Strange files that I can't delete taking up space

Behonkiss

New Member
Messages
4
A few days ago, I noticed some strange files appearing on my desktop. They have no extension and thus can't be opened with any application, and selecting and attempting to delete them gives me one of those "Could not delete, file is no longer there" messages. Refreshing my desktop and restarting the whole computer hasn't changed anything. Any advice on how to get rid of these? I've included a picture of the files.
 

Attachments

  • strangefiles.jpg
    strangefiles.jpg
    8.2 KB · Views: 86

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
I'd try adding the letters tmp after the period to one of the files shown in your image and see if it can then be deleted. Not having an extension keeps Windows from knowing how to deal with it. By default known files extensions are hidden so I always set my computers to show them.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    WinXP, WinVista, Win7, Win8.1, Win10, Linux Mint 20
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2 Customs and 12 OEM/Brands
    CPU
    AMD and Intel
I tried, but pressing enter after adding the extension gives me the same "File can no longer be found" problem. Windows seems to think these files don't exist, despite the fact that they're clearly on the desktop.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Hi,
Try this...

Windows key + X
Command prompt (Admin)
c:
cd \
cd users\<your username here>\Desktop
del /Q /S R <file name here>
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Enterprise
Try it this way:

Windows key + X
Command prompt (Admin)

Press Enter after each of the following.

cd %userprofile%\Desktop

You should now be sitting at C:\Users\<your username>\Desktop
dir <file name here>

If it shows then:
del /Q /S <file name here>

If it doesn't shown then it's not really there.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
It didn't find anything, so I guess the files don't exist any more. Still wish there was a way to get the desktop to recognize that.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
It seems that your Hard Drive is corrupted. You can try:
  1. Win+X ->Command Prompt (Admin)
  2. run: chkdsk C: /r
  3. System will reboot and run chkdsk. Will take a while to complete and sometimes appears to be stalled. Let it run to finish.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1x64PWMC Ubuntu14.04x64 MintMate17x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brewed
    CPU
    I7 4970K OC'ed @4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI-Z97
    Memory
    16 GB G-Skill Trident X @2400MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450
    Sound Card
    X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual HP-W2408
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    256 GB M2 sm951, (2) 500GB 850EVO, 5TB, 2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    Antec 850W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    Danger Den H20
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance Mouse MX
    Internet Speed
    35/12mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
The cd %userprofile%\Desktop this will probably place / put you on Administrator's Desktop, not on your desktop.

You can repeat steps above, but please note that there is a space between CD and \ You need to type it with space in between CD \


Part 2:

On following 2 commands the "<" and ">" must be omitted and replaced by your input

On below command there must be no space
cd users\<your username here>\Desktop

On below command there must be space.
del /Q /S R <file name here>

HINT: You need to type commands line by line and hit enter after each one.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Enterprise
Just a long shot here; once I had a file on the desktop of acct R, and I had a shortcut on the desktop of acct S, which was pointing to the file that only existed on acct R's desktop. Could this be what's happening?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Pro 64bit [MS blue-disk set]
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2 Acers & 1 Antec[?]
    CPU
    i7 in 2 Acers, i5 in desktop
    Motherboard
    Desktop w/Gigabyte
    Memory
    Two w/16GB, 1 w/8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Laptops GameWorthy; Desktop maybe GameWorthy
    Monitor(s) Displays
    flatscreens; 2 are BluRay worthy
    Screen Resolution
    1368x768; 1600x900
    Hard Drives
    1TB internals; 2 ext usb WD 1TB HDs
    PSU
    what's PSU?
    Cooling
    Regular plus external fans
    Keyboard
    desktio w/PS2
    Mouse
    desktop w/PS2
    Internet Speed
    DSL middle level [160?]
    Browser
    from Netscape 0.9 to FF 36
    Antivirus
    well-balanced, well-configured mult-layered defense is best
    Other Info
    From MS-DOS 3.3, MS-DOS 6.22, from Windows 3.1 to WFW 3.11 to Windows 95-98SE, now to Windows 7 Pro.
    Security for now: Windows 7 Firewall, Emsisoft AM, MSE [scan-only], SpywareBlaster, Ruiware/BillP combine
Just a long shot here; once I had a file on the desktop of acct R, and I had a shortcut on the desktop of acct S, which was pointing to the file that only existed on acct R's desktop. Could this be what's happening?

Probably, that's why we ran Admin shell and remove the files in silent mode.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Enterprise
Back
Top