Can't Delete Folder

A friend referred me to this forum, as it had proven helpful to him.

BASIC COMPUTER INFO:

I have a computer put together for me in the spring of ’04. It has an Intel Pentium 4 CPU with 2.8 GHz, with 512 MB of RAM. I am running Windows XP Home Edition 2002, service pack 2, with the automatic update activated.

PROTECTION:

I used Norton Antivirus ’04 & ’06, but stopped using it in the summer of ’07. At that time, I started using AVG Anti-Virus Free Ediiton, which automatically updates daily. I sporadically update and run Lavasoft Ad-Aware 2007 - the free edition, Norton Systemworks 2006, Spybot Search & Destroy 1.5, Windowsecurity.com/trojanscan/, and The Cleaner v5 Free Edition.

PROBLEM:

I’m having a big problem, (probably a virus or something), but first I’d like some help with what’s hopefully an easy one.

There’s a folder on my computer that I can’t delete. I’ve tried Unlocker 1.8.6, (which usually works well for me), and EMCO MoveOnBoot 1.10.2.10, but the folder remains.

This was a folder that originally had photos I’d taken in it. That’s all (no downloads or anything else). Now, it has 7 levels of folders underneath it, all with the same name. If I ‘right click’ the ‘start’ button and use explore to find the folder, then open the subfolders, the last one will not open. What I mean by that is, if I attempt to highlight the last subfolder (on the left side of the screen, where I’ve got the ‘tree’ of folder and subfolders), the highlight immediately jumps back to the previous folder. If I ‘right click’ the last subfolder in the tree, I get limited options, ‘delete’ not being among them. All the other subfolders have the ‘delete’ option.

Initially, the top file (with the 6 subfolders beneath it) was marked as private, but I was able to undo that. It shows 0 bytes, 0 files and 6 folders.

If I attempt to delete the file, I’m told the items’ name is too long for the recycle bin. If I attempt to permanently delete the items I get an error, saying access is denied: make sure the disk is not write protected or that the file is not currently in use. If I open Windows Task Manager, the folder shows as an application, which I can ‘end process’, but once done, I have to go through the same procedure I’ve mentioned above to open the file, and then its an open application again, so I’m getting nowhere.

After my attempt to delete the folder is denied, Unlocker opens, showing the folder as the locked path, and the process as Explorer.exe. I attempt to kill process and then delete and Unlocker says “Success, the item was deleted.” But of course it hasn’t been. It’s still there.

I don’t know if this is a glitch or something malicious, but I would appreciate any help you can provide.

Thanks!

Try this. The free version only works on one file at a time.

Delete FXP

download of FXP

Beyond that:

HijackThis
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Please read THIS and after completing the steps outlined post a HijackThis log over in that section along with a brief description of your problem.

Do not post HijackThis logs in this section please.


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The security / spyware section of D-A-L works a little differently to the rest of the site. We currently only allow Head Security staff to reply to others threads to ensure a high level of support and quality is maintained with the daily issues which require a certain level of knowledge in this area.

Hi,

Thanks for getting back to me.

I installed Delete FXP Files and attempted to delete the folder, but received the following message: “Recursive folder deletion is not available in the unregistered (demo) version of Delete FXP Files.”

I’ve run Spybot 1.5 before and had problems (see below). Just opening the program takes clicking on it many times. I just tried to run it, but my computer rebooted before the program completed running (see below). I ran it again without my Maxtor External Drive attached, and it says “Congratulations! No immediate threats were found.”

I have AVG Free Edition 7.5.519, and have been running it, with the automatic updates, since before this problem began. My computer is usually on 24/7, so I should be update all the time, right?

I’ll tried running it just now, with my Maxtor External Drive attached, but it crashed. Without the Maxtor it finished, finding no threats. Under virus results, it says:

Partition Table Change Changed
C\Windows/system32\shell32.dll Change Changed
C\Windows/system32\drivers\etc\hosts Change Changed

My Norton Systemworks One Button Check-up ran and, every time it runs, it almost always shows exactly 3 errors fixed in the Registry Scan, and exactly 13 errors fixed in the Program Integrity Scan. The Shortcut Scan found no errors, but the Norton Clean-Up Scan usually has a few temporary files that are not cleaned up. This time it shows:

Temporary File: C:\DOCUME~1\Russ\LOCALS~1\Temp\AutoDetect.exe
Temporary File: C:\DOCUME~1\Russ\LOCALS~1\Temp\~DF1E64.tmp
Temporary File: C:\DOCUME~1\Russ\LOCALS~1\Temp\~DFCD95.tmp
Temporary File: C:\DOCUME~1\Russ\LOCALS~1\Temp\~DFCDF6.tmp

Here’s the Hijack This logfile:

EDIT: Log removed.....

