unknown file on desktop

[apox]

a file has appeared on my desktop with the name:

-ÙWFF½ÒH.J_P

and i cant seem to get rid of it. when i try to delete it i get a message saying :

Cannot delete file: File system error (1026)

it appeared along side two folders and when i ran scan disk the folders have gone (scan disk said it had done something with the file fragments) but the one file mentioned above is still there. running scandisk again says theres no error and i tried disk defragmenter which didnt resolve the problem. The properties for the file says it is 0 bytes in size and the icon is slightly faded as if it were a hidden file. its appearence coincided when i restarted the computer after it crashed, just after i was saving a document which is now lost, and a download was completed. Can anyone help, i dont know if this is a problem or not.

thanks in advance for any help.

 

[butchrecon]

Try booting into safe mode to delete the file. Next run SFC (Start>Run then type SFC) to check out system files for damages that could be linked to this file. And last you can boot to MSDOS and cd to windows then cd to desktop. Then do a dir and see if it is listed there. If so type c:\windows\desktop> delete (filename)

And see if that gets rid of it. If you need help let us know. Please let us (Tek-tips members) know if the solutions we provide are helpful to you. Not only do they help you but they may help others.


James Collins
Computer Hardware Engineer
A+, MCP

email: butchrecon@skyenet.net

 

[KeyTech]

first thing to check is that if the file is 'read only', look for this at the 'properties' of the file. Then if you see that its read only uncheck it and then delete it.
If it wasn't read only, restart into MS DOS and delete the file from there, deleting all *.J_P files on your desktop.
Then navagite to your desktop in DOS, use the 'cd' command to change to a directory, eg, if DOS starts in C:\ the command you use is "cd windows" (without the inverted commas!!) you will be then in the C:\windows directory, do this till you are at your desktop, to find the exact location of the file on your desktop go to the properties of the file and you will see it there, use this line as the directory to go to in DOS. When in the directory, eg,
C:\windows\profiles\jason\desktop
use the command "del *.J_P" (without the inverted commas again!!) and this should get rid of the file!!!
good luck! Jay~

"I have to think of a funny footer to
put in here!!!???"

~KeyTech

 

[apox]

following the suggestions i tried everyting:

none of the boxes in properties where checked so it wasnt read only.

the file isnt listed in DOS under my desktop and so a
"del *.J_P" (without commas ) just said file not found.

as there are multiple users on the computer and the file only appears on mine, starting in safe mode didnt display the file.

i did correct a file using SFC, but it didnt appear to be related to the problem file and so it still cant be deleted.

thanks for the suggestions and if you have anything else you can think of please let me know. thanks again.

 

[KeyTech]

can you rename the file?, or open it in Notepad? Jay~

"I have to think of a funny footer to
put in here!!!???"

~KeyTech

 

[apox]

no on both counts.

just keep getting the message:

cannot open (or delete etc) file: File system error (1026)

also that the file cannot be found.

 

[KeyTech]

Verify that the hard disk drive has at least 100 MB of free hard disk space, if there is a lack of space it might not be able to delete...
Or try this...
From the Windows desktop right click on the Recycle Bin and click properties.
In Recycle Bin Properties remove the check from "Do not move files to the Recycle Bin. Remove files immediately when deleted"
Click Apply and then ok. then try and delete it.
Also try deleting all *.tmp and *.dmp files, and make sure your recycle bin is empty!
Jay~

"I have to think of a funny footer to
put in here!!!???"

~KeyTech

 

[apox]

no joy

the file disappears when "do not show hidden or system files" is checked although as mentioned above, none of the properties boxes are checked.

i dont know if any of this info helps.

 

[edfair]

if available try deltree *.J_P Sometimes it will work, depending on the corruption.
The only other option as I see it is to use a disk editor and manually change the name in the directory structure. Ed Fair
efair@atlnet.com

Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply.

Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[KeyTech]

another question....can you move the file?
or can you even copy and paste it so that you have a copy of it somewhere and see if you can delete the copy.......
or try this line at a MS DOS command prompt...
DIR/S *.J_P >DIRJ_P.TXT
This will put a .txt file on your C:\windows (if that is where the command prompt starts) called J_P.txt and should contain information and that file might be mentioned if found. See if that works. . . . .
Jay~

"I have to think of a funny footer to
put in here!!!???"

~KeyTech

 

[paulwood]

Microsoft seem to think that emptying the Temporary Internet Files folder may have some effect. Don't know why, but it's worth a try since it happened after a download. BTW what icon is it using?

 

[ramani]

Hi
Just create a 'dummy' directory. For example, write click mouse on desktop and create a New folder.
Now having created that, drag this file and put it in the newfolder.
Now use deltree to delete the new folder. This could solve your problem.
Best of luck !
ramani :-9
(Subramanian.G)
FoxAcc
ramani_g@yahoo.com
LET KNOW IF THIS HELPED. ENOUGH EXPERTS ARE HERE TO HELP YOU OUT! BEST OF LUCK

 

[apox]

Sorry for not responing for a while, after trying:

deltree *.J_H

my computer wouldnt respond, only just got it working again.

the file cant be moved, cut or copied

i tried deleting all TMP files and tempory internet files but to no avail

the icon the file had was that of a file unassociated with any programme but its now a picture of notepad after someone asked if it could be opened in notepad.

 

[butchrecon]

Is your ANTI-Virus updated or are you using an Ant-Virus software? This is a long shot but it could be a virus.
Also go back to SAFE MODE. Open up Windows Explorer and go to the \windows\profiles (or is it \windows\system\profiles I dont remember on 98) in the profiles folder look for your profile folder. then find the desktop folder and see if the file is listed there. Another way is to do a search in safe mode for all *.j_h files and attempt to delete them when windows lists them. Please let us (Tek-tips members) know if the solutions we provide are helpful to you. Not only do they help you but they may help others.


James Collins
Computer Hardware Engineer
A+, MCP

email: butchrecon@skyenet.net

 

[apox]

Unfortunately i dont have any anti-virus software.

I tried running a search and the file isnt listed and the file cannot be deleted in safe mode.

in a previous post i said the icon had taken on the appearence of a file that is opened in notepad and instead of looking partially transparent like a hidden file it had become 'solid' (is that clear?). it has since changed to look like a hidden folder again. dont know if this means anything?

 

[dspp]

My pal once pulled a joke to my desktop with a similarly difficult to remove file. He used an ASCII character in the filename. If you didn't know the specific character (he used a blank space) then the file remains.

Ultimately he told me the character code and I deleted the file. If cutting-and-pasting the file into DOS and it still doesn't delete, then I'd try inserting the ASCII character (the original post looked like it has ASCII charcter(s)). I hope this guess works. Good luck.

 

[paulwood]

My guess is that it was a jpg file which got corrupted in the crash, or at least it's entry in the disk directory got corrupted. You might have to use something like Norton Utilities to get rid of it.

 

[hchman]

This can be caused by the following:

1. You copy or move a file to a disk, delete the file, then click the undo copy or undo move command.

2. Insufficient hard disk space.

3. You copy or delete files over a network and the server has problems sending the file because of security issues or network traffic.

Try the following:
Right click the Recycle Bin, then click properties.
If you use one setting for all drives, click the "Do not remove files immediately when deleted check box and click OK.

Check to see if you have sufficient hard drive space. If not run disk cleanup.

 

[hchman]

Just a quick follow up. In the Recycle Bin properties you should clear the "Do not move files to the Recycle Bin. Remove files immediately when deleted" check box. Sorry.

 

[apox]

Unfortunately the file remains.

the only suggestion i havent been able to follow up is the use of an anti-virus package.

time to see if norton do a trial download

thanks for all suggestions.