Un-erasable Files

[Tim Perrin]

Somehow, some software has created five files on my system
which I can't erase. I suspect that problem is that the
file names all end in a period but do not have extensions.
These were originally in the Norton Protected Files section
of the recycled bin. I have managed to turn off the system
and hidden attributes and rename the folder and a new
recycled folder has been created. However, I can't get to
these files. From the dates, times, and sizes, I am
guessing they are some old backup files from last January.
The file names are eight-digit numbers and a period:

00002746.
00002756.
00002769.
00002783.
00002791.

Windows Explorer and PowerDesk 5.0 both say "Cannot delete
file: Cannot read from the source file or disk." DOS won't
touch them. I tried to delete them from Visual Basic using
the "kill" command hoping that because the file name was
within quotation marks it would pick up on the period. It
didn't.

How do I get rid of these turkeys?

Any ideas?

Thanks.

Tim Perrin
Westbank, BC, Canada

 

[Ramesh [MS-MVP]]

Hi Tim,

Try deleting the entire directory and see if it helps:
Open a MS-DOS box and type "rd /s <drive:\folder name>
[Deletes the folder recursively]

Also, see:
You Cannot Delete a File or a Folder
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=320081

How to Remove Files with Reserved Names in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=315226

--
Regards,

Ramesh (MS-MVP)
(e-mail address removed)
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

~ Please reply to newsgroup ~


Somehow, some software has created five files on my system
which I can't erase. I suspect that problem is that the
file names all end in a period but do not have extensions.
These were originally in the Norton Protected Files section
of the recycled bin. I have managed to turn off the system
and hidden attributes and rename the folder and a new
recycled folder has been created. However, I can't get to
these files. From the dates, times, and sizes, I am
guessing they are some old backup files from last January.
The file names are eight-digit numbers and a period:

00002746.
00002756.
00002769.
00002783.
00002791.

Windows Explorer and PowerDesk 5.0 both say "Cannot delete
file: Cannot read from the source file or disk." DOS won't
touch them. I tried to delete them from Visual Basic using
the "kill" command hoping that because the file name was
within quotation marks it would pick up on the period. It
didn't.

How do I get rid of these turkeys?

Any ideas?

Thanks.

Tim Perrin
Westbank, BC, Canada

 

[Joseph Conway [MSFT]]

Rename them in safe mode if possible.