-- Posted by nicktodd at 11:32 pm on May 25, 2008 I need to do two things (Windows Vista still works, btw) 1. erase a locked file in the \system32 directory 2. partition the disk Ideas? I tried erasing via a Knoppix CD, no luck. I'm tyrying to remove a corrupt file and the wager thingy and install Solaris 10... -- Posted by hateitandloveit at 11:33 pm on May 25, 2008 try Slax live cd. Does wonders. -- Posted by sotayuki at 11:34 pm on May 25, 2008 try inttaling ubuntu over it. it will delet everything. otherwise, look at the underground hacking sites for a goverment whiper. if u cant find that, then go to radioshack, get magnet wire, and build a electormag, and trun it on,and touch your computer with it -- Posted by marshmellowman at 7:58 am on May 26, 2008 Right, the simplest way to delete a locked file is to boot in using another OS when Windows is not accessing it. This can be done fairly simply, either using a Linux LiveCD or a preinstalled environment such as WinPE, or a create yourself clone like BartPE. This will allow you to boot up into an environment where you can mount the drive and navigate to the directory where the locked file is an delete it. I've done this myself using BartPE and it's worked me wonders. As for the partition problem you have a few options. You can try and use a Linux installation CD and use that to repartition the drive, but I'm unsure as to whether this is non-destructive or not (if the data gets wiped and then repartitioned or if your data will still remain there). There are also partition managers that can be installed on a LiveCD such a Gparted, etc. Or you could also use a partitioning program like PartitionMagic. I think this was purchased by Symantec, however once installed (on another machine that's accessible) you can burn a boot CD that you can use to repartition the drive on the other machine. I've used PartitionMagic lots of times, and it's a pretty solid program. However this isn't free.