Can't delete 0 byte file, with no file type

[Guest michaeld121@hotmail.com]

I’ve got a file that appears to exist, but when I try & delete it I

get: “Cannot delete …. Cannot find the specified file”. I created it

as a.txt with a long-ish file name (76 chars) as a reminder, but it

now has no extension & is zero bytes. I can’t open it and the

properties doesn’t give me much info.

 

It’s on a drive (h:) that’s sync’d to a network and only appears when

I’m not connected to the network. This makes it difficult to use

things like ccleaner, deletefxpfiles, chkdsk etc.

 

I’ve tried deleting it from a command line (tells me it doesn't exist)

in safe mode (couldn't log on) deleting the folder and a bunch of

other things … but no joy.

 

Any ideas?

 

Michael

[Guest One Shot Scot]

Re: Can't delete 0 byte file, with no file type

 

<michaeld121@hotmail.com> wrote in message

news:7f3400a0-e49c-4eca-a8ef-3ec87c3214cc@k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com...

I’ve got a file that appears to exist, but when I try & delete it I

get: “Cannot delete …. Cannot find the specified file”. I created it

as a.txt with a long-ish file name (76 chars) as a reminder, but it

now has no extension & is zero bytes. I can’t open it and the

properties doesn’t give me much info.

 

It’s on a drive (h:) that’s sync’d to a network and only appears when

I’m not connected to the network. This makes it difficult to use

things like ccleaner, deletefxpfiles, chkdsk etc.

 

I’ve tried deleting it from a command line (tells me it doesn't exist)

in safe mode (couldn't log on) deleting the folder and a bunch of

other things … but no joy.

 

Any ideas?

 

Michael

 

*** *** ***

 

 

Does the phantom file have a name?

 

You might try creating a text file in Notepad and then saving it with the

same name as the unwanted file. Hopefully, this will bring up a dialog box

which says:

 

H:\DirectoryName\TextFile already exists. Do you want to replace it? YES/NO.

 

If you get this far, click YES.

 

Now maybe you can delete the phantom file which has been replaced by a real

file.

[Guest michaeld121@hotmail.com]

Re: Can't delete 0 byte file, with no file type

 

On May 28, 5:31 pm, "One Shot Scot" <so...@gun.com> wrote:

> Does the phantom file have a name?

>

> You might try creating a text file in Notepad and then saving it with the

> same name as the unwanted file. Hopefully, this will bring up a dialog box

> which says:

>

> H:\DirectoryName\TextFile already exists. Do you want to replace it? YES/NO.

>

> If you get this far, click YES.

>

> Now maybe you can delete the phantom file which has been replaced by a real

> file.

 

Yes it does have a name - 76 chars long, but with no file extension at

the end.

 

I've gave your (useful) suggestion a go - but still no joy. I got the

same error message I normally get (ie "Cannot find the specified

file...").

 

It's weird as when I go to the folder from a cmd line & type DIR it

shows the file (at 0 bytes) and the creation date & time. However

when I use DEL (or anything else) to try and get rid of it - it then

tells me "The system cannot find the file specified."

 

It almost seems like there's some metadata somewhere that thinks

something exists, although it doesn't.

 

Michael

[Guest Big Al]

Re: Can't delete 0 byte file, with no file type

 

michaeld121@hotmail.com wrote:

> On May 28, 5:31 pm, "One Shot Scot" <so...@gun.com> wrote:

>> Does the phantom file have a name?

>>

>> You might try creating a text file in Notepad and then saving it with the

>> same name as the unwanted file. Hopefully, this will bring up a dialog box

>> which says:

>>

>> H:\DirectoryName\TextFile already exists. Do you want to replace it? YES/NO.

>>

>> If you get this far, click YES.

>>

>> Now maybe you can delete the phantom file which has been replaced by a real

>> file.

>

> Yes it does have a name - 76 chars long, but with no file extension at

> the end.

>

> I've gave your (useful) suggestion a go - but still no joy. I got the

> same error message I normally get (ie "Cannot find the specified

> file...").

>

> It's weird as when I go to the folder from a cmd line & type DIR it

> shows the file (at 0 bytes) and the creation date & time. However

> when I use DEL (or anything else) to try and get rid of it - it then

> tells me "The system cannot find the file specified."

>

> It almost seems like there's some metadata somewhere that thinks

> something exists, although it doesn't.

>

> Michael

Try dir /x

it should give you the short name. Try using DEL on that name.

[Guest R. McCarty]

Re: Can't delete 0 byte file, with no file type

 

Does the file exist in a sub-directory of another folder ? ( Not in

the Root folder of the Drive ). If so, Use Windows Explorer to

move ( Drag and Drop ) the file into the Root Folder and then

try to delete it. Also from a Command Prompt try to remove the

file by using Quotation marks around the path/filename.

