# Weird files on USB flashdrive WILL NOT LEAVE! Tried everything/ Help?



## finessenelson (Sep 2, 2006)

I just posted this up on "hardware", but i dont know if that's the right place for this. 

"I have a fairly new Sony 2gb USB flash drive, (if it helps, model # USM2GJ) which has worked perfectly for as long as I've had it. I use it often, with PortableApps running off it and some other programs, as well as all my text/picture files. I stress, THESE ARE ALL FINE. (I have backed all these up on my hard drive since this problem.) However, I used to have a folder on the drive called "Google Sketch Up", containing, guess what, Google SketchUp program, and yesterday or the day before, I noticed its name had changed all to symbols. Symbols, spaces, greek characters. . . and inside it are something like 136 folders and 200-odd files, all symbols, spaces, numbers, greek letters.

My computer has no viruses and always runs perfectly, I even scanned the drive for viruses - there is no problem. I repeat, everything on it is fine except for the fact that my SketchUp folder and all its contents have mysteriously changed to random symbols. I tried to simply "delete" the whole directory - nothing. It says "Cannot delete file: cannot read from the source file or disk". Yet, the drive functions perfectly so it's not a problem with the disk.

Within this mysterious folder, I have tried to delete individual directories: most containing 0 bytes. This makes me angry, and there are basically these messages which each one gives. Each one says one of the following : The same "cannot delete file/ read from .." or "Cannot remove folder "x", the file or directory is corrupt and unreadable". Some of the files do not do anything when i click "delete", and some files are 'hidden' (but I have them visible).

The directory (which I renamed "deleteme") is marked as "Read Only" under attributes, while the files inside are NOT... I tried clearing the Read Only box for "deleteme", and THEN deleting it, but this did not work either, and gave me the same message as before. When I looked at its attributes, "Read Only" was again checked off. This also enrages me, as I attempted to clear it multiple times.

At this point, i decided I'd like to reformat the entire flashdrive, this is when I removed all of the files i needed (everything except for that one "deleteme" folder and backed them up on my hard drive. I noticed that one file deep inside my portable apps Mozilla Sunbird had also been corrupted and would not delete. I placed that folder into the "deleteme" folder, where my plan was to delete them all at once. (The Sunbird I backed up is fine, as I simply chose not to copy the corrupted file.) Since I am not an administrator on my computer, I took my flash drive over to my mom's computer and tried to Format it. All the settings were correct, i know how to format disks, however windows could NOT format it, the message said. I tried this multiple times, and it was clear to me that windows could not "read from the disk" or whatever. I gave up on this and went back to my room.

There, i plugged the drive back in, and I downloaded Sony's reformatting app from their website. However, it says "please connect device", and aborted. (This problem is unrelated, I believe, I have read about that problem on a few other websites. and remember - my flash drive still functions ABSOLUTELY fine). Enraged, I opened Command Prompt to delete it from DOS.

Using the proper syntax and everything, I went and tried to delete the "deleteme" directory and all its obnoxious contents, however, DOS sent the computer bleeping and squawking, and had returned those two error messages for ALL the files! Exactly what I had done in my original attempts to delete them. I had assigned all the parameters to be able to delete them, no questions asked, yet even DOS refused.

I don't know what to do, there's nothing wrong with my flash drive other than this folder which is useless and is taking up around 80 MB of my 2GB space...

I don't expressly see any kind of "warranty" on the product other than for Asian pacific customers, and I'm also only 17 with no Admin priveleges on this shared laptop, and no $$ to get it "repaired" or looked at. I just need to know how to force these evil files away, and possibly knowing why this happened would be interesting too.

It may have to do with the fact that I have never "stopped" the device before removing it, as almost all my files were corrupted in a similar nature on another one of my flash drives a while ago. I think I deleted those with no problem though. This is simply one folder that used to be Google SketchUp, and one Sunbird file which is also fixed.

Also, some of the files have names as EFGHIJKL.MNO and efghijkl.mno, and FGHIJKLM.NOP and its counterpart in lowercase, and a lot of other sequenced-letter filenames, greek characters, lots of little squares, and math symbols.

** ALSO: the files are "Created on" wicked random dates, like 1980, 1989, 2057... sounds like just plain corruption and skewing of the data, but how can i fix this?

I hope someone can help. THANK YOU!"


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## leroys1000 (Aug 16, 2007)

Sounds ike a corrupted partition table.
Have you tried deleting the partition in computer management,then
creating a new one and formatting it?
What operating system are you using?


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## finessenelson (Sep 2, 2006)

Thanks so much for replying, i didnt know if anyone would.

I run XP, sp2. The flash drive as i said is a new sony 2 gig, uses FAT system.

i'm not sure what corrupted partion table means, but it doesnt sound good and i dont know why it would just affect that one folder that is in with ALL my other folders. Could you explain maybe?

I hope this isnt anything that serious, like i'd have to carry around that extra 80 mb for the rest of the drive's life. ugh.


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

I use the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool and it seems to work fine on all drives. Worth a shot.


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## kiwiguy (Aug 17, 2003)

It also sounds like a possible failure of the USB memory stick, where one dataline is not funcctioning for some addresses (hence the weird characters)

I would be returning it for replacement as it's new.


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## finessenelson (Sep 2, 2006)

I got this for christmas, from circuitcity.com. I appreciate the suggestions, but i honestly dont think there's anything wrong with the drive, as I have renamed the folder with no trouble at all, and my programs, files, data, etc, _continue_ to function absolutely without fault. I dont have the resources to return the drive anyway, I'm hoping there is an alternative, or an even more solid way to FORCE deletion of files. I can't even believe DOS couldn't handle my obnoxious problem.

Anyone know if I can "return" an online purchase to a brick-and-mortar Circuit City store? Since this thing was totally fine for what, two months now, I've thrown out the packaging. I kept the instruction booklet, but since my boyfriend bought this for me online, I dont know what kind of "receipt" or documentation of the purchase there is to show them - it certainly was never in my possession. He used his dad's credit card (he was having trouble with his debit card at the time). I suppose I could check with his dad? I don't buy anything online and don't know this stuff, I dont know what credit cards give you in the way of "receipt" equivalents for transactions made online.

Any help in that department?


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

Did you try formatting with the HP tool?


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