Cannot delete file. Says "Item Not Found Could not find this item Verify this item's location and try again."

Anonymous
2010-01-01T14:35:26+00:00

Cannot delete file.  Says "Item Not Found Could not find this item Verify this item's location and try again."

I had this file sent to me from my friend - it's a word document I had on their computer.  So I tried using Disk Cleanup to delete temporary files, temp internet files, and downloaded program files.  Doesn't work.

When I check properties, there is no security tab, so I can't transfer ownership that way.

I also don't want to experiment using the Command Prompt way of transferring ownership since the file's name is several sentences long.  I can't rename it either, of course.

Windows 7, a week in and I've already got a stupid glitch which has already wasted an hour of my time.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Files, folders, and storage

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Anonymous
2011-01-25T20:37:12+00:00

What i did was create a notepad file that was blank and saved it at the same location as the file that wont go away.  once saved.  I right click the new file and rename it to the exact name as the problem file.  Be sure to change the file extension (ex: .doc)

ex problem file: word.doc

new file: word.doc

as long as they match eachother exactly you should see the problem file disappear and once thats gone you can delete the new file created.

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-05-05T12:24:16+00:00

    Wow the notepad trick did the trick.  I had tried tirelessly to get rid of this non-existent file and nothing worked until I found your suggestion - THANK YOU!

    I would like to add, however, that the file I was attempting to delete didn't actually have a file extension.  Just a "." after the name with nothing following.  So when I created the notepad file initially, nothing happened as it didn't match exactly.

    My solution was to enable "view extensions", then delete the "txt" extension on the file I created but still nothing.  The final step was to edit the file I created by pressing F2 and simply adding a "." and bang, the two files joined and I deleted it with ease.

    Thanks a million!

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  2. Anonymous
    2010-08-26T20:21:54+00:00

    I still haven't resolved this... I would appreciate hearing your solution Dave-O

    thanks

    SMP

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  4. Anonymous
    2010-07-25T05:22:16+00:00

    Have you already received an answer?  After having this happen to me i believe i may have found a cure :)

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