So at a command prompt (Start >All Programs >Accessories >Command Prompt) I was able to delete the file using: del '? C: Temp Stuff Sales Agreement.' Note: On Windows 7 it seems you can just use wildcards without the? Trick to delete the offending files: e.g.ĭel c: temp somefil * If it's a folder/directory you're trying to delete use the rd or rmdir command, e.g.: rd /s '? C: Documents and Settings User Desktop Annoying Folder.' Micronta 4003 Vlf Metal Detector Manual: Software Free Download. C: Temp SomeFile.txt becomes? C: Temp SomeFile.

As these files were being accessed over a file share I guess the usual Win32 checks are bypassed.īut thankfully you can get Win32 to ignore these checks by prefixing your file paths with?, (ie. I suppose this is all for DOS/Windows 9x backwards compatibility. For example, NTFS actually allows file paths up to 32K but Windows restricts file paths to no more than 260 characters (MAX_PATH). So if Windows doesn't appear to allow these file names, how did they get to be created? Well, it turns out that NTFS allows all sort of file name/path weirdness that Windows, or specifically the Win32 API, doesn't allow. Macs tend to write all sorts of metadata to extra '._DSStore' files and suchlike and had left this file behind. The file was on a file share which had been accessed by a Mac user. So how did this file get created in the first place? The answer: a Mac. It was something like ' C: Temp Stuff Sales Agreement.' As far as Windows is concerned this is an invalid file name: so although it gets reported in a directory listing, the standard Windows APIs for manipulating files subsequently deny its existence. It turns out the problem was: the filename ended with a dot, e.g. And a CHKDSK didn't sort thing out either. Even going to the file's properties to check permissions presented a very blank properties dialog.

Verify the item's location and try again. Note: Windows 7's version of this message is something like: Could not find this item: This is no longer located in C: Blah. Attempting to delete them results in ' Error Deleting File or Folder - Cannot delete file: Cannot read from the source file or disk'. One of our file shares ended up with several undelete-able files. I've finally solved a problem that's been bugging me for years.

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