Can't empty recycle bin

I tried that already.

Boot to raw dos and delete the files this way. You can either delete the individual files or the entire recycle bin. It will be recreated (empty) on the next normal boot.

Here are the steps.
Boot up in "Command prompt only"

When you get the C:\> prompt, type in;

deltree c:\recycled\*.*    (Deletes all contents)

(OR)

deltree c:\recycled\filename.ext (Deletes specific filenames)

(OR)

deltree c:\recycled (deletes the entire directory).

Answer 'yes' to the subsequent prompt


Note :
If deltree doesn't respond, at the C:\> prompt, before using the deltree command, type in;

cd windows\command

and then use the above

Del or Deltree does not work, there is no windows\command directory and there is no c:\recycled dir only c:\recycler but there is nothing in it.

Reformat the drive©

That is what I don't want to do because I have a lot of stuff on that hd.

move the stuff in a folder on the main drive and and open up Disk Manager (right click my computer, select manage) then reformat the drive©

guys formatting is out of the question. I have no room to move stuff to another drive. Are there maybe any utillity apps that would help?

Yes if you want to fix reload the I386 Directory SAM Security Hive files you deleted that controlled that container security.

 i doubt your a programmer that can write a program emulating your old container security controls, you will have to make reformatting a option.

There is no registry entries for this Dreamjay. He was completely booting off another OS that was on that hard Drive. It had a registry of its own. That registry is now deleted. And those Security handles are now gone. He deleted all the handles for that container. So now he has a container that cant be accessed or managed properly.

Hi imarkows,

just a question, who are you?  :-)

Are you administrator when you try to delete the files of  recycle bin / recycle directory. If you are not administrator you can't see the directory. Please keep in mind, that there is a recycle directory for each partition.

Good luck
gnurl

There are no files in the recyle bin but I still get that message when I empty it

Yes, I'm logged in as admin. Ok I see something inside recycler dir through win explorer but only if I change settings to view hidden files. Nothing still shows up when I open Recycle bin icon.

Try to delete the (cryptic) recycle bin directories.

Be aware! Everything in the recycle bin will be deleted!

New directories will be created if someting new is placed in the recycle bin.

Good luck
gnurl

It doesn't let me delete anything there.

thanks guys for all your suggestions. Nothing really worked but thanks for your time. I split the point between all of you.

Nothing worked eh? Leaning towards unrepairable virus damage, or bad sectors on your HDD