cannot delete file: cannot read from the source file or disk

[Yakimo]

I run WindowsXP.
There are 3 files, created somehow, that I cannot delete.
I read all the posts from the group but I couldn't find my case.
Nothing is working - moving files, RD, del /s .... from DOS
The problem is that filenames used weird characters.
Filenames look like:
?~?>º??


.p
? vk.<

if I go CMD and try to do whatever, I get "The filename, directory name, or
volume label syntax is incorrect."
I tried chkdsk /f and it didn't help
CheckDisk from drive properties, tools doesn't help either

Any good ideas?

Thanks,
Yakimo

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

I run WindowsXP.
There are 3 files, created somehow, that I cannot delete.
I read all the posts from the group but I couldn't find my case.
Nothing is working - moving files, RD, del /s .... from DOS
The problem is that filenames used weird characters.
Filenames look like:
?~?>º??


.p
? vk.<

if I go CMD and try to do whatever, I get "The filename, directory
name, or volume label syntax is incorrect."

If you type in dir /x in a command prompt in this folder, does it show you
the file names?

I tried chkdsk /f and it didn't help
CheckDisk from drive properties, tools doesn't help either

It's the same thing as chkdsk.

 

[Yakimo]

Yes, it shows exactly the same file names, with those wrong characters. Here
is the output of DIR /X
10/16/2004 07:48 PM <DIR> ..
03/13/2003 10:57 AM 0
.p
10/16/2004 07:48 PM 0 1.txt
03/13/2003 10:57 AM 16,384 èÿÿÿvk.<
07/24/2105 01:00 AM 805,109,760 ð~Ð>§èÂ


"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]"

 

[Bill James]

If there is nothing in that directory that you need to save, try changing to that directory (important), then executing the command del *.* to see if that will remove the files. If there are files you need to keep, move them to another folder first, since using the wildcard * will cause your good files to also be deleted if they are in the same folder.

--

Bill James
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User

Windows VBScript Utilities » www.billsway.com/vbspage/
Windows Tweaks & Tips » www.billsway.com/notes_public/

Yes, it shows exactly the same file names, with those wrong characters. Here
is the output of DIR /X
10/16/2004 07:48 PM <DIR> ..
03/13/2003 10:57 AM 0
.p
10/16/2004 07:48 PM 0 1.txt
03/13/2003 10:57 AM 16,384 èÿÿÿvk.<
07/24/2105 01:00 AM 805,109,760 ð~Ð>§èÂ


"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]"

If you type in dir /x in a command prompt in this folder, does it show you
the file names?



It's the same thing as chkdsk.

 

[Yakimo]

Bill,
that is one of the first things I tried. I got:
C:\Temp\Content\t\=~->ºF-?
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.

Any other suggestions?

If there is nothing in that directory that you need to save, try changing to
that directory (important), then executing the command del *.* to see
if that will remove the files. If there are files you need to keep, move
them to another folder first, since using the wildcard * will cause your
good files to also be deleted if they are in the same folder.

--

Bill James
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User

Windows VBScript Utilities » www.billsway.com/vbspage/
Windows Tweaks & Tips » www.billsway.com/notes_public/

Yes, it shows exactly the same file names, with those wrong characters. Here
is the output of DIR /X
10/16/2004 07:48 PM <DIR> ..
03/13/2003 10:57 AM 0
.p
10/16/2004 07:48 PM 0 1.txt
03/13/2003 10:57 AM 16,384 èÿÿÿvk.<
07/24/2105 01:00 AM 805,109,760 ð~Ð>§èÂ


"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]"

If you type in dir /x in a command prompt in this folder, does it show you
the file names?



It's the same thing as chkdsk.

 

[Jim Byrd]

Hi Yakimo - Courtesy of Dave Patrick: Try prepending the path w/ \\.\

Ex:

del \\.\Drive:\directory\*.*
(Note: the period between \\ and \)

This syntax bypasses the reserved word check allowing you to delete.

--
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP



In

Bill,
that is one of the first things I tried. I got:
C:\Temp\Content\t\=~->ºF-?
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.

Any other suggestions?

If there is nothing in that directory that you need to save, try
changing to that directory (important), then executing the command
del *.* to see if that will remove the files. If there are files
you need to keep, move them to another folder first, since using the
wildcard * will cause your good files to also be deleted if they are
in the same folder.

