If that folder is the only issue, why don't you try to run a linux distro live (usb or disk, although the latter is too slow for my tastes) and delete the folder once and for all?

EDIT: Anyway if you are going for a CHKDSK I'd say to backup your most important files before, to counter any kind of bad sectors and the likes.

If you mean backup any non-system files, i've had those backed up for days now.

Oh, good then :) .

Okay, ran CHKDSK and I still can't delete that file. I didn't check the option for bad sectors though, should I have done that?

No the "basic" CHKDSK should have been enough... you said it was the "sources" folder, did you try to browse it ? are you able too or do you also get an access denied.

It's still very strange that the take ownership/ change rights works and that you are still forbidden to delete the folder... The only case I could see of it happening would if the folder had a "reserved" name.

It's an old trick used by virus or malware, if you can create a file, using some Win32 tricks, named after system device, like for example CON, COM1, LPT1, etc... and those files would be un-deletable by normal means. But I highly doubt that the update process would create something like that.

If you can browse the "sources" folder can you delete individual files in it ?

One thing you could also try, not sure if you already did it, is to restart in safe mode and try to delete the folder from there.

Technically speaking yeah, though if bad sector would be found you'll lose all the data inbetween. Btw this is coming now on my mind....by any chance, did you reach the maximum characters allowed by windows between directories and folder's names? This could prevent deleting the folder too.

Always a good idea. An even better one is to do it command line, to see what happens. I tend to do that once per month on mine, just part of usual maintenance.
chkdsk c: /f /v /r
Will say it can't lock current drive and ask if you want to schedule the check after reboot, say yes, reboot and let it do its thing. At a 300 Gb partition, expect something like 1.5h with the physical check though, and if you want the report you have to be there when it finishes and see it for the second it takes between displaying it and rebooting again, as it doesn't save elsewhere (or I haven't found it if it does), but should be enough if you know where to look to see whether it says it made any changes and whether it lists any space taken up by bad sectors. And if there are changes to be made other than the common "free space marked as allocated" you'll usually see it saying it makes them as it goes along, not just at the end. (Ignore that bit about clearing unused index entries, that always happens.)

But I don't think it'll fix that file. There's probably something really messy about the ownership entries in that one after the OS back and forth.

Yeah, I can delete some files in it.

By the way, I also tried your solution of deleting the downloaded updates in that other folder to try and get Win 10 to install, the install still failed. I'm at a loss.

While i'm at it, I just want to apologize to you and others for taking time out of your days trying to help me. Such incredible bad luck on my part, lol.
I have no idea.

give up on 10 and reinstall 7 ;p
thats what i said before and im sticking with it ;p

Yeah, thankfully it auto reverts back to 7 if the 10 install fails.

well i meant just reinstall windows 7 from scratch so nothing from windows 10's botched upgrade leaves behind
you may never know it may influence win 7's continued operation
any botched update i view the resulting system as inherently wonky and its best to start over again

but thats how i feel

Indeed. Everything seems to be working though.

So he's giving up and returning to 7?

Yeah i wouldn't trust anything left behind from 10. Clean install is the only way to go.

Oh and don't hook it to the internet until you plug all the holes and the like. you don't need a 'security update' that constantly hampers you to upgrade, potentially with a malware X button in the corner.

I don't know, I got a few more weeks to try again, though i'll have to wait for clear weather on Friday now.