Endless, Infinite, Never Ending folder... How to delete?!

[noisyscanner]

It crashes when I try to do disk cleanup on system files with "Disk Space Manager for Windows has stopped working".
That's when I run it as an administrator too.

 

[noisyscanner]

I found a very interesting article over on MS Support that may be well worth looking at.

Tried that and it didn't work.

 

[Orbital Shark]

Well the only other option I can think of (other than a clean install) would be a Repair Install which works as an In-Place Upgrade and should move all non-essential files/folder to a new Windows.old folder (including those that are in the current Windows.old folder). This will then allow you to run the Disk Cleanup app to remove the windows.old folder.

   Tip

You may want to try renaming the Windows.old folder to another name so that the contents of it are also moved to the new windows.old folder. This will prevent a second .old folder being created

 

[seekermeister]

I had something like this happen when I first installed W7, after using takeownership on either Documents And Settings, or Application Data...I can't remember which. I ended up deleting the account and making a new one to rectify the problem.

 

[HammerHead]

Cross Linked

If the files are cross linked this may fix them. Boot to a dos prompt and enter chkdsk /f. The system may make you schedule it for the next boot. So you will have to reboot. Maybe not.

 

[Orbital Shark]

If the files are cross linked this may fix them. Boot to a dos prompt and enter chkdsk /f. The system may make you schedule it for the next boot. So you will have to reboot. Maybe not.

Cross linked!! Why didn't I think of that? Good call

 

[HammerHead]

Been There

Seeker:
That happened to me in /Appdata dir. I navigated to the first what I considered copy of the directoy and deleted the rest of the ladder and everything came out fine. I also ran check disk to clean up the indexes.

 

[HammerHead]

Post #11

Oribital Shark

Post #11 was refering to cross linking.

 

[Orbital Shark]

 

[noisyscanner]

Crosslinking? :huh: Please explain!

 

[Orbital Shark]

An old explainiation but still a good'un, reminds me of the good ol' DOS days

What Are Cross-linked Files?

MS-DOS organizes the disk's data area into sections called clusters or allocation units. Each file has its own directory entry, which includes the file name, size, attribute information, date, time, and the cluster where the start of the file is stored.

The file allocation table (FAT) includes an entry for each cluster. Each cluster's entry includes either a code specifying that it is the last cluster in the file, or the number of the next cluster used by the file. Clusters can also be marked unusable, which CHKDSK reports as bad sectors.

Cross-linked files occur when two or more files are both marked as "owning" the same cluster. Usually, the last file updated is correct; the other is correct except for the cluster's worth that is part of the other file.

For example, suppose you have two files, each 512 bytes in size. Each file requires one cluster. If both files are marked as being located in cluster 5, then cluster 5 probably contains the file with the later date. You can confirm this by looking at it (if it's a data file) or running it (if it's a program).

Source

 

[HammerHead]

Lame Explanation

On your disks there exists indices of all the files stored. The directory tree is displayed or "written" form these indices. When these indices become corrupt or jumbled. You directory tree can show some files that do not exist or miss files that do exist. That is the best I can do for an explanation.

Oribital Shark's explanation is really a good one!

 

[HammerHead]

UH OH

The Sharks are circling.

 

[noisyscanner]

I think I get what you're saying. So this is a hard drive thing, not a Windows thing?

 

[MacGyvr]

This absolutely is a case of permissions being altered, possibly even while the system was still on Vista.

Number one, upgrade was a huge mistake. Upgrades never go well and will get worse over time.

Number two, you won't be able to fix this problem. It is too complex.

In the time taken at this point to discuss it, you could have already backed up any important files and performed a full, clean install. This is what you will HAVE to do to have a functional system. Period. Get started.

 

[noisyscanner]

I have Ubuntu, too.

Will re-installing screw up my Ubuntu install?
And anyway, I'll have to wait until I get home before I can because I'm at my Mum's.

 

[MacGyvr]

Will re-installing screw up my Ubuntu install?
And anyway, I'll have to wait until I get home before I can because I'm at my Mum's.

I would recommend you not worry about the Ubuntu install unless it is your primary operating system. You need to format the drive to get your full, clean install of 7, so yes, it will kill it. Reinstall Ubuntu later.

 

[noisyscanner]

Well I'm debating on wheter to ditch Ubuntu all together actually as I keep having to boot into Windows to use iTunes for my new iPhone. So I'll probably just forget about Ubuntu.

 

[MacGyvr]

Well I'm debating on wheter to ditch Ubuntu all together actually as I keep having to boot into Windows to use iTunes for my new iPhone. So I'll probably just forget about Ubuntu.

You can always put it back....it takes like 20 minutes to install.

 

[noisyscanner]

I don't have a Windows 7 Install disk! Just a Toshiba upgrade disk. I popped that in and re-installed Windows 7 but all it did was wipe my programs and files and backup all my other stuff to Windows.old.000. Windows.old is still there!