Yes, it shows exactly the same file names, with those wrong
characters. Here is the output of DIR /X
10/16/2004 07:48 PM <DIR> ..
03/13/2003 10:57 AM 0
.p
10/16/2004 07:48 PM 0 1.txt
03/13/2003 10:57 AM 16,384 èÿÿÿvk.<
07/24/2105 01:00 AM 805,109,760 ð~Ð>§èÂ


"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]"

Yakimo wrote:
I run WindowsXP.
There are 3 files, created somehow, that I cannot delete.
I read all the posts from the group but I couldn't find my case.
Nothing is working - moving files, RD, del /s .... from DOS
The problem is that filenames used weird characters.
Filenames look like:
?~?>º??


.p
? vk.<

if I go CMD and try to do whatever, I get "The filename, directory
name, or volume label syntax is incorrect."

If you type in dir /x in a command prompt in this folder, does it
show you the file names?


I tried chkdsk /f and it didn't help
CheckDisk from drive properties, tools doesn't help either

It's the same thing as chkdsk.


Any good ideas?

Thanks,
Yakimo

 

[Yakimo]

Doesn't work, Jim. Here is the output:
----------------------------------
C:\Temp\Content\t>del \\.\c:\temp\content\t\*.*
\\.\c:\temp\content\t\*.*, Are you sure (Y/N)? y
\\.\c:\temp\content\t\?.p?
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.
\\.\c:\temp\content\t\F vk.<
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.
\\.\c:\temp\content\t\=~->ºF-?
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.
--------------------------------

I also tried
rd \\.\c:\temp\content\t /s
The result is exactly the same as above: the same error message

I am hoping there are other ideas

../Yakimo

Hi Yakimo - Courtesy of Dave Patrick: Try prepending the path w/ \\.\

Ex:

del \\.\Drive:\directory\*.*
(Note: the period between \\ and \)

This syntax bypasses the reserved word check allowing you to delete.

--
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP



In

Bill,
that is one of the first things I tried. I got:
C:\Temp\Content\t\=~->ºF-?
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.

Any other suggestions?

If there is nothing in that directory that you need to save, try
changing to that directory (important), then executing the command
del *.* to see if that will remove the files. If there are files
you need to keep, move them to another folder first, since using the
wildcard * will cause your good files to also be deleted if they are
in the same folder.

Yes, it shows exactly the same file names, with those wrong
characters. Here is the output of DIR /X
10/16/2004 07:48 PM <DIR> ..
03/13/2003 10:57 AM 0
.p
10/16/2004 07:48 PM 0 1.txt
03/13/2003 10:57 AM 16,384 èÿÿÿvk.<
07/24/2105 01:00 AM 805,109,760 ð~Ð>§èÂ


"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]"
message Yakimo wrote:
I run WindowsXP.
There are 3 files, created somehow, that I cannot delete.
I read all the posts from the group but I couldn't find my case.
Nothing is working - moving files, RD, del /s .... from DOS
The problem is that filenames used weird characters.
Filenames look like:
?~?>º??


.p
? vk.<

if I go CMD and try to do whatever, I get "The filename, directory
name, or volume label syntax is incorrect."

If you type in dir /x in a command prompt in this folder, does it
show you the file names?


I tried chkdsk /f and it didn't help
CheckDisk from drive properties, tools doesn't help either

It's the same thing as chkdsk.


Any good ideas?

Thanks,
Yakimo

 

[David Candy]

The purpose of \\.\ is to allow paths of 32000 rather than 260. The file system is OS neutral. It will store files for any operating system. But operating system can only work with files that meet it's rules. And the only OS left in NT is the Windows sub system.

Win 2000 includes Windows and Posix. Posix can often delete files that windows can't (as it's legal names are completely different). See if you can use Posix to delete from a W2K machine..

File Name Conventions
Although each file system can have specific rules about the formation of individual components in a directory or file name, all file systems follow the same general conventions: a base file name and an optional extension, separated by a period. For example, the MS-DOS FAT file system supports 8 characters for the base file name and 3 characters for the extension. This is known as an 8.3 file name. The FAT file system and NTFS support file names that can be up to 255 characters long. This is known as a long file name. To get an MS-DOS file name given a long file name, use the GetShortPathName function. To get the full path of a file, use the GetFullPathName function.

Both file systems use the backslash (\) character to separate directory names and the file name when forming a path.

