"Undeletable" File

[John John (MVP)]

You seem to have tried almost everything and nothing seems to work. You
could try the Posix RM.exe utility and see if it can do the job. If it
you still cannot delete the file then I suggest that you use a disk
editor to remove the file.

John

 

[Jeff Johnson]

You seem to have tried almost everything and nothing seems to work. You
could try the Posix RM.exe utility and see if it can do the job. If it
you still cannot delete the file then I suggest that you use a disk editor
to remove the file.

Actually, I'd recommend using a disk editor only to CHANGE the file name and
then try to delete normally.

 

[Twayne]

Actually, I'd recommend using a disk editor only to CHANGE the file
name and then try to delete normally.

All you have to do is take ownership of the file; then you can delete
it.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421

 

[Dick K]

All you have to do is take ownership of the file; then you can delete
it.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421

Thanks but the file properties dialog box for the file itself has
only one tab, "General", so I can't take ownership via the missing
"Security" tab. The dialog box for the folder which contains the
file is normal and my admin account has full control.

 

[Dick K]

Thanks for the suggestions. The "rm" command in "Windows Services
for UNIX V3.5" fails with the message "No such file or directory".
I'll consider using a disk editor but I'm afraid I find the prospect
daunting so I'm going to give the problem a rest for a bit.

 

[Dick K]

Actually, I'd recommend using a disk editor only to CHANGE the file name and
then try to delete normally.

Thanks for the suggestion which sounds eminently sensible. I'll
bear it in mind if I try using a disk editor, but I find the
prospect daunting and I'm going to give things a rest for a while.

 

[John John (MVP)]

You should be able to rename the file with WinHex and then as Jeff
suggested try to delete it normally within Windows.
http://www.x-ways.net/winhex/ This tool has a fairly easy to use GUI
with disk and file explorer. Of course, it goes without saying that you
must be very careful with these types of tools, best to have a reliable
backup before you use them.

John

 

[Dick K]

I tried WinHex and managed to change the name in the MFT file
record. WinHex reported the file under it's new valid name in
the folder AVP8. However a WinHex "Secure Delete" failed with
an error message reporting that it couldn't find the old file
name, "avp.09....", Windows couldn't see the file either so I
raised the white flag and restored and updated a back-up from
before the advent of the offending file.

My thanks to you and everyone who tried to help.

 

[Jeff Johnson]

I tried WinHex and managed to change the name in the MFT file
record. WinHex reported the file under it's new valid name in
the folder AVP8. However a WinHex "Secure Delete" failed with
an error message reporting that it couldn't find the old file
name, "avp.09....", Windows couldn't see the file either so I
raised the white flag and restored and updated a back-up from
before the advent of the offending file.

I wonder if that's due to there being multiple copies of the MFT. Perhaps
Windows needs them to be synchronized...?

 

[Dick K]

I wonder if that's due to there being multiple copies of the MFT. Perhaps
Windows needs them to be synchronized...?

Afraid I have only a tenuous understanding of file systems, and
NTFS in particular, so I can't comment usefully. Anyway, problem
solved if not understood. Thanks for taking an interest.