File Mystery

JamesWRMJ · Dec 19, 2003

Hello:
This usually happens while I'm using Outlook Express. When I go back to my desktop, I find an unwanted icon. It looks like a piece of paper with the upper right corner turned down & it contains a miniture window with three little dots. The caption beneath the icon is merely: ~. The file is located in: Documents & Settings/My File/Desktop. It's properties are:
Name: ~
Type of File: File
Description: ~
Size: 261kb
Summary tab contains no information at all. & I have not been able to open it at all. I delete it but it keeps coming back after a while.
Thanks
James

Wisewiz · Dec 19, 2003

James:

Have a look here

Whoops! That's YOU, isn't it? Still bugging you, eh? Hmmm.

exeter_acres · Dec 19, 2003

Hmm...this always shows up on my parents system... they use OE as well...
I always just thought it was temp file of some sort......

exeter_acres · Dec 19, 2003

Just found this:::

Click Here

From that website:

This file started appearing on people's desktop after the April 2003, Cumulative Patch for Outlook Express (330994) update released by Microsoft. If that update is installed and you take any action that changes the Windows Address Book the tilde file will appear on your desktop.
Click to expand...

and

You have three options to "fix" this:

Uninstall the patch. If you do this you may open your computer to the security problems that the patch fixes. And, Windows Update will notice that the patch is not present and, depending on how you have Windows Update configured, may reinstall it automatically or ask you to allow it to reinstall it. You will have to tell Windows Update "no" if you don't want to continue having the tilde file on your Desktop.

Leave the patch installed and simply delete the tilde (~) file every time it appears. If you do this the consequence will be that you don't have a current backup of your Windows Address Book. Having this backup may or may not be important to you.

Leave the patch installed and move/rename the tilde (~) file every time it appears. While this would be the safest option it is also the one that requires the most work. You will have to rename the tilde (~) file to YOURNAME.WA~ (substitute your login name for YOURNAME) and then move the file to the C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book directory and have it overwrite the file of the same name there.
Click to expand...

Hope this helps!!

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File Mystery

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