 

<michaeld121@hotmail.com> wrote in message

news:a028c649-92d2-4691-9545-48444ea91e88@p25g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...

On May 28, 5:31 pm, "One Shot Scot" <so...@gun.com> wrote:

> Does the phantom file have a name?

>

> You might try creating a text file in Notepad and then saving it with the

> same name as the unwanted file. Hopefully, this will bring up a dialog box

> which says:

>

> H:\DirectoryName\TextFile already exists. Do you want to replace it?

> YES/NO.

>

> If you get this far, click YES.

>

> Now maybe you can delete the phantom file which has been replaced by a

> real

> file.

 

Yes it does have a name - 76 chars long, but with no file extension at

the end.

 

I've gave your (useful) suggestion a go - but still no joy. I got the

same error message I normally get (ie "Cannot find the specified

file...").

 

It's weird as when I go to the folder from a cmd line & type DIR it

shows the file (at 0 bytes) and the creation date & time. However

when I use DEL (or anything else) to try and get rid of it - it then

tells me "The system cannot find the file specified."

 

It almost seems like there's some metadata somewhere that thinks

something exists, although it doesn't.

 

Michael

[Guest michaeld121@hotmail.com]

Re: Can't delete 0 byte file, with no file type

 

On May 28, 6:04 pm, Big Al <Bi...@nowhere.com> wrote:

> Try dir /x

> it should give you the short name.  Try using DEL on that name.- Hide quoted text -

>

 

 

Thanks. I tried dir /x and it did giveme the short name

(ADDTOM~1.TXT). I then tired using DEL, but got the same error as

before: "The system cannot find the file specified."

 

I got the same results when I tried REN and various other alternatives

with wildcards

 

Michael

[Guest Jean Rosenfeld]

Re: Can't delete 0 byte file, with no file type

 

Have you tried right clicking, rename change the name to something shorter

and add the .txt extension.

 

 

<michaeld121@hotmail.com> wrote in message

news:a028c649-92d2-4691-9545-48444ea91e88@p25g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...

On May 28, 5:31 pm, "One Shot Scot" <so...@gun.com> wrote:

> Does the phantom file have a name?

>

> You might try creating a text file in Notepad and then saving it with the

> same name as the unwanted file. Hopefully, this will bring up a dialog box

> which says:

>

> H:\DirectoryName\TextFile already exists. Do you want to replace it?

> YES/NO.

>

> If you get this far, click YES.

>

> Now maybe you can delete the phantom file which has been replaced by a

> real

> file.

 

Yes it does have a name - 76 chars long, but with no file extension at

the end.

 

I've gave your (useful) suggestion a go - but still no joy. I got the

same error message I normally get (ie "Cannot find the specified

file...").

 

It's weird as when I go to the folder from a cmd line & type DIR it

shows the file (at 0 bytes) and the creation date & time. However

when I use DEL (or anything else) to try and get rid of it - it then

tells me "The system cannot find the file specified."

 

It almost seems like there's some metadata somewhere that thinks

something exists, although it doesn't.

 

Michael

[Guest witan]

Re: Can't delete 0 byte file, with no file type

 

On May 28, 8:58 pm, michaeld...@hotmail.com wrote:

> I’ve got a file that appears to exist, but when I try & delete it I

> get: “Cannot delete …. Cannot find the specified file”.  I created it

> as a.txt with a long-ish file name (76 chars) as a reminder, but it

> now has no extension & is zero bytes. I can’t open it and the

> properties doesn’t give me much info.

>

> It’s on a drive (h:) that’s sync’d to a network and only appears when

> I’m not connected to the network. This makes it difficult to use

> things like ccleaner, deletefxpfiles, chkdsk etc.

>

> I’ve tried deleting it from a command line (tells me it doesn't exist)

> in safe mode (couldn't log on) deleting the folder and a bunch of

> other things … but no joy.

>

> Any ideas?

>

> Michael

 

Have you tried using DelinvFile.exe available in

http://dl10.filekicker.net/private/$adv-rgn3$1212082938$f0252b24b6b5d62591e6e3598a3d137b$/id/$FK29722$172697-LWGI$/cache/609e29cde4166c5f06656bd844f3361e8318a24dfd44f6ed27ff20fe69d2f8cc1466cb7d203d0d/delinvfile.zip

from http://www.purgeie.com/delinv/dldelinv.htm ?

I have successfully used the older completely free version several

times. It says on the web site that the current version has retained

as "free" all the features of the older version, but you have to pay

to get additional features.

[Guest ju.c]

Re: Can't delete 0 byte file, with no file type

 

I had a similar problem with an undeletable file and I fixed it by

restoring a file over it with a file that I created with the same name

using Acronis True Image.

