app to replace characters not allowed by windows XP with NTFS and FATfile systems

  • Thread starter Thread starter DJW
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DJW

Is there a windows XP application to find file or folder names that have characters not allowed and either delete those characters or replace them? I have about a thousand files with question marks in the file name on my harddrive that were moved over from a Mac. When I try to sync my files with SyncBack from one hard drive to another within my windows network. I get an error that those files with the question mark can not be copied. Why and howcan I even have them existing on my windows formatted hard drives containing question marks in the file names? I have both NTFS and FAT file systems on different internal and external hard drives that I am trying to copy to and fro from.
 
Is there a windows XP application to find file or folder names that
have characters not allowed and either delete those characters or
replace them? I have about a thousand files with question marks in
the file name on my hard drive that were moved over from a Mac. When
I try to sync my files with SyncBack from one hard drive to another
within my windows network. I get an error that those files with the
question mark can not be copied. Why and how can I even have them
existing on my windows formatted hard drives containing question
marks in the file names? I have both NTFS and FAT file systems on
different internal and external hard drives that I am trying to copy
to and fro from.
Click to expand...

I know that there is a long filename renamer utility. It's called Long
Filename Finder. http://www.dcsoft.com

I'm not sure if it can also be used to find weird characters.

Yousuf Khan
 
DJW said:
Is there a windows XP application to find file or folder names that have
characters not allowed and either delete those characters or replace them?
I have about a thousand files with question marks in the file name on my
hard drive that were moved over from a Mac. When I try to sync my files
with SyncBack from one hard drive to another within my windows network. I
get an error that those files with the question mark can not be copied.
Why and how can I even have them existing on my windows formatted hard
drives containing question marks in the file names? I have both NTFS and
FAT file systems on different internal and external hard drives that I am
trying to copy to and fro from.
Click to expand...

I think you need to script one yourself. If you have Linux experience,
cygwin lets you use that. Otherwise, deopends on what language
you have skills with. Your problem is psecialized enough that
there may not be anything you can just download and run.

Arno
 
Is there a windows XP application to find file or folder names that have characters not allowed and either delete those characters or replace them? I have about a thousand files with question marks in the file name on my hard drive that were moved over from a Mac. When I try to sync my files with SyncBack from one hard drive to another within my windows network. I get an error that those files with the question mark can not be copied. Why and how can I even have them existing on my windows formatted hard drives containing question marks in the file names? I have both NTFS and FAT file systems on different internal and external hard drives that I am trying to copy to and fro from.
Click to expand...

Are they in just a few directories, or are they all over the disk?

I have an idea for creating a batch file, but it would be very tedious
if there were too many directories.

- Franc Zabkar
 
Are they in just a few directories, or are they all over the disk?

I have an idea for creating a batch file, but it would be very tedious
if there were too many directories.
Click to expand...

Maybe boot into, for example, Knoppix (or some other Live CD) and run
the rename in the GNU/Linux environment?

Grant.
 
Maybe boot into, for example, Knoppix (or some other Live CD) and run
the rename in the GNU/Linux environment?
Click to expand...

My suggestion would be something like this:

Type the following at a command prompt:

dir | find "?" > qmarks.bat

I'm assuming that qmarks.bat would then contain lines such as the
following:

LONGFI~1 EXT 36 01-21-13 8:38p longfilenamewith?.ext

Now open the qmarks.bat file in a text editor and replace all
occurrences of "?" with something else, eg "_".

Import these columnar data into an Excel spreadsheet and manipulate
the columns so that you create columns of the form ...

ren LONGFI~1 EXT "longfilenamewith_.ext"

Then apply a formula to add periods and quotes where necessary and
export the data.

You should then have an executable BATch file which will do the
renaming for you. It should consist of lines such as ...

ren LONGFI~1.EXT "longfilenamewith_.ext"

The quotes are necessary to account for spaces in filenames.

- Franc Zabkar
 
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