Can't delete files?!?!?!?

Greydawg · 02-January-04, 05:32 PM

I have some weird folders taking up nearly 60 GB's of space on my hard drive--I have no idea what they are, but I can't delete them. Windows says it can't delete them because the "filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect."

Does anyone know what this means? I tried a program called "CyberScrub" to get rid of the files, but it didn't seem to do anything.

Does anyone know of a good program out there that might get rid of these files permanently?

THANKS!

Jonny English · 02-January-04, 05:39 PM

That's a mess all right ... have you got any decent AV s/w installed? Inexplicable phenomena like that shout virus to me.

Slick2145 · 02-January-04, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonny English


	That's a mess all right ... have you got any decent AV s/w installed? Inexplicable phenomena like that shout virus to me.

And oddball filenames to top it all. I am most certainly going to agree with Jonny. Get yourself some AV $oftware and scan that drive.

BigAkita · 02-January-04, 06:14 PM

To me it looks like a hard drive heading South on a permanent vacation. When is the last time you ran CheckDisk?

TekXoID · 02-January-04, 07:05 PM

Run CHKDSK/F
Trend Micro Online A/V Scan
(If oddball files/folders are still there) System Mechanic - Use the incinerator tool to permanently trash the files.

Greydawg · 03-January-04, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TekXoID


	Run CHKDSK/F Trend Micro Online A/V Scan (If oddball files/folders are still there) System Mechanic - Use the incinerator tool to permanently trash the files.

Thanks, Tek--that's more like it.

Yes, I have run AV and it didn't pick anything up--I should have mentioned that before. I will be replacing the hard drive regardless, but I am still trying to figure out what the hell is up with those files and how they got there. I mean, there's even a 35 gig backup of this garbage! AHH!

BigAkita · 03-January-04, 12:44 PM

Bad clusters will make files that look like that.

jinxÂ© · 03-January-04, 03:41 PM

Try booting into Safe Mode to delete the files.
If youre buying a new drive, I'd just scrub the thing and use it as a slave drive.

Greydawg · 03-January-04, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigAkita


	Bad clusters will make files that look like that.

"BAD" clusters? What the crap is that supposed to mean? Is it broken or something? I mean, it otherwise works perfectly fine, and over 60gb of "bad clusters" is an awful lot for the 160gb drive to still seem to work, don't you think?

EstwingMan · 03-January-04, 05:33 PM

WOAH there dawg, simmer down. Sheesh. Is it possible you forgot who BigAkita is? Maybe you're just havin a bad day. Relax man!

EDIT: By the way, have you tried booting to DOS and doing a manual delete from the promt? That would be the hard way but it might work. Just a thought.

BigAkita · 03-January-04, 06:12 PM

A bad cluster means that the data was not written properly to the disk and the HD cannot retrieve the data. It can either be soft, which means that it was not written to disk properly due to an error with the magnet, or the magnet is not strong enough to make a positive or negative charge.

A hard error means that there is physical damage to the disk, most likely caused by the R/W heads making contact with the disk while it was spinning. Those areas cannot hold a charge anymore.

If it was a soft error, it's not uncommon to have a substantial portion of the drive affected. If you had done a little research on your own instead of being freaking lazy and relying on others to fix your problem you would have known this.

DON'T catch an attitude when people are trying to help.

Jazzyjazz · 03-January-04, 06:56 PM

You don't say WHO the hard drive manufacturer is or how OLD the hard drive might be. Go to the HOMEPAGE of the manufacturer and browse to the support section and DOWNLOAD the offered hard drive utility...for example, for WESTERN DIGITAL drives the tool is called DIGITAL LIFEGUARD TOOLS and for MAXTOR, the utility is called MAXBLAST...links are below. If you have a drive manufactured by another compny, then go to that company's HOME PAGE and look for a similar tool.

( http://support.wdc.com/download/index.asp#dlgtools )
( http://maxtor.com/en/support/downloads/powermax.htm )

These tools are used to DIAGNOSE the health and condition of your hard drives (ie; determine if there are "Bad Clusters" etc...in other words, they tell you if the drive is shot or not. If the drive is shot and you are still within warranty, contact the company and request an RMA number and return the drive for replacement.

If these diagnostic programs find NO problem with the drive, then you can eliminate a hardware issue and concentrate on software. Ultimately, if you can't solve the problem, REFORMAT the drive and reinstall windows.