General rules for applications creating names for directories and files or processing names supplied by the user include the following:

a.. Use any character in the current code page for a name, but do not use a path separator, a character in the range 0 through 31, or any character explicitly disallowed by the file system. A name can contain characters in the extended character set (128–255).
b.. Use the backslash (\), the forward slash (/), or both to separate components in a path. No other character is acceptable as a path separator. Note that UNC names must adhere to the following format: \\server\share.
c.. Use a period (.) as a directory component in a path to represent the current directory.
d.. Use two consecutive periods (..) as a directory component in a path to represent the parent of the current directory.
e.. Use a period (.) to separate the base file name from the extension in a directory name or file name.
f.. Do not use the following characters in directory names or file names, because they are reserved:
< > : " / \ |

g.. Do not use device names, such as aux, con, lpt1, and prn, as file names or directory names.
h.. Process a path as a null-terminated string. The maximum length for a path, including a trailing backslash, is given by MAX_PATH.
The Unicode versions of several functions permit paths that exceed the MAX_PATH length if the path has the "\\?\" prefix. The "\\?\" tells the function to turn off path parsing. However, each component in the path cannot be more than MAX_PATH characters long. Use the "\\?\" prefix with paths for local storage devices and the "\\?\UNC\" prefix with paths having the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) format. The "\\?\" is ignored as part of the path. For example, "\\?\C:\myworld\private" is seen as "C:\myworld\private", and "\\?\UNC\bill_g_1\hotstuff\coolapps" is seen as "\\bill_g_1\hotstuff\coolapps".

i.. Do not assume case sensitivity. Consider names such as OSCAR, Oscar, and oscar to be the same.
j.. The following reserved words cannot be used as the name of a file: CON, PRN, AUX, CLOCK$, NUL, COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, COM5, COM6, COM7, COM8, COM9, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, LPT4, LPT5, LPT6, LPT7, LPT8, and LPT9. Also, reserved words followed by an extension—for example, NUL.tx7—are invalid file names.
By following the rules listed in this section, an application can create valid names for files and directories regardless of the file system in use.

Backslashes (\) are used as element dividers in paths (dividing the file name from the path to it, or directories from one another in a path). You cannot use them in file or directory names. They may be required as part of volume names (for example, "C:\").





--
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.uscricket.com

Doesn't work, Jim. Here is the output:
----------------------------------
C:\Temp\Content\t>del \\.\c:\temp\content\t\*.*
\\.\c:\temp\content\t\*.*, Are you sure (Y/N)? y
\\.\c:\temp\content\t\?.p?
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.
\\.\c:\temp\content\t\F vk.<
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.
\\.\c:\temp\content\t\=~->ºF-?
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.
--------------------------------

I also tried
rd \\.\c:\temp\content\t /s
The result is exactly the same as above: the same error message

I am hoping there are other ideas

./Yakimo

Hi Yakimo - Courtesy of Dave Patrick: Try prepending the path w/ \\.\

Ex:

del \\.\Drive:\directory\*.*
(Note: the period between \\ and \)

This syntax bypasses the reserved word check allowing you to delete.

--
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP



In

Bill,
that is one of the first things I tried. I got:
C:\Temp\Content\t\=~->ºF-?
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.

Any other suggestions?

If there is nothing in that directory that you need to save, try
changing to that directory (important), then executing the command
del *.* to see if that will remove the files. If there are files
you need to keep, move them to another folder first, since using the
wildcard * will cause your good files to also be deleted if they are
in the same folder.


Yes, it shows exactly the same file names, with those wrong
characters. Here is the output of DIR /X
10/16/2004 07:48 PM <DIR> ..
03/13/2003 10:57 AM 0
.p
10/16/2004 07:48 PM 0 1.txt
03/13/2003 10:57 AM 16,384 èÿÿÿvk.<
07/24/2105 01:00 AM 805,109,760 ð~Ð>§èÂ


"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]"
message Yakimo wrote:
I run WindowsXP.
There are 3 files, created somehow, that I cannot delete.
I read all the posts from the group but I couldn't find my case.
Nothing is working - moving files, RD, del /s .... from DOS
The problem is that filenames used weird characters.
Filenames look like:
?~?>º??


.p
? vk.<

if I go CMD and try to do whatever, I get "The filename, directory
name, or volume label syntax is incorrect."

If you type in dir /x in a command prompt in this folder, does it
show you the file names?


I tried chkdsk /f and it didn't help
CheckDisk from drive properties, tools doesn't help either

It's the same thing as chkdsk.


Any good ideas?

Thanks,
Yakimo

 

[Jim Byrd]

Hi Yakimo - If Dave's POSIX suggestion doesn't help, you might look at
Copylock or Killbox and see if they'll do it for you.

