Deleting Undeletable Files

[mattlander09]

Hi,

I have a Vista Home Premium. The file is located in a subdirectory of the Documents folder.

Simple problem. There's a file that, even with the Admin account, is inaccessible. I know there are two ways to delete these kind of files (because I did search for this problem before I asked for help):
1. Reset the ownership. Problem - I can't even change the ownership. Even for that I require Admin control. In any case, the ownership line reads something like, "Cannot identify the owner."
2. Delete file at boot (which I used another program for). Unsuccessful. Twice. And I've seen this program work before, and it has never failed me until now.

The file is a .exe file, it was meant to be a standalone App that I could put on a USB but it got stuck on the Docs folder because of the access denied thing. It is NOT a virus, as I've scanned it.

I just need to deleeete it. REAALLY. BECAUSE IT IS REALLY, REALLY ANNOYING..

Thanks in advance.

[Griff]

Weird. Try deleting it with http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker /. I usually get good results if a file is being stubborn.

[mattlander09]

Not even that unlocker has access to the file. LoL. Irony, especially when its job is to delete files without access.

[mattlander09]

Apparently, nothing has access to the file at all. It just says, "Windows cannot access the specified... You may not have the appropriate permissions to..." So my attempt at deleting it at boot didn't work because I can't schedule it to do so (the scheduler program didn't have permission, and neither did the unlocker).

When I first got the .exe into My Documents, I went to its Properties and I found a button that said, "Unlock", which I clicked. Does that have anything to do with it?

[King Conga]

Man, I'm having the same stinkin' problem too!  Who the H#!! does Bill Gates think he is? I pay gobs of $$$, but can't run my software how I want to.  Can't someone figure this out?

[Broni]

Try Killbox: http://killbox.net/

[mattlander09]

Ran into this really weird problem. According to KillBox, the file doesn't even exist. Lol.

[Broni]

OK, let's go back.
How do you know, the file is there? How can you see it? What is the path to it? What is the file name?

[mattlander09]

I physically see it with Windows Explorer and another explorer (Explorer ++) I downloaded to make sure this wasn't a digital illusion. It is clickable file that doesn't disappear when I reboot or refresh. The file name is fwb.exe, the path to it is via ...\My Documents.

And, uh, I'm medically fine in the head. Lol.

[smeezekitty]

open a command prompt
and type chkdsk /f
give it a while
and try again

[Broni]

That file doesn't seem to be good news: http://www.prevx.com/filenames/2111875671132779485-X1/FWB.EXE.html

The Process is polymorphic and can change its structure

Can it be uploaded here: http://www.virustotal.com/ for security check?

Where did you get it from anyway?

[mattlander09]

Lol - I changed the name to FWB.exe from something I downloaded from CNET (it's a no-install web browser). After the name change, I saw the "Unlock" thing in the properties, and that's when all the trouble started. FWB.exe isn't the original name - sorry for the mislead. In any case, I can't upload it, cause moving it still triggers the, "You can't touch me," thing.

The error checking didn't work, BTW. WAAAAAH!!!

Oh, and out of curiosity, can someone show me how to set the default program for .lnk files from ContextMenu to Unknown Application?

[smeezekitty]

for both problems i would say system restore before both of them started

[Broni]

See, if this: http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.php?/topic/13157-easy-way-to-take-ownership-of-system-files-in-vista/ will allow you to take the ownership of the file.

Did you try to delete the file from Command Prompt (in Safe Mode, if necessary)?

[Broni]

System restore doesn't deal with non-system files.