Can't Delete Folder

[Nickair]

Hi i am having a problem deleting a folder on my computer. It says: "could not find this item this is no longer located in, 'the directory'. Verify this item's location and try again." It gives the Name of the folder and the date it was created. How do i go about deleting it? How do i verify the items location?

[Xlphos]

Are you trying to delete it via windows Explorer?

[Nickair]

I tried that and i also just tried to drag it from the desktop to the recycle bin and it wont let me. i also tried deleting it from the command prompt and it didnt work.

[Xlphos]

Is this folder empty?

Is there something that you have downloaded in there?

[Nickair]

the folder is empty and is inside another folder. i have tried to move the folder out of it but it give me the same message.

[Suspishio]

Is this an NTFS folder? Is it on main hard disk or USB?

If the folder is definitely there (albeit empty) I've seen this phenomenon on a USB stick. A full reformat cured the problem. A quick format allowed the problem to re-appear.

You should back up data you want to keep and run chkdsk /f on the drive (if it's a main drive) from the DOS pane on F8 re-boot. Chkdsk will attempt to repair any faults on the drive including directory corruptions.

Let us know.

[Nickair]

i am not familiar with the term DOS pane and F8 reboot. Is it the same as the setup CMOS pane? and when you say run chkdsk /f do i run it in the command terminal?

[Suspishio]

If you press F8 a few times during boot, you'll be offered a text screen which allows you to scroll through a number of options using the keyboard.

I'm suggesting that you would select the "Command Prompt" boot option which will leave you with a "DOS" screen and a C:\ prompt. Then you can type in chkdsk /r or chkdsk /f to try and fix errors on the disk.

Then type DIR and hope you can see directories and files.

Good luck.

[Nickair]

Ok so i preessed F8 a few times during the reboot and it brought me to the boot selection mode. I selected the safe mode with command prompt. when it loaded i typed in chkdsk /r and hit enter and it said that it couldnt run until the next time the computer reboot and asked if i wanted to schedule it in and i pressed y for yes. then i typed exit which closed the Command Prompt window. i couldnt figure out how to get it back because there was no task or anything. i then pressed Ctrl + Alt +delete and it brought up that screen vista has to choose task manager, and other things as well as the reboot option. so i reboot and it ran the chkdsk. now that its finished i still cant delete that folder. What was the part about DIR and making sure i could see the file directories? did i have to do that before i rebooted?

[Xlphos]

You can type DIR at the command prompt through windows or safe mode with command prompt. DIR lists Directories AKA folders.

for example,

If you start cmd prompt and it says:

C:\>

and you type

C:\> dir

it will list all the top level folders.

you can navigate to where the folder should be by typing

cd Folder name

then type dir to list the folders in that one.

[Nickair]

so i should try to delete the folder from there?

[Xlphos]

You can try deleting it from there.

Use DEL filename (include the path eg C:\myfolder\somefile) to delete files.

Use RMDIR foldername (include the path) to remove folders.

I think you can only delete empty folders. So try DEL foldername to delete the contents and then RMDIR foldername.

[aka_amboy]

Hi, Bud...

Is your "worry" folder still there?
If chkdsk or Windows Explorer can't delete/cure the problem, it might have a "delete-proof" attribute set in DOS, which, of course, can't be detected by Windows Explorer.

If you're sure the folder is empty, try this:
1. Using DOS, go to that folder's parent folder.
2. Use "attrib -H -S -R <name of folder> /S /D" at the DOS prompt without the quotation marks.
3. Use "del <name of folder>" at the DOS prompt without the quotation marks. (Or try deleteng it via Windows Explorer.)

Good luck...

[Nickair]

yeah its still here lol. I tried deleting it through the safe boot with Command prompt but it says the directory is not found and wont delete. i cant even navigate into it through the terminal.

So ive been kinda confused..DOS is the same as booting is safe mode with Command prompt right? by pressing F8 and choosing the boot mode?

[govi]

Hi dear friends,
Hope this will give you the result.
I assume that folder in c:\ as "folder_name"
Now use command prompt navigate to c:\
then c:\rd /q folder_name and press enter
try this and tell

regards
govi

[Nickair]

ok govi, so i just opened up the command prompt and put in the command you said and the response was : "The system cannot find the file specified."