A program called Copylock, here,
http://noeld.com/programs.asp?cat=misc#CopyLock can aid in the process of
"replacing, moving, renaming or deleting one or many files which are
currently in use (e.g. system files like comctl32.dll, or virus/trojan
files.)" Another is Killbox, here:
http://download.broadbandmedic.com/Killbox.exe


--
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP



In

Doesn't work, Jim. Here is the output:
----------------------------------
C:\Temp\Content\t>del \\.\c:\temp\content\t\*.*
\\.\c:\temp\content\t\*.*, Are you sure (Y/N)? y
\\.\c:\temp\content\t\?.p?
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.
\\.\c:\temp\content\t\F vk.<
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.
\\.\c:\temp\content\t\=~->ºF-?
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.
--------------------------------

I also tried
rd \\.\c:\temp\content\t /s
The result is exactly the same as above: the same error message

I am hoping there are other ideas

./Yakimo

Hi Yakimo - Courtesy of Dave Patrick: Try prepending the path w/
\\.\

Ex:

del \\.\Drive:\directory\*.*
(Note: the period between \\ and \)

This syntax bypasses the reserved word check allowing you to delete.

--
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP



In

Bill,
that is one of the first things I tried. I got:
C:\Temp\Content\t\=~->ºF-?
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.

Any other suggestions?

If there is nothing in that directory that you need to save, try
changing to that directory (important), then executing the command
del *.* to see if that will remove the files. If there are files
you need to keep, move them to another folder first, since using the
wildcard * will cause your good files to also be deleted if they are
in the same folder.


Yes, it shows exactly the same file names, with those wrong
characters. Here is the output of DIR /X
10/16/2004 07:48 PM <DIR> ..
03/13/2003 10:57 AM 0
.p
10/16/2004 07:48 PM 0 1.txt
03/13/2003 10:57 AM 16,384 èÿÿÿvk.<
07/24/2105 01:00 AM 805,109,760 ð~Ð>§èÂ


"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]"
in message Yakimo wrote:
I run WindowsXP.
There are 3 files, created somehow, that I cannot delete.
I read all the posts from the group but I couldn't find my case.
Nothing is working - moving files, RD, del /s .... from DOS
The problem is that filenames used weird characters.
Filenames look like:
?~?>º??


.p
? vk.<

if I go CMD and try to do whatever, I get "The filename,
directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect."

If you type in dir /x in a command prompt in this folder, does it
show you the file names?


I tried chkdsk /f and it didn't help
CheckDisk from drive properties, tools doesn't help either

It's the same thing as chkdsk.


Any good ideas?

Thanks,
Yakimo

 

[Yakimo]

Where can I find POSIX to try? Copylock doesn't work - gives the same error

Hi Yakimo - If Dave's POSIX suggestion doesn't help, you might look at
Copylock or Killbox and see if they'll do it for you.

A program called Copylock, here,
http://noeld.com/programs.asp?cat=misc#CopyLock can aid in the process of
"replacing, moving, renaming or deleting one or many files which are
currently in use (e.g. system files like comctl32.dll, or virus/trojan
files.)" Another is Killbox, here:
http://download.broadbandmedic.com/Killbox.exe


--
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP



In

Doesn't work, Jim. Here is the output:
----------------------------------
C:\Temp\Content\t>del \\.\c:\temp\content\t\*.*
\\.\c:\temp\content\t\*.*, Are you sure (Y/N)? y
\\.\c:\temp\content\t\?.p?
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.
\\.\c:\temp\content\t\F vk.<
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.
\\.\c:\temp\content\t\=~->ºF-?
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.
--------------------------------

I also tried
rd \\.\c:\temp\content\t /s
The result is exactly the same as above: the same error message

I am hoping there are other ideas

./Yakimo

Hi Yakimo - Courtesy of Dave Patrick: Try prepending the path w/
\\.\

Ex:

del \\.\Drive:\directory\*.*
(Note: the period between \\ and \)

This syntax bypasses the reserved word check allowing you to delete.

--
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP



In Yakimo <[email protected]> typed:
Bill,
that is one of the first things I tried. I got:
C:\Temp\Content\t\=~->ºF-?
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.

Any other suggestions?

If there is nothing in that directory that you need to save, try
changing to that directory (important), then executing the command
del *.* to see if that will remove the files. If there are files
you need to keep, move them to another folder first, since using the
wildcard * will cause your good files to also be deleted if they are
in the same folder.


