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

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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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
    2016-01-05T12:06:55+00:00

    problem file got deleted.. but the newly created file is facing the same problem now..

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-09-07T05:47:37+00:00

    Thank you, MyraWang. Almost 3 years later and it works on Windows 10.

    The notepad file you save on the desktop should be named with .bat file extension, not .dat.

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-08-12T05:55:17+00:00

    Are you encountering the same error thats listed in this thread? have you tried the methods mentioned above (unlocker & DelinvFile ) ?Can let us know the file name & path to the file?

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-08-12T00:36:53+00:00

    I tried to do this, but all the programs I have add an extension to the file name.  The phantom file won't let me change the name and it has no extension, just a period at the end.  So I wind up with two file names showing, one with an extension and one without.  I still cannot erase or delete the file name that won't go away.

    Howard

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