Ok so I downloaded a torrent from the internet and when I opened it up in uTorrent another file appeared with the same name and it was white and it didn't have the uTorrent logo on it. I deleted the uTorrent one and the other one said file is missing. I brought it back out of the Recycle bin and then tried to delete the other file and it deleted but then the uTorrent one turned white and I couldn't delete that one now. Any help?
Try this... 1.Run the command prompt as administrator, (right click> run as administrator 2.Navigate to the folder with the file. 3.Use the "dir /a /x /p" command to get the 8.3 names (example "XXXX~1"). 4.Del XXXX~1
Here is a more detailed procedure and hopefully easier for you to follow. With example included. Before opening the command prompt, locate the file. If it is on your desktop, right click on the file icon and click on properties. Under the General Tab, Location should be indicated there. Copy the location. (Drag cursor, right click, copy). ex. C:\Users\ioftro\Desktop Open Command prompt as administrator also known as CMD.exe - You can access this from the start menu, search box> type CMD.... It will be shown as a search result, right click on it and run as admin. When cmd opens, Type "CD <space><location of file>" example: "CD C:\Users\ioftro\Desktop" -without quotes *just paste the location you copied there...after CD and click enter. Don't forget to type CD first and then a space and then paste the location. Next, TYPE "dir /a /x /p" without quotes. Click Enter again. Look for the file name you want to delete. It will be in an 8.3 format (example xxxx~1.tor) Once you locate the file you want to delete TYPE DEL<Space><the filename.extension> and click enter. ex. DEL xxxx~1.tor then enter. The file should be gone. Note the name would not be the normal long filename, it will be shown as 8.3 filename very similar to my example above. That is what you need to delete and not the long filename.
I have 5 of those white files with 0 kb in My Documents folder. Followed your instructions and now they are gone!!! Thanks
@ioftro Hi bud, I noticed all my files in one folder only on my external drive f: has completely disappeared. And it had about 20GB in it. The drive is still as full as it was before the files vanished. I might have accidentally done it but probably didn't since I'm pretty careful. Anyhow, I wanted to delete the folder but I get an error 0x80070091 and it says the directory is not empty. I even tried using unlocker which always works except this time...lol I even scanned my machine with malwarebytes and my AV but its clean and my machine works fine. I tried to delete it through cmd line but no luck. could you run me through the cmd line commands to maybe figure this out. Thanks
Hey Jedi Pal. I don't think your problem is with invalid filenames like the two guys. Using dir /a /x /p will show the short name of a file that had invalid long file names. I am more inclined to believe it's more of a file corruption you have there. You see, when you save a file in windows, Windows will create an 8.3 filename for backward compatibility that msdos use. When a user saves a file, lets say a torrent, windows generates a short name known as 8.3 file format. If the torrent is named using invalid characters, windows will still save it and at the same time create an 8.3 name. When you delete the file, an error is encountered which leaves behind a 0kb file that cannot be deleted. You can try to navigate to the location of your files and see if the files will show up. Just open cmd, ex: cd F: then try typing dir /a /x /p. See if a directory of files can be found. * edit just enter F: not cd. Sorry my dos is rusty.
@timesurfer I wouldnt use an external enclosured drive (USB) on a bet, too much chance of file table corruption by voltage irregularities, or that fact alone hosing the HDD itself - causing bad sectors In your case (20GB files disappearing) this does not appear to be a virus, but rather master file table poached, or HDD borked Three options 4 U First thing you want to try is chkdsk C /r /p (or whatever your external drive letter) From MS......... ---------------------- CHKDSK chkdsk (drive) /p /r The chkdsk command checks the specified drive and repairs or recovers the drive if the drive requires it. The command also marks any bad sectors and it recovers readable information. You can use the following options: /p Does an exhaustive check of the drive and corrects any errors. /r Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information. ---------------------- Now I dont have much faith in that command because its notorious for not finding the real probs If it shows errors in LOG FILE you agree to, thats your prob. If good, your next step is HDD manuf. drive diagnose sw That will def tell you whats up (full mode) The next thing is use freeware recuva to see your files and recover them to some other HDD There is also a sw HDD regenerator which physically repairs "stuck domains" Quote: How it works HDD Regenerator regenerates bad sectors by magnetic reversal. This technology is hardware independent, it supports many types of hard drives and repairs damage that even low-level disk formatting cannot repair. Because of the way the repair is made, the existing information on the disk drive will not be affected! --------------------------------------- The final thing is to take the enclosure and put it on a sturdy bench and hit it about 10 times with a ten pound sledge hammer, so that you, or no one else can ever use it again
Thanks frisbee66 for assisting TS ... Also, I haven't tried HDD regenerator but I find it interesting. Will download it.