Jazzyjazz

Highperf15 · 03-January-04, 07:01 PM

BigAkita sounds like he's on the right track to me..........I had this happen a few years back on my old Compaq system, the files started to read "JUST LIKE YOURS". I tried several times to reinstall the OS but, it did the same after a few days of running and the hard drive finally crapped-out on me. So, guess what?......I think you need to start looking for a replacment.

Highperf15 · 03-January-04, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazzyjazz


	You don't say WHO the hard drive manufacturer is or how OLD the hard drive might be. Go to the HOMEPAGE of the manufacturer and browse to the support section and DOWNLOAD the offered hard drive utility...for example, for WESTERN DIGITAL drives the tool is called DIGITAL LIFEGUARD TOOLS and for MAXTOR, the utility is called MAXBLAST...links are below. If you have a drive manufactured by another compny, then go to that company's HOME PAGE and look for a similar tool. ( http://support.wdc.com/download/index.asp#dlgtools ) ( http://maxtor.com/en/support/downloads/powermax.htm ) These tools are used to DIAGNOSE the health and condition of yur hard drives...in other words, they tell you if the drive is shot or not. If the drive is shot and you are still within warranty, contact the company and request an RMA number and return the drive for replacement. If these diagnostic programs find NO problem with the drive, then you can eliminate a hardware issue and concentrate on software. Ultimately, if you can't solve the problem, REFORMAT the drive and reinstall windows. Jazzyjazz

My old Compaq had a WD in it with the Lifeguard tools and at one time it read that the hard drive was fine...then it would say there was a problem. I'd reformat then it would say it was fine.......then it crapped-out and wouldn't even boot.

Jazzyjazz · 03-January-04, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Highperf15


	My old Compaq had a WD in it with the Lifeguard tools and at one time it read that the hard drive was fine...then it would say there was a problem. I'd reformat then it would say it was fine.......then it crapped-out and wouldn't even boot.

Uhmmm...Western Digital's tool ALWAYS worked Great for me. I even RMA'd a hard drive based on it's diagnosis. ( I assume you followed the directions to the letter ie; making a bootable cd and copying the files to floppy and then booting off the floppy (also ensuring there was no AUTO.EXE or CONFIG.EXE present). I also assume your problem was indeed the hard drive.)

Not meaning to sound snobbish at all ( I apologize if I sound like it, I recognize from your system specs that you are a knowledgeable person...a Barton 2800+ overclocked from default 2.083 Ghz to 2.28 Ghz ) but I would be remiss if I didn't mention...

End Result???...it is a tool to be used to help gather as much info about the system as possible. It's results are to be taken into consideration, along with ALL other symptoms, by the person doing the repairs.

Sorry, it did not work for you.

Finally, this tool is at VERSION 11 now (did you use an earlier version?)...the "bug" that plagued you may in all likelihood been "updated" out.

Jazz

Highperf15 · 04-January-04, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazzyjazz


	Uhmmm...Western Digital's tool ALWAYS worked Great for me. I even RMA'd a hard drive based on it's diagnosis. ( I assume you followed the directions to the letter ie; making a bootable cd and copying the files to floppy and then booting off the floppy (also ensuring there was no AUTO.EXE or CONFIG.EXE present). I also assume your problem was indeed the hard drive.) Not meaning to sound snobbish at all ( I apologize if I sound like it, I recognize from your system specs that you are a knowledgeable person...a Barton 2800+ overclocked from default 2.083 Ghz to 2.28 Ghz ) but I would be remiss if I didn't mention... End Result???...it is a tool to be used to help gather as much info about the system as possible. It's results are to be taken into consideration, along with ALL other symptoms, by the person doing the repairs. Sorry, it did not work for you. Finally, this tool is at VERSION 11 now (did you use an earlier version?)...the "bug" that plagued you may in all likelihood been "updated" out. Jazz

Oh no Jazz......It did work for me.......but like anything else, it does have it's limits. That Compaq that I'm refering to was an old 475mhz that had a 10 gb hd and it just gave up the ghost. Naw, all I was saying is that sometimes, even the tools can't help yah, especially when the system is old.......and guess what....lol.....I'm still running W.D. and Lifeguard tools in my current system.

02-January-04, 05:32 PM	#1 (permalink)
Greydawg Apex Master Tech Apprentice Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 246	Can't delete files?!?!?!? I have some weird folders taking up nearly 60 GB's of space on my hard drive--I have no idea what they are, but I can't delete them. Windows says it can't delete them because the "filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect." Does anyone know what this means? I tried a program called "CyberScrub" to get rid of the files, but it didn't seem to do anything. Does anyone know of a good program out there that might get rid of these files permanently? THANKS! Attached Thumbnails __________________

02-January-04, 05:39 PM	#2 (permalink)
Jonny English Etiquette & English Gentleman Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 5,766	That's a mess all right ... have you got any decent AV s/w installed? Inexplicable phenomena like that shout virus to me. __________________ [img] [/img]

02-January-04, 06:14 PM	#4 (permalink)
BigAkita n00b-ass reviewer Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Nirvana Posts: 14,344	To me it looks like a hard drive heading South on a permanent vacation. When is the last time you ran CheckDisk? __________________ "I'll stop being an A-Hole if you will stop being an Idiot."

