# [SOLVED] can't delete a file



## ctwistedpair (Nov 18, 2008)

Hi all, I'm unable to delete a "0 byte" file from the desktop. I originally downloaded a bit torrent, after deleting the torrent and the movie from the computer, there is still a file on the desktop with the file name. The icon looks like a sheet of paper with a folded corner. When I try to delete, I get "this file is no longer located in desktop,verify location and try again" needless to say it won't work. The wonderful Vista os wont permit a restore. I've tried deleting from CMD, no luck. Dell inspiron 1501 
Vista home. 
Thanks for any help you can give.


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## jenae (Jun 17, 2008)

*Re: can't delete a file*

Hi, these can be real pest UNC (universal naming convention) file names are usually the problem windows cannot see the whole file name so it pops up an error message. Simple way is this program full function for 15 days so will do the job. Download Delinvfile (delete invalid file) here:-
http://www.purgeie.com/delinv/index.htm


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## ctwistedpair (Nov 18, 2008)

*Re: can't delete a file*

Thanks for the info. I'll give it a shot tonight.

Carl


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## ctwistedpair (Nov 18, 2008)

*Re: can't delete a file*

It worked! Thank you so much. Excellent advice. My next step was a hammer.

Carl


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## Bruce Dunn (Apr 5, 2009)

*Alternate method for deleting problem files*

Here is an alternate method of deleting a 0 byte file which reports that it can no longer be found.

1) Isolate the problem file by itself in a folder by deleting other files in the folder. Alternately, make sure that the folder which contains the file doesn't contain any other files that you want to keep.

2) Optional step -move the folder which contains the problem file to the root directory of your hard drive. Even though you cannot move the file itself, you may be able to move the folder in which it is located, carrying the bad file along with it. This move isn't required for file deletion, but merely to make the path to the file short and easy to type.

3) Open a command prompt using the shortcut in the Start menu accessories folder.

4) Use old fashioned DOS-like commands to move the focus of the command prompt to the directory containing the problem file and delete the problem file using a "del *.*" command.

Many younger users have never learned how to use a command prompt, which used to be the first thing computer users learned when the operating system was DOS. For them, here is a step by step description of this particular task.

If I am the user Bruce, in Vista when I run the command prompt application, I see:

C:\users\bruce>

I am "in" the directory c:\users\bruce. If my undeletable file is in the directory c:\temp\junk type the command "cd\temp\junk" (without the quote marks) and press the Enter key. Note that the command "cd" is "change directory, and "\temp\junk" says what directory to change to.

My prompt now shows:

C:\temp\junk>

Any command that I issue about files will only affect files in the c:\temp\junk directory, which is where my bad file is. Thus, I can safely type the command "del *.*" (typed without quotes). The "del" command is "delete" and "*.*" is a wildcard expression which means any file no matter what its name is (the first *), with any extension (the .*).

Windows will ask for a conformation:

C:\temp\junk\*.* are you sure (Y/N)?

Look carefully to check that you really are addressing the directory where the problem file is located, then type Y for Yes and press enter. Check back using My Computer and the problem file should be gone. 

I have used this several times to get rid of problem files. The del *.* command seems to be able to get rid of files even if there is something poisonous about their file name which prevents them from properly being handled by the graphical file manager in Windows.


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