Folders can't be deleted.

Faith007 · Apr 12, 2006

WinXP SP2
Pentium 4, 3.2GHZ
1GB of RAM

Shortly after I installed WinXP, I noticed that I was unable to delete folders by going to Windows Explorer and pressing the delete key. I would always get the message:

"Can not delete [Folder Name] It is being used by another person or program. Close any programs that might be using the file and try again."

I am able to delete the folder through the DOS prompt though.

No other programs are using the folders when I try to delete them.
The account I log on with is an administrator account.
The folders do not have invalid names.
The folders are not deep within the path.

I already ran 3 anti-malware programs in Safe Mode:
Search and Destroy
Microsoft AntiSpyware
AdAwareSE

But they did not solve the problems (although I know that they don't catch everything.)

Might I still have spyware on my PC? If so, what should I do to remove it?

Thanks.

chaslang · Apr 13, 2006

Welcome to Majorgeeks!

This may not be a malware problem. The only way to be sure would be for you to run the cleaning procedures given further down. But also answer a couple questions:

what folder names can't you delete?

what happens if you create a new folder with nothing in it? Can you delete it?

what happens if you create a new folder with a few dummy files in it? Can you delete it?

when you say DOS prompt, do you mean with Safe Mode with command prompt or with Windows running and a command prompt window opened.

Please follow our standard cleaning procedures which are necessary for us to provide you support. Also there are steps included for installing, running, and posting HijackThis logs as attachments.

Run ALL the steps in this Sticky thread READ & RUN ME FIRST Before Asking for Support

Make sure you check version numbers and get all updates.

Very Important: Make sure you tell us the results from running the tutorial...was anything found? Were you unable to complete any of the scans?...Were you unable to download any of the tools?...Did you do the on-line scans as suggested? etc.

After doing ALL of the above you still have a problem make sure you have booted to normal mode and run the steps in the below link to properly use HijackThis and attach a log:

Downloading, Installing, and Running HijackThis

When you return to make your next post, make sure you attach the following logs and that you have run these scans in the following order too (these scans are covered in steps 6 & 7 of the READ & RUN ME sticky)

Bitdefender

Panda Scan

HijackThis

.

Faith007 · Apr 14, 2006

Solution Found

You're not going to believe what the solution was. It was so simple!
To begin with, I was incorrect to say that I used Windows Explorer to delete the folder -- it is actually a freeware program called xplorer2, a highly regarded replacement for Windows Explorer.
As it turns out, xplorer2, unlike Windows Explorer, simply won't allow you to delete folders in the left pane, which is where I was trying to delete them. You have to go to the right pane to delete folders. Once I did that, I was able to delete any folder I wanted to.

Thanks for your detailed response.

chaslang · Apr 14, 2006

Re: Solution Found

You're welcome.

Log in or Sign up

Folders can't be deleted.

Faith007 Private E-2

chaslang MajorGeeks Admin - Master Malware Expert Staff Member

Faith007 Private E-2

chaslang MajorGeeks Admin - Master Malware Expert Staff Member

Log in or Sign up

Folders can't be deleted.

Faith007 Private E-2

chaslang MajorGeeks Admin - Master Malware Expert Staff Member

Faith007 Private E-2

chaslang MajorGeeks Admin - Master Malware Expert Staff Member

Useful Searches