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Tech Tips / Windows NT / Disk and File Management

Delete illegal files!

Sometimes a file bearing a name that makes it difficult to delete shows up on a disk. The problem could be an illegal character or an invalid filename, such as LPT0, NUL, or CON. When you try to delete such a file an error message tells you that the filename is illegal or the system cannot find the file.

When this happens, try using a Fully Qualified Universal Naming Convention filename at a command prompt. Here's the syntax:

  del \\.\drive:\path\filename

For example, if the file LPT0 were on drive C in the Windows\System32 directory, you'd enter the command as follows:

  del \\.\C:\Windows\System32\LPT0

There - now your problem file is gone for good!