'Cannot delete file'

[Tojo]

Doesn't that give you the heebie jeebies!

I've had a heap of files I get from newsgroups that won't delete, I can't rename or even move. This is WinXP & IE.

After much wading through tech forums, & trying a million different ideas I found this link http://www.purgeie.com/delinv.htm a free program.

Installed the program- bingo! Killed the little suckers. Tojo happy!


Tojo

[MsUther]

Yay! I have a folder on my desktop that refuse to get deleted. This site may well do the trick And a neat download to have for the future.
Glad Tojo is a happy man and thanks for sharing

[Rabbit1]

good progie ----I use Dos commands myself ---but good program for the computer newbie thanks Tojo

[scabrat]

Yeah damned annoying. I'v found that massive great long filenames sometimes causes the problem, but there's always some way to nuke the little suckers.

[Warbaby1943]

Doesn't that give you the heebie jeebies!

I've had a heap of files I get from newsgroups that won't delete, I can't rename or even move. This is WinXP & IE.

After much wading through tech forums, & trying a million different ideas I found this link http://www.purgeie.com/delinv.htm a free program.

Installed the program- bingo! Killed the little suckers. Tojo happy!


Tojo

Thanks for the link, Tojo. Great find.

[MsUther]

My silly folder is now permanently deleted, and I`m a happy git
It works!

[Tojo]

My pleasure MsUther.


Tojo

[MsUther]

Today, 4 days after the folder was deleted, it turned up on my desktop again. Now, thats a bit creepy.
It was stored there by my ex... Who programs computers.... Waaah!

[Tojo]

Did you delete the files in the folder first MsUther?

I've never used it to delete an actual folder, just the files inside.

Yeah that sure is creepy....


Tojo

[MsUther]

The thing is that the folder seems to be empty, but with his knowledge of pc stuff, I`m not sure that there is no hidden files or something...
I just deleted the whole folder. And got the message that the operation was successfull and folder was deleted. How it managed to creep back after 4 days is a mystery to me, and makes me a li`ll paranoid.

[_ID_]

The thing is that the folder seems to be empty, but with his knowledge of pc stuff, I`m not sure that there is no hidden files or something...
I just deleted the whole folder. And got the message that the operation was successfull and folder was deleted. How it managed to creep back after 4 days is a mystery to me, and makes me a li`ll paranoid.

Sounds a lil bit like a trojin horse virus. What do you have for a virus checker, and when was the last time you had the virus definitions downloaded?

V/R
ID

[MsUther]

I use F- secure antivirus, and some windows firewall. I`m also behind unis`s router and security stuff, so the pc should be protected. But if he has placed something on my pc with my own accesscode it might be a problem.
Come to think of it, my pc did a virus scan once a day earlyer, after he had used it, the scanning stopped, it still says its enabled...and says its updating every day, but i dont see the scan anymore... yelp!

[Tojo]

I'm with ID, MsUther- I'd suggest doing a manual virus scan, after making sure your antivirus is updated.

Then a complete spyware scan, with two different spyware programs- you have to do this stuff manually, not rely on the PC to do it by itself.

This is the formulae I followed to wipe out a nasty Trojan on my PC.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIRST
Download Ad-Aware.

Use the: "Check for Updates Now" option and
download the latest reference files.

Use the Start button, and on the next window,
select: Perform Full System Scan.

Press Next, and let Ad-aware scan the hard drive

When finished, right-click the window with the
entries, choose: Select All from the menu, and
click Next.

Once AdAware has removed the entries, close the
program.
Restart your computer.


NEXT
Dowload the latest version of Spybot 1.4.


Check it for updates.

Run the program and have it fix anything it
finds in Red.

Restart your computer.


NEXT
Update your Anti Virus! Run when listed below.

NEXT
Reboot to safe mode.

Delete the entire contents of the below Temp
folders, but not the TEMP folder itself.

Remove all the files and sub-folders from the
below TEMP Folders:

C:\Documents and Settings\ \Local Settings\Temp
C:\temp
C:\windows\temp


The TIF ( Temporary Internet Files) can also be
emptied via:
Internet Explorer--Tools--Internet
Options--General tab--"Delete Files". Also tick
the "delete all offline content" box .

Clean out your Recycle Bin


NEXT

Run a full system scan with your Anti Virus.

Run a scan with Ad-aware. Have it fix anything
it finds.

Run a scan with Spybot. Again have it fix
anything it finds.


If the folder is still there, right click on it, & click 'properties' that should show if there's any hidden files. You can change the settings to 'show all files' in 'view' or something on My Computer.

If your antivirus isn't running, it should be easy to go into it's properties & see what it's set for.

Good luck- it may not work, but doing a virus & spyware scan is never a bad idea, I do a spyware every day & a full virus scan usually once a week.


Tojo

[Warbaby1943]

The thing is that the folder seems to be empty, but with his knowledge of pc stuff, I`m not sure that there is no hidden files or something...
I just deleted the whole folder. And got the message that the operation was successfull and folder was deleted. How it managed to creep back after 4 days is a mystery to me, and makes me a li`ll paranoid.

