Can't delete 0 bytes folder!

[WhiteNoiseMaker]

Hi,

Hope someone can help me. I've got an empty folder on my HDD that I can't make any changes to, add any files to or changes the settings for in anyway! When I try to delete it I get the message "This is no longer located in C:\Users....etc. Verify the item's location and try again"

I was downloading from an FTP and the download failed, leaving me with this useless empty folder. The folder size is 0 bytes. I can't change any security settings because it says "The requested security information is either unavailable or can't be displayed". Attributes are not set to read-only or hidden. I can't delete this folder in safe mode so how do i remove it??

[spacesurfer]

What folder is it? Where is it located? Did you create it or was it already there?

Are you sure it's 0 bytes? Are you viewing hidden files? hidden system files?

[WhiteNoiseMaker]

What folder is it? it was a folder that would have had MP3 files in it

Where is it located? in my download folder C:\Users\USER NAME\Downloads

Did you create it or was it already there? it was created by me/cuteftp when the transfer failed

Are you sure it's 0 bytes? Yes it was 0 bytes

Are you viewing hidden files? My post says not a hidden file

hidden system files? Not a system file as it was a failed FTP transfer

I searched around on Google and came up with a fix for this, as others have had the same problem. the cure was a program called unlocker, its the only thing that would work!

Edited June 7, 2007 by WhiteNoiseMaker

[Eck]

Unlocker is cool. But for the occasional problem like you had, which I think is just one of the Vista bugs that haven't been fixed yet, simply deleting whatever can be deleted and then restarting the computer and deleting the rest of it worked for me. Upon reboot Vista let me delete these kinds of things completely.

[bledd]

google

take ownership of a folder

then delete it after you have

[Eck]

Yes, but I think this problem is a bit different. These are not locked folders and files. I'd doubt that Vista would let you take ownership of a file of folder that has been deleted and it thinks does not exist. The problem is that it still appears in Windows Explorer, and will still be there after restart except the restart fixes things so you can actually fully delete it all.

This happens even with user owned files and folders within folders like Documents, Music, etc. You delete files or a folder and they still appear. Just reboot and delete what's still there and they finally disappear.

This is definitely a bug and not simply files or folders that are locked.

[cluberti]

Yes, but I think this problem is a bit different. These are not locked folders and files. I'd doubt that Vista would let you take ownership of a file of folder that has been deleted and it thinks does not exist. The problem is that it still appears in Windows Explorer, and will still be there after restart except the restart fixes things so you can actually fully delete it all.

This happens even with user owned files and folders within folders like Documents, Music, etc. You delete files or a folder and they still appear. Just reboot and delete what's still there and they finally disappear.

This is definitely a bug and not simply files or folders that are locked.

Are we sure it's a bug, or is it that there are still open handles (or pointers to now invalid handles) that is keeping the folder itself "locked" until a reboot (when the handles would be closed, of course)? I'd prefer a Process Explorer output, or a full dump of the box in state, before jumping to conclusions.

[Eck]

However the problem is described it happens every so often when attempting to delete files or folders whether they are user folders and files or protected folders or files. Some of what is being deleted vanishes from view properly, then what remains refuses to go away. It has been deleted but still appears. After a restart of the computer they still remain but a simple delete finally gets rid of them.

There is no way that this is a "feature." It is something that should be fixed so that it never happens, as it never happens on Windows 9x or Windows XP, in my experience. On XP if there's a lock on something then a message comes up that the file or folder could not be deleted, and it is not deleted. In Vista if this problem occurs the file or folder is deleted since there is no lock on it, but for some reason still remains viewable in Explorer. Since it has been deleted and is no longer really there, no actions can be taken upon the file or folder. There isn't anything there, but the pictures remain! If we reboot, we need to delete it and it then disappears.

That's not a bug? Heh, then I guess the old 98 Windows Explorer problem once Internet Explorer 6 SP 1 is installed that makes copying files freeze things so that we need to end the Explorer process and restart it again (or wait like 10 minutes) or simply opening the My Documents folder freezing things the same way aren't bugs either. They're "features!" And never fixed by Microsoft, either. They just made like if you want Explorer to work properly with our new insecurity features you need to purchase our new insecure version of Windows. Maybe they'll leave this problem unfixed until they release their next version of Windows as well. This is a "feature" of Vista!

With community based operating systems and software these kinds of problems would be fixed either with a patch or with the next version (and that wouldn't be 6 years away) of the package. It's a wonder I spent all these years thinking that since Windows was the most widely used it must be the best and really the only real choice. Gosh, I've learned how wrong I was with just a couple of months of trying out some of the competition. To think I was afraid to even try something different all these years and now find that nearly every other choice is superior to what Microsoft publishes. They are simply marketing, business, and legal genius's, not good software designers. Or rather, put what their software designers suggest at a lower priority than what their other concerns are. I don't mean to diminish what's good about Windows. Just let's say that I wish the company's priorities leaned more towards quality rather than quantity.

All that said, and the many things unsaid, I do enjoy what does work properly in Vista. I prefer it over the previous Windows versions. I just believe that if something so basic as deleting files isn't working properly it should be fixed as soon as possible, not months or years later or in a non-mainstream update that a user needs to search for or contact support for. If you put in and encourage users to use an automatic update system then something as basic as file management should be automatically patched without needing to wait for the next Service Pack or a new release of the operating system. I understand that some hot fixes shouldn't be released to the masses until tested thoroughly but I do believe that many that are kept in the hot fix status awaiting inclusion in a future Service Pack aren't dangerous fixes and should be pushed if they would fix basic flaws such as we are discussing here.

When a user encounters a problem like this one, it just makes it seem like Microsoft released a buggy product. Deleting a folder shouldn't be a problem. That's too basic a function to remain unfixed.

Edited June 9, 2007 by Eck