unknown system folder in My Computer with no name
A couple of weeks ago a new folder showed up in My Computer with no name. The type says "System Folder". When I leftclick on it nothing happens and if I right-click on to look at the Properties, the only options are "Cut", "Create Shortcut" and "Delete". I tried to run an Norton anti-virus scan on it but it doesn't show up in Norton's "Scan Folders" list of folders. The only cause I can think of is that I may have disconnected a USB drive without having used the "Safely Remove Hardware" procedure. Any idea as to what this is and if I should just delete it?
thats a weird one.....is there anything in the folder?
create the shortcut and then see if you can enter
try running ewid
www.ewido.net
create the shortcut and then see if you can enter
try running ewid
www.ewido.net
What is the file system on your C: drive, NTFS or FAT32.
You can use CHKDSK, the Error-checking tool to check for file system errors and bad sectors on your hard disk.
1: Open My Computer, and then select the local disk you want to check.
2: On the File menu, click Properties.
3: On the Tools tab, under Error-checking, click Check Now.
4: Under Check disk options, select the Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors check box.
All files must be closed for this process to run. If the volume is currently in use, a message box will appear prompting you to indicate whether or not you want to reschedule the disk checking for the next time you restart your system. Then, the next time you restart your system, disk checking will run. Your volume will not be available to perform other tasks while this process is running.
If your volume is formatted as NTFS, Windows automatically logs all file transactions, replaces bad clusters, and stores copies of key information for all files on the NTFS volume.
Try this. It will help you auto-detect and auto-repair the problem if its related to the file system error.
Hope this works for you!
Do let me know the results or if you need further assistance...
Carpe Diem!
You can use CHKDSK, the Error-checking tool to check for file system errors and bad sectors on your hard disk.
1: Open My Computer, and then select the local disk you want to check.
2: On the File menu, click Properties.
3: On the Tools tab, under Error-checking, click Check Now.
4: Under Check disk options, select the Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors check box.
All files must be closed for this process to run. If the volume is currently in use, a message box will appear prompting you to indicate whether or not you want to reschedule the disk checking for the next time you restart your system. Then, the next time you restart your system, disk checking will run. Your volume will not be available to perform other tasks while this process is running.
If your volume is formatted as NTFS, Windows automatically logs all file transactions, replaces bad clusters, and stores copies of key information for all files on the NTFS volume.
Try this. It will help you auto-detect and auto-repair the problem if its related to the file system error.
Hope this works for you!
Do let me know the results or if you need further assistance...
Carpe Diem!
ASKER
Unfortunately, I cannot open the folder nor can I access "Properties" (see original problem description). If I try to create a shortcut it says "Windows cannot create the shortcut. See if the disk is full." ... which it is not. I also noted that in one program it displays the folder name as "u???????" followd by an upper ascii character (a box) a bunch more "?" interspersed with a couple more upper ascii characters.
Hi Bob, you didnt say what file system you have on your machine, FAT32 or NTFS.
The CHKDSK utility is supposed to be run on the drive, not on a specific folder.
you can give the command at the command prompt as :
CHKDSK c: /f
to scan the c drive and automatically fix errors found. CHKDSK is like the scandisk command we have for 9x systems.
If the file system is FAT32, try to arrange for a Win98SE bootdisk and boot the system with that floppy and then run scandisk, as an alternative.
Lemme know if that helps.
you mentioned on program identifies that folder. which program are we talking about?
I am not sure if you have ever tried System Mechanic. Its a good tool. it has a built in option to automatically scan for and fix drive and system problems.
The latest version is 6.0T. You can download and try a 30-day trial package of the System Mechanic Professional. Its worth it.
Hope this works for you!
Do let me know the results or if you need further assistance...
Carpe Diem!
The CHKDSK utility is supposed to be run on the drive, not on a specific folder.
you can give the command at the command prompt as :
CHKDSK c: /f
to scan the c drive and automatically fix errors found. CHKDSK is like the scandisk command we have for 9x systems.
If the file system is FAT32, try to arrange for a Win98SE bootdisk and boot the system with that floppy and then run scandisk, as an alternative.
Lemme know if that helps.
you mentioned on program identifies that folder. which program are we talking about?
I am not sure if you have ever tried System Mechanic. Its a good tool. it has a built in option to automatically scan for and fix drive and system problems.
The latest version is 6.0T. You can download and try a 30-day trial package of the System Mechanic Professional. Its worth it.
Hope this works for you!
Do let me know the results or if you need further assistance...
Carpe Diem!
BTW, System Mechanic Pro can be downloaded from http://www.iolo.com
ASKER
The program that shows the rather odd name of the folder is a little utility called Active Tray. It sits in the task tray and pops up a user defined menu of favorite programs, folders, etc. It is the only place I see any name at all for that folder. My file system is NTFS. I'll let you know after I run CHKDSK.
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ASKER
CHKDSK reported no errors.
System Mechanic Pro reported no related problems.
I finally just took a chance and deleted it (which it let me do even though it was marked as a system folder).
There seems to be no repercussions.
Thanks for the input anyway and especially for the link to System Mechanic Pro. I like it.
System Mechanic Pro reported no related problems.
I finally just took a chance and deleted it (which it let me do even though it was marked as a system folder).
There seems to be no repercussions.
Thanks for the input anyway and especially for the link to System Mechanic Pro. I like it.
ASKER