Cannot delete stubborn files 1

[floydman80]

My son bought a laptop and in cleaning it up we came across two files that we cannot delete

1. A temp file with a tilde (~) prefix and we get the message that the file is in use by another process and we can not locate the using process - trying to delete in cmd mode gets the same message

2. when trying to delete file 2 we get this message "Cannot delete file: Cannot read from the source file or disk"

Any help is appreciated...Floyd

 

[torturedmind]

boot in safe mode and delete them from thereon. i suggest you make a thorough scan and clean-up of that laptop. you don't know what sites it has been and what junks it may contain. see the FAQ section for the how-to's.

hope this helps. peace!

kilroy
philippines

"If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get one million miles to the gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside."

 

[2ffat]

The first file (~) is a system file. Don't worry about it. What is the name of the second file?


James P. Cottingham
-----------------------------------------
[sup]To determine how long it will take to write and debug a program, take your best estimate, multiply that by two, add one, and convert to the next higher units.[/sup]

 

[floydman80]

torturedmind:: I did and the temp file doesn't show up which tells me it is a process being used in full mode.

2ffat:: I know but I teach him to keep his system clean of junk - tilde prefixed files should be able to be deleted. Some process is usung it since the date/time is changing - just want to figure out what process. Second file name - can't send it - its too, how shall we say - not a post friendly name if you get my drift.

 

[eyec]

clear your temp files and memory cache and these files should go away.

they are left overs from the last time they were active prior to cleaning you laptop off that is why one says it can't read from the source and the date keeps changing because you are trying to delete it and everytime you do something with this file it changes the date stamp.

 

[2ffat]

What OS are you using? You can try to track down the processes running with MSConfig (if XP), HiJackThis (see FAQ in this forum), or PSTools (from

http://www.systernals.com)

for starters.

James P. Cottingham
-----------------------------------------
[sup]To determine how long it will take to write and debug a program, take your best estimate, multiply that by two, add one, and convert to the next higher units.[/sup]

 

[ecobb]

I ran into this once when someone hacked one of our servers. This is what I had to do to get rid of the files. Don't know if you've tried it, but maybe it will help.

1. Open a command prompt.
2. Cd to the root of the corrupted directories.
3. Type "dir /x" and make a note of the short filenames of the corrupted directories.
4. Type "rd /s <shortname>.
5. Say yes to "Are you sure?"

Hope This Helps!

Ecobb
Beer Consumption Analyst

"My work is a game, a very serious game." - M.C. Escher

 

[ColonelBlue]

Thanks Ecobb, that helped me lots!!