 

 

Instructions:

 

1. Create a text file and write in it a couple of letters

2. Save that file in your root drive (C: for example) with the

same exact name and extension as the file you want to delete

3. Now make a backup your new file (I used Acronis True Image)

4. Open your backup program and restore the file you created to

the folder where the undeletable file is, overwriting it

4. Now you can delete it!

5. Run chkdsk

 

 

ju.c

 

 

<michaeld121@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:7f3400a0-e49c-4eca-a8ef-3ec87c3214cc@k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com...

> I’ve got a file that appears to exist, but when I try & delete it I

> get: “Cannot delete …. Cannot find the specified file”. I created it

> as a.txt with a long-ish file name (76 chars) as a reminder, but it

> now has no extension & is zero bytes. I can’t open it and the

> properties doesn’t give me much info.

>

> It’s on a drive (h:) that’s sync’d to a network and only appears when

> I’m not connected to the network. This makes it difficult to use

> things like ccleaner, deletefxpfiles, chkdsk etc.

>

> I’ve tried deleting it from a command line (tells me it doesn't exist)

> in safe mode (couldn't log on) deleting the folder and a bunch of

> other things … but no joy.

>

> Any ideas?

>

> Michael

[Guest Nightowl]

Re: Can't delete 0 byte file, with no file type

 

michaeld121@hotmail.com wrote on Wed, 28 May 2008:

>It's weird as when I go to the folder from a cmd line & type DIR it

>shows the file (at 0 bytes) and the creation date & time. However

>when I use DEL (or anything else) to try and get rid of it - it then

>tells me "The system cannot find the file specified."

 

Hi Michael

 

Instead of typing DIR at the command line, try DIR /X . This should show

you two names for the rogue file; the normal one and a "short name"

usually consisting of the first 6 letters of the file name, a tilde (~)

and a number. Try deleting it using the short name.

 

--

Nightowl

[Guest Juan I. Cahis]

Re: Can't delete 0 byte file, with no file type

 

Dear Michael & friends:

 

I remember that many years ago, some person had the same problem

reported to a newsgroup, and the solution was to use an UNC name for

delete.

 

Try the following:

 

DEL \\<ComputerName>\<DriveName>\<FolderName>\<FileName>\

 

Replace all the names with the appropriate ones, normally <DriveName>

will be C: etc. Try with the short and the long name of the file.

Maybe it will work for you too. If not, boot from a Recovery Console

CD and try to delete it from there.

 

michaeld121@hotmail.com wrote:

>I’ve got a file that appears to exist, but when I try & delete it I

>get: “Cannot delete …. Cannot find the specified file”. I created it

>as a.txt with a long-ish file name (76 chars) as a reminder, but it

>now has no extension & is zero bytes. I can’t open it and the

>properties doesn’t give me much info.

>

>It’s on a drive (h:) that’s sync’d to a network and only appears when

>I’m not connected to the network. This makes it difficult to use

>things like ccleaner, deletefxpfiles, chkdsk etc.

>

>I’ve tried deleting it from a command line (tells me it doesn't exist)

>in safe mode (couldn't log on) deleting the folder and a bunch of

>other things … but no joy.

>

>Any ideas?

>

>Michael

Thanks

Juan I. Cahis

Santiago de Chile (South America)

Note: Please forgive me for my bad English, I am trying to improve it!

[Guest Jeff Johnson]

Re: Can't delete 0 byte file, with no file type

 

<michaeld121@hotmail.com> wrote in message

news:7f3400a0-e49c-4eca-a8ef-3ec87c3214cc@k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com...

> I’ve got a file that appears to exist, but when I try & delete it I

> get: “Cannot delete …. Cannot find the specified file”.

 

Does this help any: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=320081

[Guest Philip Andrews]

Re: Can't delete 0 byte file, with no file type

 

Can you rename this file, set its FNE as '.txt' and then get rid of it that

way?

 

((:o)x

 

"witan" <tsr1936@gmail.com> wrote in message

news:b3b83f39-743b-45d6-89f2-77406b272596@s33g2000pri.googlegroups.com...

On May 28, 8:58 pm, michaeld...@hotmail.com wrote:

> I’ve got a file that appears to exist, but when I try & delete it I

> get: “Cannot delete …. Cannot find the specified file”. I created it

> as a.txt with a long-ish file name (76 chars) as a reminder, but it

> now has no extension & is zero bytes. I can’t open it and the

> properties doesn’t give me much info.

>

> It’s on a drive (h:) that’s sync’d to a network and only appears when

> I’m not connected to the network. This makes it difficult to use

> things like ccleaner, deletefxpfiles, chkdsk etc.

>

> I’ve tried deleting it from a command line (tells me it doesn't exist)

> in safe mode (couldn't log on) deleting the folder and a bunch of

> other things … but no joy.

>

> Any ideas?

