A bunch of strange folders on hard drive

[Owlet]

Hello. I need somobody to help me here. There is a bunch of strange folders on both disk C and D of my computer. Like 50 folders with strange names consisting of letters and numbers. I tried to google several of those names, but found absolutely nothing. It's really wired. I scanned the computer for viruses, but it appears to be clean. Attached are the screenshots of what I'm talking about.

All the folders on disk C are 95MB, and on D - 143MB.
I also tried to delete them, some of them didn't delete, "access denied", but some did. After that computer wouldn't boot, so I had to do system restore. Now I have all the folders back.

Can anybody help me with that? Thanks.

 

[kimsland]

Well you even have an OldHDD folder (no doubt chockers as well)

I would say backup your data, and install Windows clean (this time around)

 

[Owlet]

Yeah, that would be great... I don't want to reinstall all my programs, it such a pain to start all over again Any other suggestions? Regarding Old HDD, just didn't sort through some pictures yet, so what? It's not like I have all that trash there cause I'm stupid and don't even care. I just wanted to know about those folders, that's all. Sure, reinstalling will cure everything...

 

[kimsland]

but some did.(delete) After that computer wouldn't boot,

That's the biggest concern

We could probably remove the folders, but if they have system files in them that allow the computer to start normally (obviously yes) then that's the biggest issue.

Basically what's in them ? Have they all got similar things (like backup or something?)

Normally I don't say just re-install, but the real concern is that removing them may cause other issues.

If you're determined, I'd say start with Startup Control Panel and turn off all startups.
Also run CCleaner to remove all temp stuff

You might want to check Add/Remove programs for things you don't need anymore too.

By the way do you even have the Windows CD?

 

[Mictlantecuhtli]

The directory names look like Windows/Microsoft Update temporary directories (normally in %windir%\SoftwareDistribution\Download in Vista).

Has your temporary directory environment variable (TMP/TEMP) changed somehow? You can see it from command prompt by typing echo %TEMP%.

 

[Bobbye]

I can't read any of the folder names in your screen print. But I suggest you may want to change the view to Thumbnails or Details. This would give you more information on each folder.