with loosing the files that are in those folders before deleting the files in the above folders.
Below is folders you DO NOT want to delete. Also DO NOT delete the folders or contents inside these folders.
- Application Data
- i386
- Local Settings
- Windows folder
- Program Files
- Program Files (x86) (if it exists)
- WINNT (if it exists)
- Any folder that stores programs you have installed (The programs normally get installed in the Program Files folder but sometimes do get installed in other locations so be sure you know what your doing before deleting a folder or file)
The above is only a guide. There may be other folders that you should not tamper with. Unfortunately without looking at the system, I cannot say.
There are times that a file or folder may need to be deleted in the folders above but the times are rare. They are only deleted in advanced troubleshooting and only done for troubleshooting purposes. If you do decide to delete a file or folder in the Windows folder, program files, Program Files (x86) WINNT or another program file or folder, be sure you know what you are doing and you have it backed up.
When you move or copy folders and files to a different location, be sure they move or copy completely. Here is a page on verifying the size of the folder.
If you want the default location of My Music, My Pictures and My Documents to be a different location than the C drive, click here.