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I have found some unwanted programs and possibly viruses lurking in my windows 7 ProgramData folder. I found them by tracing the programs from task manager. I never really thought much of the .exe's that were running until I noticed they were using memory and had long aplha-numeric titles that I didn't understand. I am concerned about these unknown exe's and would like to delete them. Are they system files that are necessary for windows to run? Will I make my system unusable and unable to repair? If my system did crash and failed to boot, would I be able to hook my hard drive up to another NTSF system and be able to salvage my data and/or re-copy the necessary files to make it boot again given that I had a backup?

edit for explanation of possible duplicate:

I'm not asking how to remove them. I'm asking if C:\ProgramData is vital to the windows 7 system. If the entire folder was deleted would the system crash or be fine?

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Cam Jones
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  • Possible duplicate of [How can I remove malicious spyware, malware, adware, viruses, trojans or rootkits from my PC?](http://superuser.com/questions/100360/how-can-i-remove-malicious-spyware-malware-adware-viruses-trojans-or-rootkit) – DavidPostill Feb 02 '17 at 16:25
  • I'm not asking how to remove them. I'm asking if C:\ProgramData is vital to the windows 7 system. If the entire folder was deleted would the system crash or be fine? – Cam Jones Feb 03 '17 at 01:18
  • A lot of programs install there... – DavidPostill Feb 03 '17 at 09:45
  • I understand that, but are any of the programs that install there or come there installed by default necessary for windows to run? For example if I go delete system32 from the Windows folder, then I won't have a running system anymore and it would have to be repaired or re-installed. would deleting the ProgramData folder have the same effect? – Cam Jones Feb 03 '17 at 11:25
  • Why is this tagged NTFS? o.O – Andrea Lazzarotto Feb 03 '17 at 13:16

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