Undeletable File

[dod13]

i recently d/led an .mpg off kazaa and want to delete but cant.
im running win2k:
renaming or deleting isnt allowed, deleting the folder results in file not found, and anything done to it in command prompt says file not found either

i rly dont wanna reformat, can neone help?

[dod13]

no i cant change anything for it....if i try to get into properties menu, itll say:
Desktop:
The properties for this item are not available.

[jmichna]

What OS are you running? If NT/W2K/XP, boot into safe mode, opem command box, set attributes to -s-h-a-r, and you should be able to delete. If W9x/WMe, just boot into DOS (even use a DOS/Windows boot disk then access C: drive, and delete the file.

If longer than 8.3 filename, then you may need to delete as "longfi~1.mpg" (the "longfi~1" is the sub for the "long file" name). If there is a gap between words in the file name, just ignore the gap.
jmichna

[cyphen]

Lemme guess - it's a really long filename, right?

if that's the case, what the problem is is that when the filename is combined with the rename command, it exceeds the maximum allowable length for the command.

If by chance you have 8.3 filenaming enabled, then this should work. (it worked for me in win98)

run a command interpreter, and use the rename (ren) command and use the 8.3 version of the filename.

for example, if you file is in c:\Program Files\blahblahblah(etc).mpg
then type in ren c:\progra~1\blahbl~1.mpg deleteme.mpg

then you should be able to delete or rename it normally.

[dod13]

thnx but i need a lil more help lol

jmichna -->
running Win2k, how do u set attributes? and nething i try to do in command prompt says file not found
wats 8.3 filename?...u ARE rite in that its rly rly rly long

cyphen -->
sounds promising but...command interpreter? 8.3?
the file is like blahblahblah.mpg (a whole lotta spaces) blahblahblah.mpg

can u explain ur sol in more detail?

[Giblet Plus!]

You don't happen to have kaaza running while you're trying to delete it, do you?
If a program, like kazaa or wma, is using the file, you can't delete it. Close all programs and try again. :t

[dod13]

haha thnx but no...i kno enuff not to do that
im pretty sure ciphen and jmichna r rite...the file name is too
$!%&in long. i have no idea wat to do………

[spike_tomahawk]

Did you check for Virus? I d/l a mpg and ended up with the Nimda virus, well went through the cleaning process and when it got to a certian file, the cleaner would stop and the prompt would say Tom green **** Sh#t funny. (not so funny to me)

Well after searching for the file I found it and did the same thing you stated (wouldnt delet at all, no way no how,) then after researching here, I found out that I had to delet it in DOS. Which is what I did and now its gone.

Hope this helps, not trying to scare anyone but just happened to me.

Spike

[RampageIII]

Welcome to SysOpt spike_tomahawk :t

I was about to make the same suggestion about DOS.










Why not put your PC's idle time to good use by downloading the seti@home client HERE (http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/download.html) and then joining the Sysopt.com Users 2002 Team HERE (http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/cgi?cmd=team_lookup&name=Sysopt.com+Users+2002) :D

[dod13]

i tried to check with norton antivirus, but im not even allowed to select the file...when i click on it, nothing happens

i dunno abt dos, i have win2k and i can only find hte command prompt, and i dont have some sort of bootdisk or access to a 98 comp...again i think its the filename or watever...close to 6 inches long

[RampageIII]

Originally posted by dod13
i tried to check with norton antivirus, but im not even allowed to select the file...when i click on it, nothing happens

i dunno abt dos, i have win2k and i can only find hte command prompt, and i dont have some sort of bootdisk or access to a 98 comp...again i think its the filename or watever...close to 6 inches long


Format a floppy disk and make sure to have the system files added to it. Boot with disk in place and when it stops booting at the A:\ type C: , At the C:\ prompt start going through directories till you get what you're looking for. Probably have the first few letters and a ~ (example: rewar~.exe) type del rewar~.exe Press enter

That should do it. If you don't know how to navigate DOS find someone who does. That's the best I can tell you.

Good luck.;)

[jmichna]

What is the exact filename? We can then give you the exact DOS command(s).
jmichna

[cyphen]

yeah, basically just run a command prompt (different name for command interpreter). 8.3 is the old limitation for filenames. back in the windows 3.1 days and earlier, your filenames could only be 8 characters long plus a dot plus 3 more characters for a file extension, which would indicate what kind of file it is. For example: resume.txt fits within the 8.3 naming convention.

When win 95 came around they introduced long filenames, but DOS still had the onld limitations, and since DOS was still kind of the backbone for windows, they had to include a workaround for DOS to understand long filenames, and convert them to the 8.3 convention. (I know this is more than you asked for - sorry, but i'm on a roll!)

What they did was if the filename was longer than 8 characters, DOS would use the first six characters, add a ~ (tilde) and then a 1, a 2, a 3 or 4 - depending on how many files in that directory started with the same 6 characters, and then it would tack on the .3 extension.

So if you have a file named thisfilenameisareallyreallylongfilename.mpg, the 8.3 DOS name would be thisfi~1.mpg

so if you wanted to delete it, and the delete command plus the filename exceeded the maximum command length of 256 characters, then you'd have to do what we're saying - run a command prompt, change the directory to the directory where the file is located (i.e. cd progra~1\download -if your file happened to be located in the c:\Program Files\Download directory) then once you're in the directory, type del thisfi~1.mpg

then you should be good to go.

BTW - if you aren't sure you want to delete it yet, but don't want to go through the hassle later, you can rename it in the following way. Instead of typing the delete command, type the rename command:
ren thisfi~1.mpg newname.mpg

that's it.

The shortcoming here is that the programmers didn't allow command lines to be longer than filenames at all, let alone by a significant amount, and now @-holes out there are thinking they're being clever or something by exploiting that fact and annoying people. Actually, i don't know what they're thinking. They probably aren't thinking. If we could launch them into space along with the people who start (and continue) those annoying email chain letters (send this to 10 people and you're deepest desire will come true...) then the online world would be a better place. And while we're at it, may as well get rid of spammers, people who write viruses, software companies that write buggy code and then don't fix it - or fix it in a new release but make you buy the new release, and people who use cheats in online games.

Anyone else you can think of?