Windows XP - found.000 folder on external drive, access denied, can't delete and there's no Security Tab

08
2014-07
  • Matheus Lopes

    I tried to run a disk defragmentation, but it said there is this folder called found.000, corrupted, on my external hard drive (FAT32), it came after a chkdsk, when I try to access it, it says "access denied", I can't delete it, and there is one more thing: There's no Security Tab when I right click it.

    Actually, there is no security tab in any folder on any external unit (SD card, HDD, PEN DRIVE, etc), my windows only display the security tab on local disc's folders.

    I'm using Windows XP Pro SP3. Neither Unlocker could be able to delete that folder.

    • Answers
  • and31415

    The fact there's no Security tab is normal: FAT32 file systems don't support access control lists, and can't track the file owner either.

    Since the issue is related to file system corruption, you should backup your data now, in case you didn't already. When you're done, boot any Linux live distribution, and try exploring the found.000 folder from there.

    Your hard drive manufacturer may have diagnostic utility available for download on the official website. Consider getting the latest version to check your drive health.

    Additional information

    Chkdsk might not recover all files, and files that are recovered might be internally corrupted. Therefore, you must protect important data by performing periodic backups.

    If Windows XP Professional cannot identify the folder or if the folder does not exist, it saves each chain of lost clusters in a folder called Found.xxx, where xxx is a sequential number starting with 000. If no folder Found.000 exists, one is created at the root. If one or more sequential folders called Found.xxx (starting at 000) exist, a folder that uses the next number in the sequence is created.

    After the storage folder has been identified or created, one or more files with a name in the format Filennnn.chk are saved. (The first saved file is named File0000.chk, the second is named File0001.chk, and so on in sequence.) When Chkdsk finishes, you can examine the contents of these files [...].

    Troubleshooting Disks and File Systems


    • Related Question

    Can't delete folder in Windows 7
  • user18526

    I'm trying to delete a folder in Windows 7 and get a perplexing error message: "Could not find this item: This is no longer located in G:\Graphics. Verify the item's location and try again.

    I can see the folder -- I can find it. I just can't delete it.

    I also get a second error message (sometimes) when I click on the folder: G:\Graphics 2009-11-17 refers to a location that is unavailable...this information might have been moved to a different location.

    I'm using Windows 7; this folder is on an external hard drive. I've emptied the folder (there were items in it); I've scanned that external hard drive for errors. Trying to rename the folder yields the same enigmatic error message.

    Is there a way to delete this folder?


    • Related Answers
  • harrymc

    Open Command Prompt, use dir /x to get the 8.3 name of the folder which cannot be deleted, and then use rd with the 8.3 name of the folder, and it should be gone.

    If this doesn't work, ensure first that the folder is empty.

  • detj

    yes. Boot into Linux using any of the live CDs, I would recommend Ubuntu and delete that damn folder

  • 13east

    You can try Unlocker if you experience these kind of issues in the future. Windows is known to lock certain files/folder and refuse access to edit/delete them from time to time; Unlocker is a handly little program that can help rename/move/delete unresponsive files/folders.

  • KCotreau

    Try this:

    Do a dir /x /ad to get the 8.3 name of the folder (it will look like docume~1), then do a rd folder* /s (you may even truncate it more like rd fol* /s if there are no other directories with similar names).

    If this does not work, the run chkdsk /f (maybe a couple of times even, but check your Event Viewer>Windows Logs>Application Log to see if there are still a lot of errors. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/96938-check-disk-chkdsk-read-event-viewer-log.html screenshots 6 or 8). Then try the rd command with the 8.3 again as above.

  • DragonLord

    Do not forget if the file type has been corrupted, the extension may not appear in the 8.3 name, if for example you have something like this:

    • FILENAME.EXT
    • FILENAME.EXT
    • FILENAME
    • FILENAME.EXT

    and the one missing its extension is the one you can't delete, use the del command and the file name and add four spaces, then hit Enter.

    For example:

    del FILENAME__________

    The ____________ at the end there is just to show the four spaces added.

    This just worked for me on a file that was corrupted during download.

  • Scott

    Try restarting your computer, and then deleting the folder.

    When you restart your computer the folder might even be gone. It might have already been deleted, but Explorer was showing a cached image.

  • Andrea
    1. Download 7zip
    2. Browse to folder
    3. Right-click rename (successful)
    4. Close 7zip
    5. Browse to folder > right-click delete