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Folders Stuck with Super Glue!


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I keep many copies of Tor Browser. I configure each copy differently because they're used for different
purposes.

Old copies on flash drives and external hard drives are stuck real bad! There are corrupt files without
extensions. They appear to be file fragments. I cannot rename anything. Opened command prompt
and tried several delete commands. Nothing happened. Booting into Safe Mode didn't work either.

These apps failed:

1. IObitUnlocker
2. FileASSASSIN
3. Delete Doctor
4. FileExile
5. Sysinternals MoveFile (deletes during bootup)
6. Emsisoft BlitzBlank (deletes during bootup)

I've got <some warez>. There is a mini version of XP on the disk and a long list of apps. Is there
an app on that might delete those stuck folders?

In the past I've had folders and files that were difficult to delete, but not impossible. I don't know what else
I can try. If you've got a possible solution, please let me know.

Edited by jaclaz
Removed mention of warez
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Yes, I thought about Scandisk. I've seen numerous corrupt files, but the files in those folders are damaged
in a strange way. They look like file fragments, but I really don't know what they are.

Apps that run during bootup like MoveFile and BlitzBlank should have deleted those folders. BlitzBlank
was created to clean out malware. I was very surprised when it failed to delete those folders.

OK jumper, I'll run Scandisk.

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I ticked "Scan and attempt recovery of bad sectors." Selecting this option also fixes file system errors.
Scandisk did not work.

The last app I tried before finding the solution was Pocket Killbox. It failed like all the others.


A COMMAND LINE APP - SUPERDELETE - WORKED LIKE A CHARM!

https://github.com/marceln/SuperDelete

1. Copy SuperDelete.exe into your Windows directory
2. Open Command Prompt

There are a few simple commands like this one:

SuperDelete.exe PathToFileOrFolder

Command with long pathname did not work:

SuperDelete.exe I:\Old Tor Browsers\Copy_001\Use On Boot\Happy Days\Structure

Command with short pathname (8 + 3 DOS style) deleted all the corrupt folders and files:

SuperDelete.exe I:\OLDTOR~1\Copy_001\USEONB~1\HAPPYD~1\STRUCT~


I've got backups for everything. Formatting the partitions with those "stuck in concrete" folders seemed
like the only solution. I was about to quit googling when I found SuperDelete.

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The Superdelete seems like being "simply" looooong names/paths capable.

Was it the issue?

The example you posted doesn't seem so long a path, and (in the superdelete context) the use of 8+3 paths should have not been necessary :dubbio:. (only trying to understand why it worked)

jaclaz

 

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It may be too late to say but I think the MBR did not match what was on the HDD and then the HDD was written to and cross linking has occurred. Jumper is correct in using ScanDisk but I would slow down access timing and use on a good USB 1.1 port. If the drive is not accessed properly then more corruption is probable.
 

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9 hours ago, Goodmaneuver said:

It may be too late to say but I think the MBR did not match what was on the HDD and then the HDD was written to and cross linking has occurred. Jumper is correct in using ScanDisk but I would slow down access timing and use on a good USB 1.1 port. If the drive is not accessed properly then more corruption is probable.
 

No.

The MBR has nothing to do with that, it ONLY defines the addresses of the extents assigned to a partition or volume.

Scandisk, chkdsk, etc. do not work at disk (whole thing) level, but at drive (please read a partition, volume, filesytem or "whatever gets a drive letter in windows") level.

Cross-linking of file (if any) depends on FAT tables on FAT or $MFT (or $Bitmap) on NTFS corruption.

jaclaz

 

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Yes partition table and thanks for pointing that out but after doing a 1 to 1 sector copy of a hard drive the free space will not be updated and if you start writing to that drive then there will be corruption unless you do a ScanDisk first. There are issues when writing from later NT operating system in that if the file name can not be read properly with Win98/ME then it can not be deleted. The strange characters were readable on Win7 but not on ME which showed undersores ______. Also this is what I experience. When writing from Win7, or 10 I believe, to NAS drive in folder named "Videos" then the NAS drive will then show afterwards two folders one named "Videos" and the other name "videos". It is the same folder and WinME does not do this. I now write to the NAS drive from Win7/10 to the smaller Vids folder instead of Videos. My reasoning why this occurs is that the Videos folder is very large and often opening it with the later OS's from a fresh boot shows nothing in it. There are other anomalies with modern OS's that never have been corrected. I will not say here as it is not in the correct feed.

Edited by Goodmaneuver
I found out the memory stick was formatted with Ext4
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