Can't delete '□'

Hi folks, sometime ago my computer was *possibly* compromised, probably worth mentioning that there was no evidence at the time but after a bad experience I took all the precautions I could with the aid of another forum community and hijack this etc..

Anyway, at about this time I noticed a directory consiting of ASCII squares (□□□□□□□ etc) and the odd letter. It is something that refuses to be removed from my recycle bin to this day.
It is apparently 368kb in size and when I hover my mouse over it shows dl_rand.m_w..

At the time I seem to remember someone suggesting it was possibly corrupt data but as it didn't really seem to be affecting me I left it alone.

Can someone help me get rid please?

Olly.

 

Olly:

Have you tried removing it while running in safe mode? If the answer is yes and you are still stuck, you may want to consider installing a program like MoveOnBoot or Killbox but be careful.

 

Thanks for the replies folks. Tried all four suggestions above and nothing has worked! I suspect it is more than a 'file/directory in use' problem which these programs specialise in?
I should clarify it 'appears' to be a directory that I want to delete (or a file with a directory icon?) and I tried restoring to see if I could delete outside the recycled bin and nothing happens

 

Hi Pete, sorry I haven't responded to your help I have been busy lately! Anyway, I have tried all the suggestions on that site and still no luck
What I have noticed however is that when I come to open my recycled bin it appears empty internally but the icon still has paper in it, and when I try to empty it soon becomes clear the offending directory / file is still in their!!! I This symptom appears to tie in more to examples from your link but I tried going through them again and no change..

I have another idea. When I originally installed XP I was still using '98, so XP was installed on D drive. I would love to move XP to C but I assume this is going to be a huge task? Is it possible to do this and update all links etc?
If so at least I could then attempt to reformat D and hopefully remove the problem!
I could re-install XP I guess but two things worry me here. One is re-installing all the software, of which I have loads more than my '98 days. I guess it is the thought of checking and double checking that I don't accidently leave something behind that is getting to me... But also I hear you only have a finite number of times you can re-install XP....?

Anyway, I would appreciate any suggestions!

Olly.

 

You should try booting to a BartPE boot CD. It will allow you to delete files from your XP install since it won't be active. It might be able to delete your Recycle bin but I can't guarantee it since I haven't had that problem yet.

I'll go give it a shot and report back.

 

The BartPE deleted the Recycler folder just fine. I placed a dummy file in the bin before closing Windows for the reboot. After the work was finished and I rebooted to Windows, I have an empty Recycle Bin.

I can't guarantee your success but it sounds very hopeful.

 

@Pete, thanks, I will look more into this but tbh it might be as well to reformat and start over!!!


Hi Surferdude, is this not effectively the same as

#:\> attrib -s -h recycled
#:\> del recycled

?

 

No ollyk, the BartPE CD is a bootable disk that contains its own operating system and can recognize and execute commands on your XP files while they are inactive.

The command line you mentioned would only be available in a command session running under Windows (assuming you have the NTFS file storage system) and consequently would not be able to delete active file or folders such as the Recycler folder that represents the Recycle bin.

Google BartPE for more info.

 

Hi, Pete
Now that's rather embarising isn't it Must admit I didn't remember getting an update for that one....

ok I will give that one a go!