What was the folder's name and do you run any legit program that may be placing the folder by whatever name it is there? There are some programs that do replace a folder when deleted and it doesn't always have to be a virus causing it.

After running the virus scan I always do a defrag and then run at the command prompt or at "Start - Run" a "chkdsk /r" without the quotes. It takes a long time to run but it keeps your machine in great shape. Let the chkdsk /r run over night and it will be finished by morning. Usually about 2 hours depending on the size of your hard drive. It looks for bad sectors on your hard drive, tries to repair them, and marks then unusable if necessary to make your drive much more reliable.

For instance MSN messaging service always places a folder called "Messenger" in the Program Files folder. The file is recreated even if deleted each time MSN tries to start. You may have someting like this happening too.

Tojo's maintenance schedule is a great on. In addition to all he does I also run a beta program for spy-ware made by Microsoft that will remain free until December, I believe. It is called windows Defender. It differers from AdAware and Spybot in that it runs in Real Time. It still misses some but then AdAware and Spybot do their great job of finding the missed ones. Windows Defender adds more definitions sometimes daily to its list of known spy-ware. I like it well enough I will buy it when necessary.

[MsUther]

Thank you so much all of you, for great advice and insight in possible solutions.
Tojo, I`m so glad you posted that step by step map for me to follow
I will start tomorrow, and follow it all through, and hopefully the problem will be solved.
I must say that other than the creepy spying factor I relate to this, I have no problems with the machine in its normal functions. As you have noticed I have some troubles with copying pictures and music from my pc, but i doubt that this little folder has anything to do with it. I will bring my pc to the Uni`s pc service and let them look at it (ewww, its like sharing a personal diary almost) to get the copying problem sorted out.

Warbaby, I`m not sure if this folder is being replaced when i remove it. The folder was created by that wretched ex when copying music....<----What....can it be that the folder is the cause of the other propblem? I think it might just be a coincident...
And when i deleted all his stuff from my pc, this folder wasn`t going to let itself be deleted that easily.

I have the windows Defender program installed on my pc. Before I could start using it on campus I had to let the pc service office install security stuff and give the machine accsess to the network. It was then that windows Defender got installed. My sis cant use her computer from my flat, so its not just my name or student info they use, its the pc`s id.

Once again, Thank you all for helping me out.

[H Dean]

Tojo forgot one thing...
If you are running Windows XP you need to disable your restore function and delete the saved restore data. Sometimes there are nasties that can hide in there that the virus scanner won't always catch.

[Tojo]

Thanks HD- never thought of that. The instructions I posted were from a tech site, I'm a self-taught chappie.

Happy to help MsUther, hope it does the trick.


Tojo

[OttifantSir]

Tojo forgot one thing...
If you are running Windows XP you need to disable your restore function and delete the saved restore data. Sometimes there are nasties that can hide in there that the virus scanner won't always catch.

I consider myself a gifted amateur at computing, but with this post I don't know what you are talking about. Which restore data? The recycle bin, System Restore Point, or something completely different?

[OttifantSir]

Doesn't that give you the heebie jeebies!

I've had a heap of files I get from newsgroups that won't delete, I can't rename or even move. This is WinXP & IE.

After much wading through tech forums, & trying a million different ideas I found this link http://www.purgeie.com/delinv.htm a free program.

Installed the program- bingo! Killed the little suckers. Tojo happy!


Tojo

Tried that one myself. Have a folder in my "Programfiler" (Program Files if I hadn't been using Norwegian XP) called XEROX with the sub-folder NVWIA in it. I have now tried every way I have learned of to try and delete this folder. The latest being the program Tojo linked to. No go. It's still there. I know it isn't either spyware or a virus, since I had a computer shop do some modifications to it, they formatted the harddrive, still there. I am using three spy-ware programs (Ewido, Spy-bot & Ad-aware) and none of them report it. I am using two antivirus programs (avast! & AVG Free) and neither of them report it either. There are no files in these directiories and they don't interfere with the computer, it's just that I don't like empty folders with no usage on my computer, and this one has stomped every effort at removing it.
It's not write-protected, it's not hidden. I remember there being at least two more attributes you could place on a file or folder when working with DOS, but these aren't apparent anywhere on this file (SYSTEM attribute is the one I believe it may be, but don't remember the DOS- or command line-command for removing this.).
Any new ideas for this especially recilient folder? I want it off! It's become a personal test of will and ingenuity between me and this stupid folder.

[_ID_]

If its a system folder of some kind, it could be regenerated everytime a certian action takes place. To know what action generates the folder you would need to isolate each program action.

Good luck in your quest!

V/R
ID

[OttifantSir]

How do I do that?

Was rummaging through the command line and when seeing that trusted DOS environment, I remembered the commands for setting/changing/removing attributes. So, I removed them all: System, read-only (write-protected), Archive and Hidden.

Still will not delete. I wonder how they managed to do that at XEROX?