"ghost" icons from shortcuts

[chrisper]

probably a stupid question, but: when I have a shortcut icon on my desktop and I delete the file which the shortcut points to, the icon turns white and any attempt to delete, rename or otherwise deal with it results in a message saying the file has moved and to indicate where the file now is - well it has been deleted, gonzo, but I cannot get rid of the damn "ghost" icons. What do I do?

[MANEMAN]

Try deleting them in "Safe Mode".

You could also try "Unlocker" - You can get it here: http://download.cnet.com/Unlocker/3000-2248_4-10493998.html

John.

[chrisper]

Try deleting them in "Safe Mode".

You could also try "Unlocker" - You can get it here: http://download.cnet.com/Unlocker/3000-2248_4-10493998.html

John.

Thanks John,

Safe Mode did not do it (same response, can't find the file..) - I am hopeful there is way to do it without 3rd party s/w, but will try unlocker if nothing else comes up. thanks again for the quick response

[MANEMAN]

Hi again.

"Unlocker" is very safe and useful in many other situations in computing.

It runs quietly in the background until you hit a "Cant Delete" problem.

Dont think of it as masking the original problem, more as something that perhaps Microsoft should have built in.

If it cant delete at the time, it usually gives you the option to delete at next reboot.

You could also try "System Restore" back to a time when you didn't have this fault.

John.

[chrisper]

Hi again.

"Unlocker" is very safe and useful in many other situations in computing.

It runs quietly in the background until you hit a "Cant Delete" problem.

Dont think of it as masking the original problem, more as something that perhaps Microsoft should have built in.

If it cant delete at the time, it usually gives you the option to delete at next reboot.

You could also try "System Restore" back to a time when you didn't have this fault.

John.

Thanks John,

I haven't kept up my restore points, so I can't really go back there without losing a bunch of stuff. I tried unlocker, but the version I got from your link doesn't list Windows 7 as a supported OS. Maybe that's why although it installed it doesn't seem to work - I get "send to unlocker" on the right click menu but it doesn't do anything. The web site is "forbidden" both in IE and firefox, this with the firewall turned off, so I can't check for more current versions. Anyway I will email them and see if they can get me a version that works on W7. I do appreciate your responses, but I may wind up having to pay MS techs 50 bux to tell me something which should be obvious. Thanks again.

Chris

[bludgard]

probably a stupid question, but: when I have a shortcut icon on my desktop and I delete the file which the shortcut points to, the icon turns white and any attempt to delete, rename or otherwise deal with it results in a message saying the file has moved and to indicate where the file now is - well it has been deleted, gonzo, but I cannot get rid of the damn "ghost" icons. What do I do?

Have you covered the basics,crisper?

Is this an ugraded OS?If so these could be links to old files/folders/programs,etc.

I understand that torrent files are also known to do this.

Right click the desktop and select Refresh.

Try these in an elevated command prompt:

To delete a file on desktop:

cd %USERPROFILE%\desktop
attrib -r -s -h "file name"*.*
del "file name"*.*

To take ownership of a file...

takeown /f file_name /d y
icacls file_name /grant administrators:F

Of directory...

takeown /f directory_name /r /d y
icacls directory_name /grant administrators:F /t

Do you have show hidden files/folders/drives enabled?Hide protected system files disabled?

chkdsk and sfc /scannow from an elevated command prompt?

Have you tried the limited onboard Disk Cleanup utility or something a little more invasive as CCleaner to rid yourself of these hangers on?

If you don't use the System Restore tool,I suspect that you are maintaining backups through a more comprehensive method such as Image Backups which is also a native Windows 7 tool that has proved reliable for me in the past.And still doe's a wonderful job on restoring it's own file systems.

[chrisper]

probably a stupid question, but: when I have a shortcut icon on my desktop and I delete the file which the shortcut points to, the icon turns white and any attempt to delete, rename or otherwise deal with it results in a message saying the file has moved and to indicate where the file now is - well it has been deleted, gonzo, but I cannot get rid of the damn "ghost" icons. What do I do?

Have you covered the basics,crisper?

Is this an ugraded OS?If so these could be links to old files/folders/programs,etc.

I understand that torrent files are also known to do this.

Right click the desktop and select Refresh.

Try these in an elevated command prompt:

To delete a file on desktop:

cd %USERPROFILE%\desktop
attrib -r -s -h "file name"*.*
del "file name"*.*

To take ownership of a file...

takeown /f file_name /d y
icacls file_name /grant administrators:F

Of directory...

takeown /f directory_name /r /d y
icacls directory_name /grant administrators:F /t

Do you have show hidden files/folders/drives enabled?Hide protected system files disabled?

chkdsk and sfc /scannow from an elevated command prompt?

Have you tried the limited onboard Disk Cleanup utility or something a little more invasive as CCleaner to rid yourself of these hangers on?

If you don't use the System Restore tool,I suspect that you are maintaining backups through a more comprehensive method such as Image Backups which is also a native Windows 7 tool that has proved reliable for me in the past.And still doe's a wonderful job on restoring it's own file systems.

John, I am embarrassed and indebted. I really appreciate all your help. They were leftovers from torents. I got rid of them simply by deleting from the desktop through the command prompt, as per your example. I will save your responses as they are a good run through of some basic maintenance fixes which have been shrouded off by windows. Thanx again.

Chris

[bludgard]

i am glad to hear that this has been resolved to your satisfaction.

Windows does have some pretty powerful tools onboard,yet in the wrong hands can be very destructive.Maybe that is why one must search and research to identify and employ such tools.

Hope all goes well and please consider WindowsImageBackups as an active part of your maintenance plan.Or any other reliable backup program.

Thanks for keeping your thread updated,crisper.

One

[MANEMAN]

I liked that Cap'n Bludgard. :)

You did all of the legwork, - and he thanked me. B) B) B)

You didn't come into the equation. :)

John. +1

[chrisper]

I liked that Cap'n Bludgard. :)

You did all of the legwork, - and he thanked me. B) B) B)

You didn't come into the equation. :)

John. +1

I gotta pay better attention here. I appreciate the assistance both of you gave. It was the cap'n who ultimately solved my problem (good ol' DOS), and John turned me on to Cedric and unlocker. A very positive experience for me.

Chris

[bludgard]

I liked that Cap'n Bludgard. :)

You did all of the legwork, - and he thanked me. B) B) B)

You didn't come into the equation. :)

John. +1

I suspected some type of tomfoolery when I read crispers reply.I thought maybe you had figured out a way to impose your account over mine without me being able to detect it.:0

On the real side of the matter:you and everyone else on this forum have/has encouraged/abbeted my computing abilities.I do not mindd sharing the praise of those who are aided by my limited knowledge.It is am honor to be counted among the elite.

One