>

> Michael

 

Have you tried using DelinvFile.exe available in

http://dl10.filekicker.net/private/$adv-rgn3$1212082938$f0252b24b6b5d62591e6e3598a3d137b$/id/$FK29722$172697-LWGI$/cache/609e29cde4166c5f06656bd844f3361e8318a24dfd44f6ed27ff20fe69d2f8cc1466cb7d203d0d/delinvfile.zip

from http://www.purgeie.com/delinv/dldelinv.htm ?

I have successfully used the older completely free version several

times. It says on the web site that the current version has retained

as "free" all the features of the older version, but you have to pay

to get additional features.

[Guest michaeld121@hotmail.com]

Re: Can't delete 0 byte file, with no file type

 

On May 29, 7:06 pm, "Jeff Johnson" <i....@enough.spam> wrote:

> Does this help any:http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=320081

 

Many thanks for all the suggestions. I've worked my way through most

of them ... with no joy. Broadly the same thing happens - I can see

the file and it shows up in Windows Explorer or when I type DIR from a

command line. But when I try to delete, rename or move it - I get

"Cannot find the file". Using quotes, the short name or the UNC

doesn't make a difference.

 

I tried Delinvfile, which looked promising as it allowed me to

navigate me to the h: drive - but when I tried to delete it I got

"File Not Found". I also tried to use Delinvfile to rename it or

delete on boot - same thing.

 

I've read the Microsoft article and I think running Chkdsk is what's

needed as it seems like an index or metadata is out of sync. However

I can't run chkdsk on the drive as it thinks it's a network drive

(even though it's actually a sync'd drive, held on my c: drive). I

ran a full chkdsk on my c: drive overnight - no joy.

 

I'll try the back-up file idea this evening.

 

Michael

[Guest John John (MVP)]

Re: Can't delete 0 byte file, with no file type

 

michaeld121@hotmail.com wrote:

 

> I've read the Microsoft article and I think running Chkdsk is what's

> needed as it seems like an index or metadata is out of sync. However

> I can't run chkdsk on the drive as it thinks it's a network drive

 

Try deleting all the network drives, at a command prompt issue:

 

net use * /delete /y

 

> (even though it's actually a sync'd drive, held on my c: drive).

 

What is a "sync'd drive"?

 

John

[Guest michaeld121@hotmail.com]

Re: Can't delete 0 byte file, with no file type

 

On May 30, 11:36 am, "John John (MVP)" <audetw...@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote:

>

> Try deleting all the network drives, at a command prompt issue:

>

> net use * /delete /y

>

> > (even though it's actually a sync'd drive, held on my c: drive).

>

> What is a "sync'd drive"?

>

> John

 

 

Apols – I’ve probably got the wrong phrase. What I mean is that I

have an h:\ drive which, when I'm working online is a normal network

drive. This is then sync’ed (using the standard MS Synchronisation

Manager) so that it’s available offline (still appearing as my h:

drive).

 

This problem file is only there when I’m offline, not when I’m

online. If there’s a way of deleting what’s held offline & forcing

everything to re-sync that might be an answer.

 

Michael

[Guest John John (MVP)]

Re: Can't delete 0 byte file, with no file type

 

michaeld121@hotmail.com wrote:

> On May 30, 11:36 am, "John John (MVP)" <audetw...@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote:

>

>>Try deleting all the network drives, at a command prompt issue:

>>

>>net use * /delete /y

>>

>>

>>>(even though it's actually a sync'd drive, held on my c: drive).

>>

>>What is a "sync'd drive"?

>>

>>John

>

>

>

> Apols – I’ve probably got the wrong phrase. What I mean is that I

> have an h:\ drive which, when I'm working online is a normal network

> drive. This is then sync’ed (using the standard MS Synchronisation

> Manager) so that it’s available offline (still appearing as my h:

> drive).

>

> This problem file is only there when I’m offline, not when I’m

> online. If there’s a way of deleting what’s held offline & forcing

> everything to re-sync that might be an answer.

 

Try re-initializing the offline cache.

 

John

[Guest michaeld121@hotmail.com]

Re: Can't delete 0 byte file, with no file type

 

>

> Try re-initializing the offline cache.

>

> John

 

 

Guess what ... that worked. Many thanks. I had tried to find an

option to delete the sync'd files but couldn't, I guess I was

searching on the wrong thing.

 

I some problems with my profile after I'd done it, but I think that

was the fault of my laptop & the way it's set-up.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions

 

Michael

[Guest John John (MVP)]

Re: Can't delete 0 byte file, with no file type

 

michaeld121@hotmail.com wrote:

>>Try re-initializing the offline cache.

>>

>>John

>

>

>

> Guess what ... that worked. Many thanks. I had tried to find an

> option to delete the sync'd files but couldn't, I guess I was

> searching on the wrong thing.

 

You're welcome, thanks for the follow-up.

 

John