Desktop file mysteriously shows up

I have noted a strange file will show up now and then on my desktop. It looks like '~' and is called file.

I scanned it with Norton and it found nothing.
Its Properties shows: C:Windows/Desktop. 220KB
It has Open with......, so i just delete it as i have no idea what it is.

Has anyone else had this?

J

 

A bug in one of the MS updates.

A backup of the addressbook in the wrong location.

Harmless, but backup your addressbook manually.

Look for a fix soon.

Mike

 

Thank you as it keeps coming back(even after i have deleted it thinking it was a 'stranger' on my desktop. It just comes back after i shut down and come back and just says '~' file.

Anyway i had scanned it with Norton and it was okay.
I even sent it to myself in email and saw it was ~.dat 226KB.

I had wondered if was connected to my losing my Address Book data. I also figured it might be a 'bug' in one of the latest MS updates, as that is when i noted it showed up after one.
No less it is a backup of my address book which strangely all names had disappeared with that update as well.
Luckily i have Incredimail with an Address book and it had the names in it still.

So you suggest just leaving it on desktop for now while we wait for MS fix? If i right click on it it says Open With.......

Thanks again, J

 

crystalwoman--Details on the ~ file are here
http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16820
You may be one of the few people who could use a backup Address Book and therefore can use the ~ file to recreate the Address Book.
Just change the name of the ~ file to yourOEuserid.wab and put it whereever your Address Book normally resides. You should have your Address Book back.
P.S. In that same directory you should find a file called yourOEuserid.wa~. That is the official backup for the Address Book. However it has no longer been backed up since the ~ files started appearing.
P.S. The ~ , .wab and .wa~ files can all be read by right clicking|clicking "Open With... "|scroll to wab, highlight, click OK. Of course, once restored to the proper directory and with the .wab extension the Address Book should open as it always did, by clicking on Addresses in OE's toolbar.

 

Thank you Welshjim & mflynn.

I renamed it to my user name and then put it in the C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book.

There were a few others in there too. They all are empty however and do not show the list that i have in the Address Book itself (or even the one i recreated last night from the list i have in another Address Book in my Incredimail program.)

Mainly thank you for letting me know the 'mysterious file' on my desktop is harmless and just another MS patch bug....So i guess from reading here and the other link Welshjim mentioned, it has been going on for months now and MS still did not patch it?

Bill Gates must not be in the office overseeing his workers to get things done, and done right.

 

crystalwoman--The ~ and .wa~ files were both empty? If so, there is no purpose in keeping the new ~ files as they appear.

 

thanks again. Yup all were empty so i too agree no need to take up kbs then there. over & out....Happy Trails, J

 

crystalwoman--I understand that your Address Book itself is OK. That is the way this bug works. The AB is maintained and updated as you make changes, but the back up (*.wa~ file) is no longer updated and you get the ~ file instead. In your case, since the *.wa~ file is already empty the ~ file will also be empty.
If you want an AB backup file now, you could always try making a copy of the Address Book, rename it *.wa~ and then see if the next ~ file contains the updated AB. If so, you can then change the name of the ~ file to *.wa~ and put it in the normal OE directory as I suggested in the other thread. You should then have an up-to-date AB backup. I have not tried any of this.