Mod gone wrong M2TW Battles Non-functional

I tried to mod and made some rookie errors. I didn't delete descr_geography_new.db or descr_geography_new.txt at the time - I wasn't playing much - then I realized that I had completely messed something up and decided to uninstall/reinstall.

The uninstall/reinstall did not work, as the game was clearly accessing some files that were not actually "deleted" (thanks Windows). I uninstalled again, cleaned my free-space, and reinstalled. This used to work with old MTW on XP, when I made modding errors. It did not work again. I am getting old save game files after new installs. I am not sure what to do. Is there anyway to fix this from a modders perspective?

Note to moderators: if you think this is an Apothocary question, please delete/lock instead of redirecting. I posted a similar question in the Apothocary from a straight techincal standpoint, this is more for the input of veteran modders. Thanks

So you mean you are using Vista that's causing the trouble?
You can make it show all files afaik as it hides some of the files and folders in several directories.

Some more info here:
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=99425

I'm not sure if it's a Vista problem or just Windows in general. I hit "run compatability files" and all showed up, but the problem is that I'm having stuff show up that should have been done away with when I uninstalled/wiped free space/reinstalled. For instance, after I reinstall, I can load games I saved long ago that should be gone now.

Uninstall and wiping free space does not get rid of files that are still there I don't think. Just delete all the files that shouldn't be there.

Or if you fancy a reinstall, uninstall then delete the entire folder, before you reinstall.

Thanks. I'm trying that right now. It will take awhile to wipe away the folder. I'll let you know how it goes.