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
    2017-06-16T01:37:05+00:00

    I just had this problem today not sure if people still having problem.  Do a Disk Defrag on the drive with the files.  They will be able to be deleted afterwards.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-09-30T04:07:39+00:00

    I had the same issue and used this method, see link.

    FORCE DELETE FILE OR FOLDER USING COMMAND PROMPT

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-09-08T22:05:55+00:00

    Dude, I love you. I've been trying to get rid of this stupid folder for months! It's in my downloads folder, so I couldn't rename or move the parent folder and had to look at it all the time. I tried the creating a folder with the same name and deleting it but that didn't work. At your suggestion I did that same thing twice though and it worked! Good riddance! Thank you!

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-07-26T04:20:59+00:00

    Brilliant...how simple is that...worked for me. Thank you so much Myrwang.

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