Yes, it shows exactly the same file names, with those wrong
characters. Here is the output of DIR /X
10/16/2004 07:48 PM <DIR> ..
03/13/2003 10:57 AM 0
.p
10/16/2004 07:48 PM 0 1.txt
03/13/2003 10:57 AM 16,384 èÿÿÿvk.<
07/24/2105 01:00 AM 805,109,760 ð~Ð>§èÂ


"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]"
in message Yakimo wrote:
I run WindowsXP.
There are 3 files, created somehow, that I cannot delete.
I read all the posts from the group but I couldn't find my case.
Nothing is working - moving files, RD, del /s .... from DOS
The problem is that filenames used weird characters.
Filenames look like:
?~?>º??


.p
? vk.<

if I go CMD and try to do whatever, I get "The filename,
directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect."

If you type in dir /x in a command prompt in this folder, does it
show you the file names?


I tried chkdsk /f and it didn't help
CheckDisk from drive properties, tools doesn't help either

It's the same thing as chkdsk.


Any good ideas?

Thanks,
Yakimo

 

[Jim Byrd]

Hi Yakimo - I didn't see in your previous postings whether you'd just tried
renaming the bad files and then tried to delete them. Also, did you also
try Killbox? Also, see here: http://www.jsiinc.com/subl/tip5500/rh5533.htm
and here: http://www.jsiinc.com/suba/tip0000/rh0026.htm I don't know if
this would work, but try saving anything else in the folder and any
sub-folders that you may need and then try to delete the entire directory
tree using the \\.\ syntax RmDir \\.\Drive:\directory\ /s
Run chkdsk /f afterwards (probably on a re-start).

For Posix (or Interix in Windows) - You didn't state which version of XP you
have. If it's XP Pro, you can enable the Interix functions following the
procedure here: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=324076 or
you can look at Services for Unix 3.5
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/sfu/downloads/default.asp which contains a
complete set of Interix tools. You'll need to register to download it. You
can read more here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/sfu/productinfo/features/whatsnew.asp


--
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP



In

Where can I find POSIX to try? Copylock doesn't work - gives the same
error

Hi Yakimo - If Dave's POSIX suggestion doesn't help, you might look
at Copylock or Killbox and see if they'll do it for you.

A program called Copylock, here,
http://noeld.com/programs.asp?cat=misc#CopyLock can aid in the
process of "replacing, moving, renaming or deleting one or many
files which are currently in use (e.g. system files like
comctl32.dll, or virus/trojan files.)" Another is Killbox, here:
http://download.broadbandmedic.com/Killbox.exe


--
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP



In

Doesn't work, Jim. Here is the output:
----------------------------------
C:\Temp\Content\t>del \\.\c:\temp\content\t\*.*
\\.\c:\temp\content\t\*.*, Are you sure (Y/N)? y
\\.\c:\temp\content\t\?.p?
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.
\\.\c:\temp\content\t\F vk.<
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.
\\.\c:\temp\content\t\=~->ºF-?
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.
--------------------------------

I also tried
rd \\.\c:\temp\content\t /s
The result is exactly the same as above: the same error message

I am hoping there are other ideas

./Yakimo


Hi Yakimo - Courtesy of Dave Patrick: Try prepending the path w/
\\.\

Ex:

del \\.\Drive:\directory\*.*
(Note: the period between \\ and \)

This syntax bypasses the reserved word check allowing you to
delete.

--
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP



In Yakimo <[email protected]> typed:
Bill,
that is one of the first things I tried. I got:
C:\Temp\Content\t\=~->ºF-?
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.

Any other suggestions?

If there is nothing in that directory that you need to save, try
changing to that directory (important), then executing the command
del *.* to see if that will remove the files. If there are
files you need to keep, move them to another folder first, since
using the wildcard * will cause your good files to also be
deleted if they are in the same folder.


Yes, it shows exactly the same file names, with those wrong
characters. Here is the output of DIR /X
10/16/2004 07:48 PM <DIR> ..
03/13/2003 10:57 AM 0
.p
10/16/2004 07:48 PM 0 1.txt
03/13/2003 10:57 AM 16,384 èÿÿÿvk.<
07/24/2105 01:00 AM 805,109,760 ð~Ð>§èÂ


"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]"
in message Yakimo wrote:
I run WindowsXP.
There are 3 files, created somehow, that I cannot delete.
I read all the posts from the group but I couldn't find my
case. Nothing is working - moving files, RD, del /s .... from
DOS
The problem is that filenames used weird characters.
Filenames look like:
?~?>º??


.p
? vk.<

if I go CMD and try to do whatever, I get "The filename,
directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect."

If you type in dir /x in a command prompt in this folder, does
it show you the file names?


I tried chkdsk /f and it didn't help
CheckDisk from drive properties, tools doesn't help either

It's the same thing as chkdsk.


Any good ideas?

Thanks,
Yakimo