adamhm: I see you sorted it out already, but I already started writing this so I decided to go ahead and finish it anyway for future reference. Here's how to make a bootable USB drive with Mint on it and to use it to delete annoying stuff like that:
First go to
https://www.linuxmint.com and download the 64-bit Cinnamon ISO (don't get the 32-bit version unless your system is 32-bit only) from one of the download locations listed there or using bittorrent. Next download the "Universal USB Installer" from
https://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/
Once that's all downloaded, plug in the USB drive then run the Universal USB Installer and enter the following settings:
For Step 1 select "Linux Mint" from the dropdown menu.
For Step 2 browse to & select the Linux Mint .iso you downloaded
For Step 3 select the USB drive you want to use
Then click "Create". If all goes as planned then once it's finished you should have a bootable USB drive with Linux Mint on it.
The next step may be a bit more tricky. Most likely your system won't automatically boot off the USB drive and you'll need to enter the BIOS/UEFI menu before it boots into Windows - you'll need to press something like Delete, F2 or F12 or so (it should tell you with a message like "Press X to enter setup" before it boots into Windows). Some laptop manufacturers like to make this difficult and restrict access to the BIOS/UEFI settings unless you power up the system by pressing a hidden button using a pin or other tool - you may need to check the system's manual for details if this is the case.
In the BIOS/UEFI menu, look for a boot override option - when you find it, select the USB drive and press enter (failing that, look for a "Boot Order" option and make sure that the USB drive or "USB Key" entry is at the top of the list, and then save & exit). At this point it should boot off the USB stick rather than the internal hard drive and it will display a boot menu with several options - Linux Mint should automatically boot into the live environment after a few seconds, or you can press enter to skip the countdown start Mint immediately. If this doesn't work you might also need to disable secure boot.
When it's finished booting you'll be at the desktop. Double-click on "Computer" to open the file manager and see a list of the drives in your system, then double-click on the drive with the files you want to delete/modify to open it. You won't be able to change anything on the drive yet until you open it as root (this is to prevent users from inadvertently making changes to the system); to do this right-click on the open space in the directory view and select the "Open as Root" option.
The drive will then be opened in a new file manager window running as root and you will be able to delete, edit or otherwise modify the drive contents as required. You shouldn't have much trouble figuring things out from here as it works very similarly to Windows' Explorer. The file system arrangement is a bit different (no "drive letters" etc.) but for these purposes it shouldn't matter.
When you're finished, reboot and remove the USB drive (and reset any BIOS/UEFI settings you changed to their original settings).
Thank you. Copied and pasted to a notebook file so I can do this. One day I'd like to give a big middle finger to Microsoft and just use Linux...... but I'm not there yet.... and TBH may not ever get there since I'm nearing the end of my time on this rock anyway. But thank you very much for this It is truly appreciated. These are the kind of directions I can actually follow lol