03-January-04, 12:44 PM	#7 (permalink)
BigAkita n00b-ass reviewer Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Nirvana Posts: 14,344	Bad clusters will make files that look like that. __________________ "I'll stop being an A-Hole if you will stop being an Idiot."

03-January-04, 03:41 PM	#8 (permalink)
jinxÂ© Still Duck's Hoe Though Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Limbo Posts: 2,166	Try booting into Safe Mode to delete the files. If youre buying a new drive, I'd just scrub the thing and use it as a slave drive. __________________ "Life isn't like a box of chocolates...It's more like a jar of jalapenos... What you do today, might burn your @ss tomorrow."

02-January-04, 07:05 PM	#5 (permalink)
TekXoID Banned Join Date: May 2003 Location: looking for love in the nearest gay bar Posts: 4,089	Run CHKDSK/F Trend Micro Online A/V Scan (If oddball files/folders are still there) System Mechanic - Use the incinerator tool to permanently trash the files.

03-January-04, 05:33 PM	#10 (permalink)
EstwingMan Da Hammer Man Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: NJ, where libs vote for libs, bitch about them, then vote for them again. Amazing!!? Posts: 928	WOAH there dawg, simmer down. Sheesh. Is it possible you forgot who BigAkita is? Maybe you're just havin a bad day. Relax man! EDIT: By the way, have you tried booting to DOS and doing a manual delete from the promt? That would be the hard way but it might work. Just a thought. __________________

03-January-04, 06:12 PM	#11 (permalink)
BigAkita n00b-ass reviewer Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Nirvana Posts: 14,344	A bad cluster means that the data was not written properly to the disk and the HD cannot retrieve the data. It can either be soft, which means that it was not written to disk properly due to an error with the magnet, or the magnet is not strong enough to make a positive or negative charge. A hard error means that there is physical damage to the disk, most likely caused by the R/W heads making contact with the disk while it was spinning. Those areas cannot hold a charge anymore. If it was a soft error, it's not uncommon to have a substantial portion of the drive affected. If you had done a little research on your own instead of being freaking lazy and relying on others to fix your problem you would have known this. DON'T catch an attitude when people are trying to help. __________________ "I'll stop being an A-Hole if you will stop being an Idiot."

03-January-04, 06:56 PM	#12 (permalink)
Jazzyjazz Apex Techie II Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 103	You don't say WHO the hard drive manufacturer is or how OLD the hard drive might be. Go to the HOMEPAGE of the manufacturer and browse to the support section and DOWNLOAD the offered hard drive utility...for example, for WESTERN DIGITAL drives the tool is called DIGITAL LIFEGUARD TOOLS and for MAXTOR, the utility is called MAXBLAST...links are below. If you have a drive manufactured by another compny, then go to that company's HOME PAGE and look for a similar tool. ( http://support.wdc.com/download/index.asp#dlgtools ) ( http://maxtor.com/en/support/downloads/powermax.htm ) These tools are used to DIAGNOSE the health and condition of your hard drives (ie; determine if there are "Bad Clusters" etc...in other words, they tell you if the drive is shot or not. If the drive is shot and you are still within warranty, contact the company and request an RMA number and return the drive for replacement. If these diagnostic programs find NO problem with the drive, then you can eliminate a hardware issue and concentrate on software. Ultimately, if you can't solve the problem, REFORMAT the drive and reinstall windows. Jazzyjazz Last edited by Jazzyjazz; 03-January-04 at 08:18 PM.

03-January-04, 07:01 PM	#13 (permalink)
Highperf15 a.k.a., Frank Bullitt Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Have Gun ....Will Travel..... Posts: 3,909	BigAkita sounds like he's on the right track to me..........I had this happen a few years back on my old Compaq system, the files started to read "JUST LIKE YOURS". I tried several times to reinstall the OS but, it did the same after a few days of running and the hard drive finally crapped-out on me. So, guess what?......I think you need to start looking for a replacment. __________________

04-January-04, 12:10 PM	#17 (permalink)
Greydawg Apex Master Tech Apprentice Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 246