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Unable to delete, scan, or rename a weird PDF file on my desktop.

Anonymous
2023-02-10T00:14:13+00:00

I have a pdf file on my desktop that is named a long string of letters and a few dashes that I can't delete. I don't know where this file came from, but when I try to delete, rename, or Norton scan it, I am met with the message: "the system cannot find the path specified." I've tried deleting it through cmd but to no avail... when I click on it it just opens up a new chrome or edge tab (depending on which I've set to open pdf files). How can I get rid of it?

Edit: solution is to go into the command line and execute del "\?\c:<path\fullfilename.ext>"

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Files, folders, and storage

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  1. Les Ferch 10,326 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2023-07-27T15:26:35+00:00

    nothing

    Image

    The command del "\?\c:&lt;path\longfilename.ext>" was written syntactically. That is, you would replace <path\longfilename.ext> with the copied path. However, I see you entered the command correctly in your previous post and got "cannot find the file". That has me puzzled.

    If you are on a computer where you can install software, I suggest trying to delete that file using a tool that can work directly with long paths, such as the 7-Zip file manager.

    5 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2023-11-26T22:03:18+00:00

    Hi,

    I worked for me!

    Thanks a lot!

    Just a reference, this is the command I used:

    del "\?C:\Users\pche\Documents\Trips\fs20.formsite.com_res_showSuccessPage_EParam=m_OmK8apOTBf8VCj7coV94swdkdWh1Nu2CO-cxzjbeq2Y4e0KlY0ttZAx0pyWTqVwDBL-oVVJRUGQBD5Zbeb-YkIoRYaE3_6ZGf9Dln_8NLrz_E3m4ncxlVIlO-jAViRN8kJhvkEgHxK-QFrcVf6t2B23sIg9e93l2EkzAj7A7KXl_j12Lv2tf1uuvv.pdf"

    4 people found this answer helpful.
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  3. EmilyS726 227.6K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2023-02-10T00:57:43+00:00

    Hellp there, this is Emily.

    Did you make sure you used the command prompt in admin mode, and then run the force delete command. And make sure you have the file path at the correct place. Please run the commands like I show you in the screenshot. The grey boxes refers to your actual username folder within the C:\users folder.

    You might want to right click on the pdf file and go to properties to make sure you have the proper name and extension.

    If it still won't let you delete, try to go to Safe Mode and see if you can do the same. Here is instruction to go to Safe Mode. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/sta....

    4 people found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2024-02-13T19:17:47+00:00

    EExcellent ! annoying PDF is gone now :)

    3 people found this answer helpful.
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  5. Anonymous
    2023-02-19T20:51:23+00:00

    Yeah, I tried all of that but was still met with "system does not know the file path specified." Any other suggestions?

    3 people found this answer helpful.
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