[Doorslam]

Hey all. On one of my hard drives I am unable to delete 2 different folders. The two folders look something similar to 72jklsdjf98720989 when I try to open them, I get ' d:\219lkjsdf92kkjs is not accessible. Access is denied'.

I tried deleting them in Safe-Mode but I get the same thing. I also tried killing all unnecessary processes, but still unable. I know I could boot my system up with Knoppix and delete the files, but I was wondering if anyone else had any other ideas? I ran Hijackthis and nothing look suspicious. I am not even sure these are spyware related, who knows!

Thanks in advance

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[samem]

Get Unlocker it is a softwrae and try to delete the files

[peterm]

1 of 2 things
If you right click on file then the propertities and under location if the file size is 0 then use the link in my sig. If that does not work then we will have to look at taking ownership of the folders.

[Doorslam]

Thanks for your replies. Peterm, it does say the file size is 0. Which link do you want me to click on in your sig?

[Retired Tech]

This describes how to take ownership of a file or a folder where you have been denied access.

If you must access a file or a folder that you do not have access to, you must take ownership of that file or folder. When you do this, you replace the security permissions to have access.

How to take ownership of a folder

Note You must be logged on to the computer with an account that has administrative credentials.
If you are running Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, you must start the computer in safe mode, and then log on with an account that has Administrative rights to have access to the Security tab.

If you are using Windows XP Professional, you must disable Simple File Sharing. By default, Windows XP Professional uses Simple File sharing when it is not joined to a domain.

For additional information about how to do this, click the link to view article number 307874 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

How to disable simplified sharing and set permissions on a shared folder in Windows XP

To take ownership of a folder, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the folder that you want to take ownership of, and then click Properties.

2. Click the Security tab, and then click OK on the Security message (if one appears).

3. Click Advanced, and then click the Owner tab.

4. In the Name list, click your user name, or click Administrator if you are logged in as Administrator, or click the Administrators group. If you want to take ownership of the contents of that folder, select the Replace owner on sub containers and objects check box.

5. Click OK, and then click Yes when you receive the following message:

You do not have permission to read the contents of directory folder name. Do you want to replace the directory permissions with permissions granting you Full Control?

All permissions will be replaced if you press Yes.

Note folder name is the name of the folder that you want to take ownership of.

6. Click OK, and then reapply the permissions and security settings that you want for the folder and its contents.

How to take ownership of a file

Note You must be logged on to the computer with an account that has administrative credentials.

To take ownership of a file, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the file that you want to take ownership of, and then click Properties.

2. Click the Security tab, and then click OK on the Security message (if one appears).

3. Click Advanced, and then click the Owner tab.

4. In the Name list, click Administrator, or click the Administrators group, and then click OK.

The administrator or the Administrators group now owns the file. To change the permissions on the files and folders under this folder, go to step 5.

5. Click Add.

6. In the Enter the object names to select (examples) list, type the user or group account that you want to give access to the file. For example, type Administrator.

7. Click OK.

8. In the Group or user names list, click the account that you want, and then select the check boxes of the permissions that you want to assign that user.

9. When you are finished assigning permissions, click OK.

REFERENCES

For additional information about file and folder permissions, click the link to view article number 161275 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Interaction of Files and Folder Security on NTFS Volumes

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

Microsoft Windows XP Professional

[Doorslam]

Thanks Keith for the reply! I had wondered what happened to my Security tab on my computer. Now I know I need to disable simple file sharing. I am at work now but will try your solution when I get home later this evening.

[peterm]

The one that says unused icons