Member Avatar for Joycemabugay

hello, whats wrong with my drive, if i will delete the file or folder, the windows responded that "Cannot find the specific path, Make sure you specify the correct path"? can you help me?

thank you

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Symptom summary and likely cause: reports Windows XP Explorer shows a "cannot find the specified path" error when deleting with the Delete key or right‑click/Delete (as asked), while deletion from the command prompt succeeds. That pattern usually means Explorer’s attempt to move the item to the per‑drive Recycle Bin is failing — typically because the drive’s hidden Recycle Bin folder (RECYCLER on XP, $RECYCLE.BIN on newer OS) is corrupted, inaccessible, or has bad attributes. Command‑line deletion bypasses the Recycle Bin, which explains the difference.

Recommended quick repair (replace D: with the affected drive letter). Close Explorer windows and run an elevated command prompt. Clear system/hidden attributes and remove the Recycle Bin folder so Windows will recreate it:

D:
attrib -h -s -r D:\RECYCLER\*.* /S /D
rd /S /Q D:\RECYCLER

(For Vista/7/above use $RECYCLE.BIN instead of RECYCLER.) Removing the folder deletes whatever is in that drive’s Recycle Bin; that data will be permanently lost, so back up anything important first.

Other useful checks: try SHIFT+Delete (bypasses Recycle Bin) or change Recycle Bin settings via desktop Recycle Bin -> Properties to test behavior. Run chkdsk <drive>: /f to repair filesystem errors if deletions still fail. If Explorer still refuses the delete after rebuilding the bin, consider long/invalid path names, trailing spaces/dots in the filename, NTFS junctions/permissions, or an open handle by another process — those require additional tools (safe mode, Process Explorer to find locks, or using short 8.3 paths) to diagnose. This approach ties back to ’s general methods while focusing on the most likely cause given the command‑prompt vs Explorer difference.

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Member Avatar for just_a_nobody

Hi Joyce! Excuse me, but may I ask how are you deleting these files or folders? Are you using the command prompt to delete them? Also, could you tell us what operating system you are using? Thank you.

Member Avatar for Joycemabugay

hello, im using windows xp, and the way i delete the file or foler is just press the delete key on my keyboard. but i can delete my files on the other hard disk.

thank you for your time

Member Avatar for just_a_nobody

hello, im using windows xp, and the way i delete the file or foler is just press the delete key on my keyboard. but i can delete my files on the other hard disk.

thank you for your time

If you right click on a file, and select delete from the menu, does the file delete?

Member Avatar for Joycemabugay

hello, still i cant, but i can delete if from Dos command,

Member Avatar for tayspen

Here're some methods of deleting ...

http://www.michna.com/kb/WxCannotDelete.htm

Man, if non of thos dont work. then your out a luck. Because i think thos about cover all the ways! :eek:

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