Deleting files on Windows XP that will not delete using usual methods

[cwdjrxyz]

Over a year ago I had a crash while processing a movie. This left me
with a file of unknown type with no extension(the icon with colored
dots) and 0 byte size indicated when you right click. When you try to
delete this file, you get a message that it is not possible since
Windows can not access it on the disk. In most cases the best thing
would be to just leave such a bad file alone, since it takes little
space at 0 bytes. However when you defrag the C-drive that the bad
file is on, you find this unknown file will not defrag, is about 4 GB
in size, and consists of over 1000 fragments(red lines scattered all
over the display). What apparently happened is that 4 GB was reserved
for the file before the crash(DVD movie files are huge), and this
information is retained after the crash, despite there being no file
of useful data. I tried all sorts of methods to remove the file using
various programs suggested in some groups, including this one, and on
some sites located with Google. Until recently I found nothing that
would work. Very recently I heard about a pay program that might work,
and there was a very complicated method that might work. I finally
solved the problem.

If you are on the XP with the bad file called MOVIE without an
extension contained in a directory we will call directory/MOVIE the
directory can be moved to another location on the C drive, but the
bare MOVIE file can not be moved alone. If you have administrator
rights as user, it is easy to set up another user. So set up another
user with administrator rights, which I called Moe. Do as little as
possible in setting up this user. When Moe is ready to go, sign into
Moe, and since it has administrator rights, it can access the C-drive
which includes all of your main account files including directory/
MOVIE. Move directory/MOVIE to one of Moe's directories such as
MyDocuments. Then sign out of Moe and go back to your usual account.
Then delete Moe's account, selecting not to retain any of Moe's files.
The bad MOVIE file is now gone, the C drive defrags properly, and I
have gained about 4 GB of HD space on C that was tied up by the
reservation of space for MOVIE that never was properly used because of
the crash.

I wasted far too much time on this problem, and I hope the solution
will be of use to others who are unfortunate enough to have the
problem. The technique used might or might not work on other OSs after
modification needed for another OS.

 

[J.O. Aho]

I wasted far too much time on this problem, and I hope the solution
will be of use to others who are unfortunate enough to have the
problem. The technique used might or might not work on other OSs after
modification needed for another OS.

Most OS:s uses other file systems that usually smarter (not always) and many
has built in anti-fragmentation functionality and of course includes tools
that can take care of odd happenings like bad file linking.

 

[Harlan Messinger]

This has what to do with HTML?

 

[cwdjrxyz]

This has what to do with HTML?

This problem could come up for a .html file just as well as for .vob
and other movie files . I have actually put up a short DVD movie
file on the server as a test on a html page. It is of course more
general than just html. When I first posted about the problem here
many months ago, some people made suggestions. Thus I thought it would
be nice to post how the problem was finally solved. I received no
useful suggestions when I posted on Microscope groups a few months
ago. If the subject is not of interest to someone, the title should
tell them that they do not need to read the message.

 

[Harlan Messinger]

This problem could come up for a .html file just as well as for .vob
and other movie files . I have actually put up a short DVD movie
file on the server as a test on a html page. It is of course more
general than just html.

In fact, it has nothing to do with HTML. The fact that the file in HTML
has nothing to do with what you were asking about.

When I first posted about the problem here
many months ago, some people made suggestions. Thus I thought it would
be nice to post how the problem was finally solved. I received no
useful suggestions when I posted on Microscope groups a few months
ago. If the subject is not of interest to someone, the title should
tell them that they do not need to read the message.

You could use that same logic to justify posting anything anywhere. And
then we'd have newsgroups where we have to skip hundreds of articles
whose titles tell us they don't belong there just to find the articles
that do. This is why Usenet isn't just one big undifferentiated
newsgroup. It should be obvious.

 

[dorayme]

In fact, it has nothing to do with HTML. The fact that the file in HTML
has nothing to do with what you were asking about.

Usenet isn't just one big undifferentiated
newsgroup. It should be obvious.

Naturally, I can only shuffle in here subserviently bent over in
slippers and with a sheepish look and... nah... bugger that. Best
form of defence is attack.

I think a regular like OP can be cut some slack, it was very
interesting (reminds me of some uses I have made of extra
accounts on a Mac and made me more alive to other possibilities,
but naturally I better not go into it here... I don't want to
make you real mad Harlan).

If you want to play "lets be perfectly correct", play with me. I
will paint you a picture of a sort of Orwellian nightmare where
every question, everything that someone has to share has its
proper newsgroup. The opposite of your "one big
undifferentiated".

Priests would hover above it all and enforce ze rules in ze most
strict vashion, there would be ten hundred trillion groups, each
with tightly designed topic and God help anyone who mentions one
thing in one which ought really to be in another.

I cannot think of a more congenial way of starting my Sunday than
this post. <g>

 

[Harlan Messinger]

I think a regular like OP can be cut some slack, it was very
interesting (reminds me of some uses I have made of extra
accounts on a Mac and made me more alive to other possibilities,
but naturally I better not go into it here... I don't want to
make you real mad Harlan).

I'm not real mad. It just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It's like
posting the question to rec.knitting because the poster often knits
while she's waiting for her computer to start. It's largely for posters'
own benefit--wouldn't you want to choose a newsgroup where the
participants are more likely to be both able to answer the question and
are interested in answering such a question?

 

[Cynode]

Over a year ago I had a crash while processing a movie. This left me
with a file of unknown type with no extension(the icon with colored
dots) and 0 byte size indicated when you right click. When you try to
delete this file, you get a message that it is not possible since

Don't know how userful this is, but I've used this program to delete
undeletable stuff:

http://killbox.net/

Like once my kids installed this stupid toolbar that wouldn't get
uninstalled and left a DLL running that you couldn't delete because it
was always "in-use"

 

[dorayme]

I'm not real mad. It just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It's like
posting the question to rec.knitting...

Not really. It is more like at a motorcycle club, or a chess
club, there is a bit of talk not to do with bikes or chess. It
would not be appreciated if a newcomer came in and started
blabbering about something unrelated straight away, but this is
different. It is too severe a requirement to be insisting people
always find just the right specialised group to talk to for every
thing.

I agree that no one should be as bad as me, but that is another
question. <g>

[You would be amazed to hear what we talk about at my knitting
club!]