Infinate File

[jim will fix it]

Hi Guys - Gals

I am hoping if there is a possibility to help me out on a

problem



The problem I have is a file on my hard drive which i cannot

remove. If i try to delete it then explorer restarts and i

recieve the error message Error 0x80070057:The parameter is

incorrect. The file was 3.4TB...yes TB which cannot be as my

drive is only 240Gb. Inside the file is 256 replica files

which probably explains the size. If i have 1 mp3 of file

size 3mb its multiplied by 256 blah blah blah, im sure you

get where im coming from. The file is named "..." . Inside

the file is a duplicate of everything including the "..."

that is in the folder. And inside that is the same. and so

on. This goes on and on and seemingly never ends. I have

tried a few utilities such as "kill box" and tried to delete

in safe mode, and also tried to remove it through cmd with

my limited knowlege of this, but no joy. I just want rid of

it. Any suggestions on how to delete the bugger for good?



If any more information is required I will gladly give as

much as i can and will visit these forums daily to keep a

check on any progress that may help resolve this annoying

problem.

Thanks you in advance for any help you can offer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Specs have been added to my profile. Anything additional required will be posted on request.

 

[zigzag3143]

Jim

Di you have a linux disc, an XP dvd, bart pe, dos, anything you can boot from? boot from that navigate to where the file is and try to kill it there


Ken

 

[lemur]

KillBox.Net

 

[jim will fix it]

Hi Ken,

Thanks for the fast reply.

Could I say firstly that Im no computer genius. All i have is a recovery disk. I think its different to a full on Vista disk. I "think" most of the operating system files are on my "D" partition and when i need to reinstall it uses that. Even so, i would ask you nicely to explain in detail how to do what your post says as i am afraid i wont be able to what you suggested.

My system specs are on my profile but just in case anyone cant find that, i am using Win Vista Home premium

 

[jim will fix it]

Hi Lemur,

I have tried killbox with no joy

 

[jim will fix it]

Dont give up on me yet guys please.

The folder I cannot delete is the original Downloads folder of vista. Maybe this has something to do with it. After trying the new version of killbox ( I have used this before but thought the new version might resolve the problem ) the utility must have deleted the folder but vista replaced it as it now appears with a normal folder icon rather than the original blue fancy one. But still inside is the "..." named folder that i cannot get rid of. I have tried to rename the folder "..." but it says it is in use in another program? And must close this program to rename it. ?? What program can possibly be using an empty folder??

I have recently AGAIN done a disk error check and scanned for all virus maleware spyware ect and i am still fully updated. Come on guys any suggestions to get rid of this folder will be warmly welcomed. I will continue to try things and udate this thread incase anybody has any ideas or has the same problem as what i am having.

Thanks in advance for any forthcoming help

 

[CyberZeus]

Hi, there is a trick to remove files that Explorer can't.
You need the complete and exact path of the file and input this at command prompt:

DEL "\\.\<path>\<filename>"

and hit enter.
With this you can remove files with strange names and sizes. This trick helped me out in remove a file named "LPT1".
Hope this helps

 

[H2SO4]

But still inside is the "..." named folder that i cannot get rid of. I have tried to rename the folder "..." but it says it is in use in another program? And must close this program to rename it. ?? What program can possibly be using an empty folder??

You should consider the possibility that the machine has been compromised by some form of malware, despite the "clean" scan results. Having said that, here are some suggestions for how to work around the "in use" lock on the file.

First, the simpler approach - boot to safe mode and attempt to delete the file/folder from there. If the process which is holding a lock on it doesn't start in safe mode, you should be able to delete the file. If that too fails to work because the file is supposedly still in use in safe mode...

Change the folder permissions on that folder to "EVERYONE - NO ACCESS". As in literally cut that folder off from the "everyone" group in terms of permissions. (Right-click the folder, properties, security tab... follow the bouncing ball from there.)

Then reboot.

It is virtually certain that the file/folder will now no longer have a lock on it. You should now be able to take ownership (same place, "Owner" tab under advanced properties), and then delete it without protestation.

 

[jim will fix it]

Ok guys its sorted.

The Folder was removed with a trial version of "East-Tec Eraser 2009"

The problem was on the lines of what "CyberZeus" was suggesting. The folder was oddly named and explorer was having trouble removing it. The reason myself and my brother came up with was that in explorer "..." (3 dots) is actually a command though i am not sure what it does. My brother said ".." (2 dots) in a command line goes up a folder level.

Though i had previously tried H2SO4s answers, before posting this thread, to no avail. The solutions he gave above would i am sure would usually work on most files. Maybe this was because a process blocking the removal was running that required windows to run in safe mode.

Like I said earlier i am no computer genius so if any of what i said is absolute rubbish then just ignore me, its just my logical Engineering brain that is getting carried away lol :P

Anyway its sorted and all i have left to do is to thank all those nice peeps who took time out to try help.

Thanks all

Ps

All who replied have been given Rep. Thanks again.

 

[CyberZeus]

I'm glad that you sorted it out!