Folder deleted from desktop keeps coming back - days later

[marg]

Hello everyone,
I researched this a lot, both here and elsewhere, before asking about this. The solutions either didn't work or didn't seem to apply to my situation so I decided it was time to join and ask about it.

Specifically - the folder is from one of several CDs that I ripped so I could put the music on my MP3 player. I used Windows Media Player and had it put the folders it created on the desktop, then I moved those to the player, put copies on my hard drive and the external hard drive that I use for backups, and deleted the ones on the desktop. But one of them won't stay deleted. Here's what I've tried:

- renaming it and deleting it
- moving it to another folder and deleting it from there
- deleting it using the CMD prompt, with both its full name and the short version (sorry, I don't remember where I got the info to do that), using both DEL and RMDIR
- deleting it using the CMD prompt by dragging the folder to the CMD window (that didn't work, I think there was a syntax error)
- shredding it from the desktop using my antivirus, AVG
- booting to Puppy Linux, which I have on a flash drive, and deleting it in Linux

And of course emptying the Recycle Bin after every attempt. But for some reason the folder keeps reappearing, not right away but later on. I haven't really tracked this but it seems to be just two or three days. It'll be gone for a while and then - it's back.

In reading another thread here just now I began to wonder if maybe this had something to do with one of the peripherals. The external HD is always connected but the music player of course isn't; I connect it only when I've downloaded something, usually a podcast, that I want to listen to when I'm out walking. I'm just not sure how that could be related or, if it could be related, how to test it. And of course I'd really like this folder to be gone. For good. It's empty so it's basically just taking up space on the desktop but it's annoying, and it makes me wonder if there's something else that could be going on that might be a potential problem.

So if anyone has any ideas about how to have this folder stop coming back to haunt me (so to speak ) I would really appreciate hearing them. FYI, I'm using a Dell Latitude E6400 laptop that's running Windows 7 Pro 64-bit. I don't remember the brand name of the external HD and it's not on the unit but I'm not using any backup software, I just copy files manually. The player is a Philips GoGear Vibe.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Callender]

Check WMP rip to folder settings

Hi,

I don't use WMP but a quick search suggests:

Windows Media Player

To set up the ripper, select "Tools," then "Settings" and then finally click the "Rip Music" tab. The “Rip Music to This Location” section of the window will show where your ripped files will end up. It’s probably in “My Music.” You can either leave it there; change it to another folder or save it to your “Desktop” for quick access.

If you set the folder location to your desktop as shown above it could cause the folder to reappear when you run WMP.

 

[marg]

Hi,
...If you set the folder location to your desktop as shown above it could cause the folder to reappear when you run WMP.

Thank you for replying. At first I wasn't sure what you meant but I did remember having to change the rip settings so I opened WMP. It turns out that the folder that keeps coming back is where WMP was set to rip to. I haven't tried to rip anything since I did those CDs - I haven't even put any CDs in the drive - but I suppose it's possible that WMP is recreating the folder every time I open it, even just to watch a video.

In any case, I now have something to test. I changed the "Rip to" settings to just the Desktop, deleted the folder from the desktop, and emptied the Recycle bin. If the folder doesn't come back I'll know that's what was happening. If it does then something else is causing the problem. Either way, I'll give it a few days and then report back here.

Thank you again for your help.

UPDATE 3/16: It's been a week since I first wrote this post and the folder hasn't reappeared. Usually it's only 2 or 3 days before I see it again so I'm guessing the "Rip To" settings were causing the problem and my changing them has solved it. Thanks again for all your help.

 

[KevA]

Brilliant! It had been annoying me for ages that this empty folder kept reappearing on my desktop. I followed this advice, went to Mediaplayer and the Rip files options and yes...there it was!!...my empty folder was the default download option. I just changed it to Desktop and now this annoying empty folder has gone!!! Thanks so much!