Can't delete mystery folders in C: drive

[riprap]

Hello, All
Wondered if anyone had first-hand knowledge of this sort of
occurence with XP Pro SP2:
I recently bought a new computer from a trusted private party, with
the OS pre-installed. The unit runs very well and I have no major
complaints. But what's puzzling is the persistence of 2 mysterious
folders in C drive, both of which have been there since I first fired
up the box. The names of each of these folders are a simple string of
numbers & lower case letters, one of them 22 characters long & 23
chars long in the other.
In the interest of keeping things clean & clear I'd like to delete
both of these directories but have had no luck in doing so; every time
I attempt to delete I get a simple Access Denied error.

What I've already tried:

Taken ownership of both folders (which seemed to execute

fine). Still can't delete them.

Gone into command-prompt window and searched for any

attributes for files w/in; none listed.

While in cmd-prompt I tried "rmdir /s" but no joy.
Gone into Safe Mode logged in as Administrator. No luck

(still get access denied error).

Started Recovery Console & attempted to delete. No difference

in results.

I should note that one of the folders (named
"ebcfbf429dfc85cad0869a1b") contains a sub-folder named "update", but
there's no access to that folder, either.....

Anybody got any experience with this sort of thing?

TIA for your time [:-D

riprap

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Hello, All
Wondered if anyone had first-hand knowledge of this sort of
occurence with XP Pro SP2:
I recently bought a new computer from a trusted private party, with
the OS pre-installed. The unit runs very well and I have no major
complaints. But what's puzzling is the persistence of 2 mysterious
folders in C drive, both of which have been there since I first fired
up the box. The names of each of these folders are a simple string of
numbers & lower case letters, one of them 22 characters long & 23
chars long in the other.
In the interest of keeping things clean & clear I'd like to delete
both of these directories but have had no luck in doing so; every time
I attempt to delete I get a simple Access Denied error.

What I've already tried:

Taken ownership of both folders (which seemed to execute

fine). Still can't delete them.

Gone into command-prompt window and searched for any

attributes for files w/in; none listed.

While in cmd-prompt I tried "rmdir /s" but no joy.
Gone into Safe Mode logged in as Administrator. No luck

(still get access denied error).

Started Recovery Console & attempted to delete. No difference

in results.

I should note that one of the folders (named
"ebcfbf429dfc85cad0869a1b") contains a sub-folder named "update", but
there's no access to that folder, either.....

Anybody got any experience with this sort of thing?

TIA for your time [:-D

riprap

- Boot into Safe Mode
- Open a Command Prompt
- Obtain the "Short File Name" with this command:
dir /x dir c:\e*.*
- Try to delete the folder by its short file name:
rd /s /q ebc~....

 

[riprap]

"riprap" <[email protected]> wrote in message

===<snip>===
- Boot into Safe Mode
- Open a Command Prompt
- Obtain the "Short File Name" with this command:
dir /x dir c:\e*.*
- Try to delete the folder by its short file name:
rd /s /q ebc~....
===<snip>===

Hello, Pegasus
[thanks much for taking the time!]

I tried what you suggested; what follows is the result [copied &
pasted frm cmd-prompt window]:

C:\Documents and Settings\terence>cd \

C:\>dir /x dir c:\e*.*
Volume in drive C is op.sys
Volume Serial Number is 1092-125D

Directory of C:\


Directory of C:\

11/06/2007 09:13 PM <DIR> EBCFBF~1
ebcfbf429dfc85cad0869a1b
0 File(s) 0 bytes
1 Dir(s) 27,766,202,368 bytes free

C:\>rd /s /q EBCFBF~1
EBCFBF~1\update - Access is denied.

C:\>

Pegasus: I'm still denied access....This mystery is not going to
ruin my day, and I can live w/ those 2 folders if there's no way to
get rid of them.
BUT if you have any other ideas I'd love to hear from you! I'll
monitor this thread for at least a few days.
Thanks again [

riprap

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

The error message you quote suggests that the problem
lies with the "Update" subdirectory, not with the main
EBC... directory. If this was my machine then I would
do this:
- Open a Command Prompt
- Type these commands:
cd /d c:\
cacls EBCFBF~1\Update (to check the permissions)
cacls EBCFBF~1\*.* | more (to check more permissions)
calcs /t /e EBCFBF~1\Update /g everyone:F
move EBCFBF~1\Update c:\
rd /s Update

If this does not fix the problem then it's decision time:
a) Live with it, or
b) Boot the machine with a Bart PE boot CD and try again.

A Bart PE boot CD (www.bootdisk.com) is a very powerful
administrator's tool but it can take a few hours to make one.

BTW, I assume that you have run chkdsk c: /F ?

"riprap" <[email protected]> wrote in message

===<snip>===
- Boot into Safe Mode
- Open a Command Prompt
- Obtain the "Short File Name" with this command:
dir /x dir c:\e*.*
- Try to delete the folder by its short file name:
rd /s /q ebc~....
===<snip>===

Hello, Pegasus
[thanks much for taking the time!]

I tried what you suggested; what follows is the result [copied &
pasted frm cmd-prompt window]:

C:\Documents and Settings\terence>cd \

C:\>dir /x dir c:\e*.*
Volume in drive C is op.sys
Volume Serial Number is 1092-125D

Directory of C:\


Directory of C:\

11/06/2007 09:13 PM <DIR> EBCFBF~1
ebcfbf429dfc85cad0869a1b
0 File(s) 0 bytes
1 Dir(s) 27,766,202,368 bytes free

C:\>rd /s /q EBCFBF~1
EBCFBF~1\update - Access is denied.

