Helping people with computers... one answer at a time.
I have sever folders of the type:
C:\Documents and Settings\my name\UserData\06CF6PX2where the last part varies. For the most part they are empty. Can these be deleted without causing a problem?
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To begin with, be careful. There may be other directories called "UserData" on your machine. It's a common name for any number of different purposes, and used by several different applications.
But these, at that specific location in your Documents and Settings, are fairly clear.
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I believe those directories, when located in C:\Documents and Settings\my name\UserData\, where "my name" is replaced by your user name on the computer, are temporary storage used by Windows Update.
Deleting shouldn't cause a problem. I deleted mine, and similar directories were recreated the next time I visited Windows Update.
Article C2425 - September 20, 2005 « »
Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he
was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed.
After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers
to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.
November 9, 2007 12:02 PM
i got the same prob.. I performed a system recovery on my computer, but all the files are now stored in USERDATA as well. When I check the properties of the folder it says there are no files and no space being taken up, and when I try to enter, it says Access Denied. & i can't delete the folder.. When I use Norton antivirus it scans those supposed files! How can I fix this? please email me at: [Email Address Removed]
February 27, 2008 12:13 PM
i did the system recovery as well and i found a solution but not the program to do it. when you scan with norton after the scan hit the view quarantine and click 'add item'. then you can look threw the files in userdata. my theory is if you find a file extracting program you can restore these file than do as you wish with them.
April 27, 2008 10:46 AM
Had same problem of not being able to access userdata after a system recovery. This is how you fix it. It says the access is denied. You need to take ownership of the folder (or perhaps even the entire drive!). Alright so reboot in safe mode, log in as admin, and right click on C: and go to security, go to owner, click on "Administrators" and then check the box at the bottom " Rewrite.. or whatever it says" and click apply. After its done you should be able to access userdata as admin. Restart in normal mode, go into documents and settings and into administrator, the folder userdata should be here and accessible to you now. Can now move the files to wherever you want. Cheers!
January 21, 2009 12:11 PM
I have a Dell with an Xp home edition, microsoft 2003. There were 3 users in my computer. Now it is just me so I tried to rearrange my document folder. I made a mistake. Now when I scan a file, It scanned fine but then the computer said the source is not accessible. Please help.
H>C
June 4, 2010 11:35 PM
there is an index.dat fils in that folder and if you open it you can see its made by windows update. but not only the windows update stores files there. other programs have files there like X-Fire.
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