can I delete X:\windows\system32

Question

can I delete X:\windows\system32

Mike Brenner 20

can I delete X:\windows\system32 on my system that crashed. the C volume 0 of windows is still on the drive, as well as the system volume1

Mike Brenner 20 Reputation points

2026-07-23T19:32:30.2533333+00:00

With the X: the computer is in a continuous repair/can't repair/try other troubleshooting methods. A USB media creation tool to reinstall windows 11 won't work, a USB windows recovery tool does not work. I have just used 2 notepad apps within command prompt environment and copied files from the C documents to a USB drive. All files in the system partition as above show hidden.

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Mike Brenner 20 Reputation points

2026-07-23T19:32:30.2533333+00:00

With the X: the computer is in a continuous repair/can't repair/try other troubleshooting methods. A USB media creation tool to reinstall windows 11 won't work, a USB windows recovery tool does not work. I have just used 2 notepad apps within command prompt environment and copied files from the C documents to a USB drive. All files in the system partition as above show hidden.

Answer 1

Looks like X:\Windows\System32 is the temporary Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) or Windows PE environment that you booted into after the crash - so you should not delete it. The X: drive is typically a RAM disk created at boot and is not stored permanently on your hard drive.

If you instead have a real X: partition on the disk that contains a Windows\System32 folder, verify its purpose before deleting anything. If your original Windows installation is still on the C: volume and the separate System (EFI/System Reserved) partition is intact, an unused recovery or old Windows partition may be removable, but deleting System32 alone is not recommended. If you no longer need that partition, delete the entire partition only after confirming it is not used for boot or recovery.

You can confirm which partition X: refers to by running diskpart, then list volume and list disk. If X: is not listed as a physical volume, it is the temporary recovery environment and there is nothing to delete.

If the above response helps answer your question, remember to "Accept Answer" so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

hth

Marcin

Mike Brenner 20 Reputation points

2026-07-23T19:10:16.9433333+00:00

I agree, but with that X: partition, I can not re-install windows, a windows recovery drive does not work. the windows PE is a continuous loop. right now, I have 2 notepad (s) open in the command prompt environment and am able to copy my good files on the C drive to a USB. C drive shows HIDDEN, how to do I change that status. perhaps that is my problem because of my working desktop, it does not show hidden