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Anonymous
Anonymous asked in Computers & InternetSoftware · 1 decade ago

I have two icons on the desktop that can't be deleted.?

They were originally attachments in Outlook Express (missing the .eml extension). I dragged them to the desktop to rename them w/ the proper .eml extension in hopes of being able to open them. But once on the desktop, I couldn't rename them or delete them. They don't appear in c:\documents and settings\user\desktop (from DOS [ex. dir /ahsr *.*]). Both icons are named something like this "Blah Blah........." (multiple periods at end of name). Any attempt to delete them and Windows says it can't find them. I wrote a VB program to create a new file system object and save the new file to the desktop (w/ same name as offending icon) in hopes that there would now be an icon and an associated file that I could delete, but no luck. Right clicking on the icons yields no info. of any use.

3 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    use this program, see if ir will get rid of them, if not, and you are able to move the file, put them in your system32 folder, then run the program again, it might read them as incimplete file, and get rid of them.

    CCleaner at http://www.ccleaner.com/

    Cleans the following:

    Internet Explorer

    Temporary files, URL history, cookies, Autocomplete form history, index.dat.

    Firefox

    Temporary files, URL history, cookies, download history.

    Opera

    Temporary files, URL history, cookies.

    Windows

    Recycle Bin, Recent Documents, Temporary files and Log files.

    Registry cleaner

    Advanced features to remove unused and old entries, including File Extensions, ActiveX Controls, ClassIDs, ProgIDs, Uninstallers, Shared DLLs, Fonts, Help Files, Application Paths, Icons, Invalid Shortcuts and more... also comes with a comprehensive backup feature.

    hird-party applications

    Removes temp files and recent file lists (MRUs) from many apps including Media Player, eMule, Kazaa, Google Toolbar, Netscape, MS Office, Nero, Adobe Acrobat, WinRAR, WinAce, WinZip and many more...

    100% Spyware FREE

    This software does NOT contain any Spyware, Adware or Viruses.

    This is recommended by many programmers as the best FREE Cleaner.

  • 1 decade ago

    1. search thumbs.db and delete.

    2. Try this program from www.iobit.com.

    Advanced Windows Care V2 Personal ( free).

    3. Files with eml extension can be opened only with OE.

    Open the file . Delete.

    4. The mail is stored as *.dbx. In OE go the store

    where the mail is stored. OE/Tools/Options/Maintenace

  • ?
    Lv 4
    5 years ago

    Can i know what OS are you using? If you are using MS Windows xp, maybe that is a problem with your recycle bin. If you trying to delete it directly and still cannot doit, im suggest that you try it in the DOS mode. type del <filename> then ENTER. If you are not sure, try to check for the properties in the right click menu from the icon. Then check if it is a read-only, if it is try to change it(uncheck it).

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