If trying to delete a file you get the error "Cannot delete file: Cannot read from source file or disk", then to be able to correctly delete the file you must follow these instructions:
- Click on Start --> Run --> write cmd and press Enter.
- If the file is on the desktop then write cd Desktop, otherwise you must enter the full path of where the file is located.
- Then write the command dir /x. You will obtain the following similar information:
C:\Documents and Settings\Discovolante\Desktop>dir /x Il volume nell'unità C è Disco Numero di serie del volume: 56TF-N5FG Directory of C:\Documents and Settings\Discovolante\Desktop 10/02/2010 14.20 4.894.130 KEISHA~1.FLV Keisha_Tik_Tok.flv
10/02/2010 14.09 103 TOP100~1.URL Top 100 Music Hits, Top 100 Music Charts, Top 100 Songs & The Hot 100 Billboard.com.URL
2 Directory 243.000.000.000 byte available |
- Let's suppose that the file we are not able to delete is the file "Top 100 Music Hits, Top 100 Music Charts, Top 100 Songs & The Hot 100 Billboard.com.URL". The issue happens if the file name contains a particular character invisible to the operating system. To delete the file we must use the short name that the operating system assigns to the file. The short name of the file is the one located in the central column (TOP100~1.URL).
- So to delete the file write the command: del TOP100~1.URL
- In this way the file will be deleted successfully.