Do Windows users delete system files and folders?

[rambo919]

Maybe it is a SoftwareDistribution folder issue in Windows? To fix badly jammed windows update can require to remove or rename Windows\SoftwareDistribution and Windows\System32\catroot2 folders.

I find windows update bafflingly badly done in general.... half of what they do makes no sense in the long run. Sometimes even that fix does not work.

[rambo919]

There is no real need to lock me down in order to protect me from myself.
I survived 20 years of driving cars that did not even have an airbag or an anti-lock braking system.

I fondly remember the days of my childhood bouncing around on the back of a pickup truck now and then and being told to like the bumps along the way.... that surface was hard after a while man. And that was just 20 years ago now everything requires seatbelts and coddling.... it's disgusting really.

[rambo919]

My one recurring problem with Windows users though that I did not mention.... some still think that simply deleting a folder uninstalls the app... thank goodness for reg cleaners though sometimes a full OS re-install is still needed. So yes coming back full circle to OP.... some Windows users will delete EVERYTHING not bolted down (my mother being one of them) due to either ignorance or sheer stupidity. Admin rights password protecting files does not help because that means that you need to give em the password to install as well.... you do NOT want a user to not be able to install something unless you plan on being on call 24/7.

[vansloneker]

I do delete particular files and folders.
To name one:
After experiencing a user who for a small network issue not even caused by the system but from a bad router followed Windows' suggestion to restore things back to default and have many hours of hard word washed away through a clean Windows install I remove the recovery folder.

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The other day I had a visitor where the girlfriend had 'cleaned' Windows to the point it was unusable, screen dimmed and not responding to buttons,systems failed, etc.
I didn't waste my time on that but put in a fresh SSD and installed Mint. The guy was really surprised at how fast it booted.

[ImpWarfare]

Some users which I sometimes stumble upon tend to say isn't Linux Windows anyway or what's Linux. Most of the casual people seem to only be aware of Microsoft Windows or Apple's macOS whenever I talk about Linux to them its like over their heads and they immediately become confused.

[rambo919]

Some don't even know what windows or mac is, they just know it as "the computer".