Windows XP "Cannot Delete AVI Files" FIX!

[phishhead]

glad you got to the bottom of it. and yeah stick around and enjoy the board.

[Crickerbug]

and it opens, because DOS 8.3 file naming only looks for the first 6 characters, after which you type ~1 and it 'guesses' the rest.

Equally, if I type:

cd Window~1
it opens too. This means I can open a file/folder with a long name, just by typing the first 6 characters, followed by "~1".

But if I have a directory called 'Other Windows', I can't do this so easily:

cd Other
doesn't work, because the directory is called 'Other Windows'
and
cd Other ~1 doesn't work either, because the space I put in messes it up: "Too many parameters - ~1";
nor does
cd Other_~1 work, because the name doesn't include an underscore.

So how do I open it? Basically, how do I get windows command prompt (/dos shell) to recognise files/folders whose names contain a space in the first 6 characters? I know you can do it, and this must be an obvious question for anyone who's used DOS, but I have really forgotten how to do it.

Hope you can help,

Colin

It doesn't actually guess. When you make a long filename like "c:/Other Windows" it's actually taking the first six 8dot3 compatible characters and adding a ~1 to the end. But if you have many files that the first 6 are the same, like a folder with mp3s in it....they'll be beatle~1.mp3 beatle~2.mp3 beatle~3.mp3 and so on.

As for your "Other Windows" problem, forget about the space. Try cd otherw~1 and see if that works.

When in doubt, type "dir /x /p" and it'll show you the short filename associated with the long one, and pause for each page. But the shortname column will be blank for each file that follows the 8dot3 rules.

[stretch_uk]

thanks to all you guys, have had this prob for quite some time, had tried several different ways to delete it without success, and this was a one click fix, cheers

[XP1]

how do i open it????
it is a inf, it only opens with notepad

[Reverend]

how do i open it????
it is a inf, it only opens with notepad

The instructions are in the "readme.txt" file that is included in the zip.

right click the xp-avifix.inf file and select install.

[XP1]

o
i right clicked in winrar

[blitzon]

find the reg key here and also dir with asterisk delete all file name occurences here
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ComDlg32\OpenSaveMRU\avi or *
then u will be able to do anything with the file

[willgny]

Whatup dogz.
1.) I had a .avi file that I couldn't delete (pieceofcrapfile.avi) in my download folder.
2.) I created a new .txt file (pieceofcrapfile.txt) on my desktop and wrote some crap in it. ex. "I COMMAND YOU TO DELETE!"
3.) I renamed the file that i created on my desktop from pieceofcrapfile.txt to pieceofcrapfile.avi
4.) I moved the new file to my download folder, and windows asked me if I would like to replace the existing file with the new dummy file. (CLICK YES)
5.) After I replaced the file I was able to delete the .avi file.
Good Luck

WILLGNY
H.C.P.

[sirjavabean]

how many views has this thread got???

[Big Booger]

how many views has this thread got???

It's an annoyance you'd think MS would have addressed in SP2... but I guess they don't see it as an issue...

[PIPER]

glad you got to the bottom of it. and yeah stick around and enjoy the board.

ditto to that one....u have come to the best place for solid advice.

[sirjavabean]

does this 'bug' ( ) affect other windows or just XP. perhaps the next SP will solve it... ...or not

[NightWolf]

wow this really worked great job whoever figured out how to fix it finally no more of that access bull****

[kr0n]

I have kind of the same problem.

I have a avi file that was sent to me but is named a .exe

Problem is, it won't let me rename it to avi.

It always gives me a "The current file is in use so it can' be renamed" message.

Any way to fix it?

Thanks

[tomi_hl]

I have almost the same problem, except that I need to restart the computer to delete an avi file.

I have no problem when deleting an avi file, but after I deleted it, the file is still there until I restart the computer. It's very annoying to restart the computer everytime I want to delete an avi file.

anybody knows how to fix it??