[Nickair]

akaamboy, i used the commmand prompt and navigated into the folder the folder i am trying to delete is in, and typed in the command you said and i got : "File not found -Foldername.

Im really confused at how i can clearly see that there is a folder but i can not move it or delete it by any means, beside a full reformat which i do not want to do..if i have to i can deal with the folder but if someone can help me get rid of it i would appreciate it.

[Nickair]

You know what i just was playing around and i can move it around, and also that it is labeled as a File in the windows explorer but has a folder icon. could this help any?

[Suspishio]

Moving a directory around is normal and isn't a clue to helping us resolve your problem.
Let's wind back and see if this helps. I believe it was mentioned earlier that there may be something about the directory or the on inside the higher level directory that is preventing deletion.

Some of what I'm going to suggest you may have domne before, but bear with me. All this will be done in Windows Explorer.

1/
Click on the higher level directory that you want to delete. The right hand pane should show the next level directory.

2/
Right click on that directory and select Properties. Then go to the Security tab and check that your user name has full control of the directory. I'll assume it has full control and you'll report if otherwise.

3/
Try and delete this sub-directory. If it won't delete, there is possibly a system file in there and it may be hidden. You can check this out by going into the sub-directory and on the Explorer menu select Tools/Folder Options/View. Then check the options to Show Hidden Files & Folders and UNCHCK Hide Protected Operating System Files.

4/
If there is a hidden protected file in there, then if you are sure it isn't a needed file (like Thumbs.db) you can delete that file and then the higher level directory can be deleted taking with it the lower level directory.

[Nickair]

Ok so i checked the hidden files and there happened to be 7 hidden files and i deleted them, but it still wont delete. I cannot delete the parent folder either.

as for the security tab it says : the requested security information is either unavailable or can't be displayed.

[Xlphos]

Do you know what these files are?

If you really know you don't need them you could go to the extreme of creating an extra partition moving the folder there and format that.

do you think this would work?

[Nickair]

Well i already deleted the hidden files that were in it. but the folder still wont delete.

I guess i could create a new partition and move it there and format it..

Or i read on another website that some people move it onto another removable media device and reformat the device. idk.

I ran another CHKDSK..is there a way to view the results after the computer reboots?

[Xlphos]

I think there is a log file in the event viewer called 'wininit' but I am not sure if it will be useful.

[Nickair]

ok, well then how do you know if the CHKDSK passed or not? Will it tell you if there are errors somehow?

Also i was reading online that there is a secret admin account hidden in Vista that you can enable by typing "net user administrator /active:yes" or something but i get and access denied message, system error 5 occurred. Familiar with this?

[Nickair]

scratch the second part of the last message i figured out the admin account.

[Xlphos]

ok, well then how do you know if the CHKDSK passed or not? Will it tell you if there are errors somehow?

I have no idea may tell you. I would expect it to report any bad sectors though, I have heard that it reports the error in hex but there is only one way to find out. searh for that 'wininit' file it can't harm to just look at it.

[Nickair]

o well ill deal with the hard drive problem on my other thread, but regarding the folder, i still can't delete it or move it to another device, or rename it.

[aka_amboy]

o well ill deal with the hard drive problem on my other thread, but regarding the folder, i still can't delete it or move it to another device, or rename it.

Hi, Bud.

I dunno f your "worry" folder is still there. I wasn't able to see the "solved" label.

Well, since all approaches by so many of our friends here can't seem to solve your problem, I think there's something running in the memory that prevents deletion of your "worry" folder.

Indeed, if that's the case, then we are at a loss as to what is that program. I suggest you run HijackThis once more and send me the results. I wish I can help you what items in the log need to be removed which may be the culprit in your particular problem.

Good luck...

[Nickair]

Yeah, i still have not been able to remove the folder.

So this "hijack" you are saying i should run, is this in "run" or do i have to use cmd prompt? Do i just type hijack? I appreciate your help.

[Suspishio]

Have you looked at software that removes locked files/folders:

e.g. http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/