@ TS when you open cmd as admin, type the Drive Letter of your external usb drive and click enter then type DIR click enter again. That should list all the files present in your drive ex @cmd prompt type F:
Thank you frisbee66. Before I read your post I was offline in safe mode in cmd using the command chkdsk /f It went through checking and stuff then asked to unmount drive so I said yes then it found the folder I couldn't delete then it asked if it could do something having to do with chain or something and then it asked to turn folder into file so I said yes rebooted then the folder was now file and I deleted it but funny thing is the drive is still at same size before folder that had 20 GB in it was deleted. I was hoping to get that space back but no such luck. I am going to read your post now and learn from it. Thank you both
The repair switch means if it finds bad sectors it will automatically reassign new ones, so that group of 20GB under one folder (chain thingy you said yes to) will be not accessible - gone. You just did it manually. I would still advise running HDD manuf drive fitness test full And HDD that get bad sectors in an external usually get more - buy a dif brand enclosure, and dont be so cheap - heh I know a guy that lost his whole doctoral thesis in an external HDD. Had to pay $4500 to recov. HDD regen and another chkdsk gives you about a 75% chance of regaining - but prepare to go to a movie
My hard drive has some errors. I used a drive diagnostic from western digital and the short s.m.a.r.t. test says it failed but I can still use the drive. Can I use this chkdsk command to test it?
Thank you frisbee66. That is temporarily unavailable Should I still try to get that space back 20GB? I have to use my computer today so I can do it when i go to sleep. Should I go back into safe mode and do another chkdsk with an /f or /p or something
@timesurfer No you already did a /r /p by answering the questions those 20GB of sectors all have 'x''s ahead of them Windows has said dont use, they are invisible to Win 7 Just my damn luck, srvers go down when I give a link - naturally And I just checked it before posting Give me a few minutes I'll upload it to RS Edit: O.K. PM'd you the link Edit 2: I know a guy that had his whole PHD dissertation (2+ years of work) on an external USB HDD that went bricked He wound up paying $4500 to have it recovered, and he only got 90% of it I dont even trust HDD mounted internally - I only buy WD enterprise drives (black) and clone them weekly with Casper V 6.0 Another thing to think about is if you are using an imaging backup sw, and you have imaged a drive with unreadable sectors, it might make your image corrupted also Last word: If an enclosure caused bad sectors on a drive, it will prob cause more. While HDD can get bad sectors on their own, the fact you are external on this one is too coincidental DUMP THAT THING.
I have laptop so what else should I use. It's a WD 1TB external. I'm not too worried about data loss just want that space back. O well I will try the HDD regen. How long does it take to do it's thing so I can plan when to do it?
@ timesurfer Do you think I can do that chkdsk thing? I'm currently using the drive right now with my windows 7. It has errors when I used the diagnostic utility from western digital. Would it be safe to use? I think they both missed my post or just ignored me and did not reply.
Sorry bluealien. When you said "both" does that include me? I read your post but since I am not an expert on this things, I assumed you were asking frisbee66 since you quoted his post. I did not ignore you, I simply assumed. Anyway, yes you can try chkdsk but since you used a utility from the hdd manufacturer, I think that is better and more comprehensive. Just my opinion though. You should back up your drive if it fails the smart test and replace it.