C:\>

Pegasus: I'm still denied access....This mystery is not going to
ruin my day, and I can live w/ those 2 folders if there's no way to
get rid of them.
BUT if you have any other ideas I'd love to hear from you! I'll
monitor this thread for at least a few days.
Thanks again [

riprap

 

[riprap]

===snip!===>
. If this was my machine then I would
do this:
- Open a Command Prompt
- Type these commands:
cd /d c:\
cacls EBCFBF~1\Update (to check the permissions)
cacls EBCFBF~1\*.* | more (to check more permissions)
calcs /t /e EBCFBF~1\Update /g everyone:F
move EBCFBF~1\Update c:\
rd /s Update

If this does not fix the problem then it's decision time:
a) Live with it, or
b) Boot the machine with a Bart PE boot CD and try again.

A Bart PE boot CD (www.bootdisk.com) is a very powerful
administrator's tool but it can take a few hours to make one.

BTW, I assume that you have run chkdsk c: /F ?
===snip!===>

Hello, Pegasus
[Again, Your time is much-appreciated].....After messing around
with the cacls cmd for about a half-hour displaying & editing
permissions, the 'mystery' has been resolved and both those folders
are deleted. *A couple of items you might note [in case you hear of
this again]:
It seems that both of those oddly-named folders were directly
related to WMP 11. I say this because (a) this is the first box I've
run that media player on, and (b) this morning I happened to be
using that player & found that the contents of those oddball folders
had changed. For one thing, a .dll file named "wpdinstallutil.dll"
appeared. Apparently this .dll file [and by logical extension the
mystery-folders which contained it] was named by drunken chickens.
[cf http://forums.techarena.in/showthread.php?t=670527 post]

At any rate, it's one more WinMystery you have solved!
Thanks again, & have yourself an excellent weekend [

riprap

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

===snip!===>
. If this was my machine then I would
do this:
- Open a Command Prompt
- Type these commands:
cd /d c:\
cacls EBCFBF~1\Update (to check the permissions)
cacls EBCFBF~1\*.* | more (to check more permissions)
calcs /t /e EBCFBF~1\Update /g everyone:F
move EBCFBF~1\Update c:\
rd /s Update

If this does not fix the problem then it's decision time:
a) Live with it, or
b) Boot the machine with a Bart PE boot CD and try again.

A Bart PE boot CD (www.bootdisk.com) is a very powerful
administrator's tool but it can take a few hours to make one.

BTW, I assume that you have run chkdsk c: /F ?
===snip!===>

Hello, Pegasus
[Again, Your time is much-appreciated].....After messing around
with the cacls cmd for about a half-hour displaying & editing
permissions, the 'mystery' has been resolved and both those folders
are deleted. *A couple of items you might note [in case you hear of
this again]:
It seems that both of those oddly-named folders were directly
related to WMP 11. I say this because (a) this is the first box I've
run that media player on, and (b) this morning I happened to be
using that player & found that the contents of those oddball folders
had changed. For one thing, a .dll file named "wpdinstallutil.dll"
appeared. Apparently this .dll file [and by logical extension the
mystery-folders which contained it] was named by drunken chickens.
[cf http://forums.techarena.in/showthread.php?t=670527 post]

At any rate, it's one more WinMystery you have solved!
Thanks again, & have yourself an excellent weekend [

riprap

Thanks for your feedback. I'm puzzled why your earlier action
of seizing ownership failed to resolve the problem.

 

[Plato]

I recently bought a new computer from a trusted private party, with
the OS pre-installed. The unit runs very well and I have no major
complaints. But what's puzzling is the persistence of 2 mysterious
folders in C drive, both of which have been there since I first fired
up the box. The names of each of these folders are a simple string of
numbers & lower case letters, one of them 22 characters long & 23
chars long in the other.

Stubborn File/Folder Deleters:
http://www.bootdisk.com/utility.htm
GENERAL FILE UTILITIES
Stubborn File Deleters

 

[loz]

Always use an easy solution try this free software
http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/ LOZ

Hello, All
Wondered if anyone had first-hand knowledge of this sort of
occurence with XP Pro SP2:
I recently bought a new computer from a trusted private party, with
the OS pre-installed. The unit runs very well and I have no major
complaints. But what's puzzling is the persistence of 2 mysterious
folders in C drive, both of which have been there since I first fired
up the box. The names of each of these folders are a simple string of
numbers & lower case letters, one of them 22 characters long & 23
chars long in the other.
In the interest of keeping things clean & clear I'd like to delete
both of these directories but have had no luck in doing so; every time
I attempt to delete I get a simple Access Denied error.

What I've already tried:

Taken ownership of both folders (which seemed to execute

fine). Still can't delete them.

Gone into command-prompt window and searched for any

attributes for files w/in; none listed.

While in cmd-prompt I tried "rmdir /s" but no joy.
Gone into Safe Mode logged in as Administrator. No luck

(still get access denied error).

Started Recovery Console & attempted to delete. No difference

in results.

I should note that one of the folders (named
"ebcfbf429dfc85cad0869a1b") contains a sub-folder named "update", but
there's no access to that folder, either.....

Anybody got any experience with this sort of thing?

TIA for your time [:-D

riprap