BELOW ARE MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE PROBLEMS I’VE BEEN HAVING WITH MY COMPUTER:


Usually I can’t get through Spybot before the computer reboots itself. This is the problem I mention in my initial post, my “bigger” problem, which I’ll get to later. I guess maybe they’re tied together, and I should give you all the information I have, to this point:

THE PROBLEM:

For a few months now, my computer has been rebooting itself. There is no rhyme or reason to when it happens, except that every time I’ve run The Cleaner, after this problem begin, the computer would reboot itself before the program completed running. AdAware 2007 would run fine, and find no real serious problems, but it crashed yesterday when I attempted to run it. Today, Spybot Search & Destroy (which never gets through before a reboot happens) ran fine, but said it found no threats, so go figure. I’ve run Windowsecurity.com/trojanscan/ twice before, and both times it just found trace cookies, but yesterday it crashed, again mentioning trace cookies. Norton Systemworks 2006 runs fine,

I ran AdAware 2007 today with the Maxtor External Drive (see below) unconnected to my computer, and it ran ok, finding 2 tracking cookies.

HOW IT RESTARTS:

When the computer reboots, the first screen that pops up (the one that says, “press DEL to run set-up”) has, in the past few days, become poorly centered on the screen. The same is true of the Microsoft Windows XP welcome screen that follows, (the one that has the progress meter at the bottom).

Lately, the Found New Hardware Wizard has been starting up (also in the past few days). When it runs, it says “unknown software”, and “cannot install this hardware, as the wizard can’t find the necessary software.”

Since the reboot problem has begun, I always get the following message:

“The system has recovered from a serious error. A log of this error has been created”.

The log looks as follows, the same every time, I believe:

Microsoft Windows
Error Signature

BCCode: 10000050 BCP1: 80000005 BCP2: 00000000 BCP3: 80000005
BCP4: 00000000 OsVer: 5_1_2600 SP: 2_0 Product: 768_1

The following detail is basically the same every time, though slightly different in the numbers, etc:

C:\DOCUME~1|Russ\LOCALS~1\Temp\WERc517.dir00\Mini0 31208-04.dmp
C:\DOCUME~1\Russ\LOCALS~1\Temp\WERc517.dir00\sysda ta.xml

Lately (the last few weeks) I’ve been getting the following message:

Spybot – Search & Destroy

Spybot – Search & Destroy has detected an important registry entry that has been changed:

Category: System Startup global entry
Change: Value deleted
Entry: KernelFaultCheck
Old Data: %systemroot%\system32\dumprep 0 –k

It asks if I want to allow or deny change, and I always deny.

It gives the following details:

Description: Used in connection with memory dumps – you can disable these by right clicking on My computer, selecting Properties, and then the Advanced tab. Click on the Settings button in “Startup and Recovery” in the bottom pane – under “Write debugging information” – click on the down arrow and then select “None” – OK your way out.

Source: Paul Collins Startup list

I don’t know if this is related, but I have a Maxtor 300 GB External Drive with automatic back-up, which I use to back-up my “C” drive. I also have most of my downloads go to that drive.

The icon is always red now, and when you hover the cursor over
It, it says the backup has failed! If I manually instigate a back-up,
It backs up fine, but the icon and the message remain the same.

I hope this stuff was helpful. Thanks again for your time.

Russ

"Do not post HijackThis logs in this section please."
I've edited your post to remove the log. Post it in the correct forum please.

__________________
It's a good day when you learn something
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Location: Alberta, CanadaD-A-L Hardware Scan

Russ

I had the problem of 'undeletable folders,' and went to here:

http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker

I down loaded 'unlocker,' it is free and it very quickly solved my problem?

I do hope that it will help you too?

regards

grimerz

As I mentioned the FXP tool only works on one file at a time in the free version.

You cannot use it on the folder until you empty the folder of its files one by one.

Anyway your problems appear to be far beyond this issue.

Post your HijackThis log in the proper forum and see what they say.

Also read this post for more ideas:

BSOD Diagnostics

This is not the correct way to do so, but if you restart your computer and have the folder moved to your desktop you can delete it right away before windows detects that it is there. I have done this when a similar problem occurs.