Today I was copying a file from my laptop onto my USB external hard drive when the transfer froze and I had to cancel it. The file is still intact on my laptop but the unfinished copy created on my external hard drive does not seem to want to be deleted.

When I try to delete it from Windows Explorer I get the message "Cannot delete: The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable." I tried in safe mode with the same results. I tried a couple of programs designed for similar situations (Killbox, Unlocker, FileAssassin) but they were unable to remove it.

In the command prompt I have run "E:\>chkdsk /f" but get this message:

The type of the file system is NTFS.
Cannot lock current drive.

Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Chkdsk may run if this volume is dismounted first. ALL OPENED HANDLES TO THIS VOLUME WOULd THEN BE IN VALID. Would you like to force a dismount on this volume? (Y/N)

I select "No" and get the option to "schedule the volume to be checked the next time the system restarts" and when I select "Yes" and restart nothing happens. It boots as usual (I believe because the external hard drive is not recognized until Windows is operating.)

When I simply type "E:\>chkdsk" it runs, recognizes the problem file but ends with the message "Errors found. CHKDSK cannot continue in read-only mode."

When I try to delete the file in the command prompt (by typing E:\>del +the file location) I receive the message "The file or directory is corrupted or unreadable."

Does anyone have any suggestions for removing this file? Any help at all would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks in advance!

try chkdsk /r

This produced the same results as chkdsk /f

...still looking. You already tried a reboot.

Try this:

Close all open programs.
CTRL-ALT-DELETE and open task manager.
Close EXPLORER.EXE
Go to FILE and choose RUN.
Type CMD to open a command prompt
Then from the C:>_ change to the drive letter and folder.
Type "dir /x" to get the short names of all the files and folders.
Then perform a DEL on the short filename or RMDIR /S for short directory names.


I have a program that I have used in the past (not the ones you have already listed). I'll see if I can find it when I get home.

Unfortunately this did not work either. I received a message saying that the file was corrupted or unreadable and that I should run chkdsk.

try hijackthis it has a file removal function .
http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en...hijackthis/qsg

The only option I found in HijackThis was "delete on reboot" which did not work because the external HD is not immediately recognized on reboot.

How big is this file ,
did you try plugging drive into another computer

It's a stretch, but try this tool:

http://www.jrtwine.com/Products/DelFXPFiles/