Can't delete even at the comand prompt.

O

odea56

I would love to get some idea of how to delete a corupted file.Ironicly
the file is Deleted item.dbx for Outlook explorer. The file shows as
1.7 gigs in siz. Will not open and is creating havoc with OE. I tried
the easy stuff right click and dlete, file comand delete. then I tried
the Cmd promopt form XP s run. I tried booting into safe mode atwith
comand prompt and deleting using dos comands. Nothing is working. It
is amazing how frustrating it can be to not be able to do something as
simple as deleting a file.

I do get and error message when I try to delet using the file command,
delete. it tell me "cannot delete file CRC (cyclic redundancy check)
error.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
L

Lawrence A. Wong

Hi:

Try this: Locate the exact address of the file. Make sure you know the exact
location (I know I'm repeating myself but it's very important).

Reboot your computer, and just before windows starts to load, press F8 (You
may want to just repeatedly tap F8 during the boot sequence so you don't
miss the small window that the key can be pressed in).

This intercepts the boot sequence of windows and it will ask you how you
want to proceed.

Select Boot Windows with Command Prompt.

You may be required to log in.

After the log in the only thing running in windows the the cmd command
prompt.

Use you good ol' DOS language to locate the file. (cd - change directory,
del - deletes the file etc.)

Since XP is running the absolute minimum (no GUI) you should be able to
delete the file without a problem.

In case you forget your MS-DOS commands, you may find these sites helpful:
http://www.computerhope.com/msdos.htm
http://www.easydos.com/dosindex.html

Good Luck
 
R

R. C. White

Hi, Lawrence - and odea56.
Try this: Locate the exact address of the file. Make sure you know the
exact location (I know I'm repeating myself but it's very important).

To do this, in OE, click Tools | Options..., then the Maintenance tab, then
Store Folder. Note the full path, then Cancel.

While it is more foolproof, as Lawrence said, to reboot into Safe Mode, you
SHOULD be able to delete the file from a "DOS" window - with OE closed - by
simply Deleting "Deleted Items.dbx" (the quotes are important because of the
space in the filename): del "deleted items.dbx", or maybe: del "c:\program
files\outlook express\store older\deleted items.dbx"

OE will, of course, recreate a new Deleted Items folder the next time it
runs. While you are in the Maintenance tab, you might want to check the top
box, the one that says to "Empty messages from the 'Deleted Items' folder on
exit".

RC
 
G

GTS

The CRC message is telling you that there is a disk/data problem with this
file. These various DOS boots, safe mode boots, etc. are the wrong approach
for this and, as you found, will not solve the problem. You need to run
chkdsk /f at a minimum. chkdsk /r would take longer but be better as it
will check for bad sectors. When the disk error(s) is fixed, you will be
able to delete the file. Of course, if newly developed bad sectors are
found, you have another issue to address.
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Top