Can not delete files

M

Munger

I have had major problems deleting files, mainly temporary
files. Currently I am getting:

"Can not delete xxxxxxx: Can not find the specified file.
Make sure you specifiy the correct path and filename."

I am current with SP4. FS is NTFS. I have defragged,
chkdsked until blue in the face. Still it will not
delete. I am concerned that my FS might be corrupt(ing).
Anyone experienced this?
 
M

munger

delete from explorer. they are old internet temp files
that I moved from C:\Doc..\user\local\...
CZXUDDK
DSHFDFK
CDHJDKK
(usual spot for internet temp files)
to the recycle bin. the file name is news[1]
according to the error. have not tried command line
because I dont know where recycle bin is in directory
structure. Does that answer your questions?
 
R

R. C. White

Hi, Munger.

Temporary Internet Files (TIF) don't follow the usual rules for Windows
files. Recycle Bin files also have their own special rules and behaviors.

First, go into Internet Explorer and empty your TIF cache there. (Tools |
Internet Options... | General tab) Then change the location of your TIF,
but note the old path first. Exit IE and Restart your computer. Now you
should be able to delete all the TIFs from their former location, using
either Windows Explorer or the "DOS" window, since they will no longer be
"special" TIF files. Next time you enter IE, the new files will be created
in the new location you specified. But you can, if you like, immediately
use IE to move them right back to their original spot. Exit IE and Restart
your computer and IE again to allow the recreation, then delete the
no-longer-special ones from the temporary location.

After all these maneuvers, of course, empty your Recycle Bin - AND your
Norton Protected Files, or whatever steps are appropriate for any other such
erasure-protection program you may be running.

As for the directory structure of the Recycle Bin, each "drive" has its own
\Recycler folder - note that "r" at the end, not "d". In addition, the boot
volume (typically C: - wherever the \WinNT or \Windows folder is) also has a
folder named \Recycled. To see these, in the "DOS" window, type: dir
c:\recycl*.* /a. The "/a" will show hidden, system and read-only files,
too. Add the "/s" switch (dir c:\recycl*.* /s /a) to see all the hidden
files in all subdirectories any directory that starts with "recycl". Also
look at d:\, e:\, etc., to see the contents of all your drives.

Be careful in dealing with these special files since you admittedly do not
understand them. And they ARE different!

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP

munger said:
delete from explorer. they are old internet temp files
that I moved from C:\Doc..\user\local\...
CZXUDDK
DSHFDFK
CDHJDKK
(usual spot for internet temp files)
to the recycle bin. the file name is news[1]
according to the error. have not tried command line
because I dont know where recycle bin is in directory
structure. Does that answer your questions?
-----Original Message-----

How are you trying to delete? From command line, or from Windows Explorer?
Is there anything particularly special about the target
filenames?
 

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