Mysterious file crowding my laptop's hard drive - HELP!!!

[JazzyJeff]

My HP dv6149's hard drive appears to have only 10GB of space
remaining. When I use Disk Size Manager (DSM) to view the contents of
my hard drive, it shows that a file in the 'Install' sub-directory of
'WINDOWS' has a 50GB file in it by the name '[File]'. This file
apparently cannot be deleted, viewed or manipulated any way. It also
doesn't appear when viewing this sub-directory in the Windows
Explorer, neither does the Windows Explorer figure this file into the
total size of everything in this sub-directory. Is this a ghost or a
file generated by a virus or something?

 

[Shenan Stanley]

My HP dv6149's hard drive appears to have only 10GB of space
remaining. When I use Disk Size Manager (DSM) to view the contents
of my hard drive, it shows that a file in the 'Install'
sub-directory of 'WINDOWS' has a 50GB file in it by the name
'[File]'. This file apparently cannot be deleted, viewed or
manipulated any way. It also doesn't appear when viewing this
sub-directory in the Windows Explorer, neither does the Windows
Explorer figure this file into the total size of everything in this
sub-directory. Is this a ghost or a file generated by a virus or
something?

No clue - but you can probably easily cleanup. ;-)

First - reboot into safe mode - you may be able to delete it there.

Even if not - back in normal mode, logged in as a user with administrative
rights...

Download/install this:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

After installing, do the following:

Start button --> RUN --> type in:
"%ProgramFiles%\Windows Installer Clean Up\msizap.exe" g!
--> Click OK.

(The quotation marks and percentage signs and spacing should be exact.)

If you are comfortable with the stability of your system, you can delete the
uninstall files for the patches that Windows XP has installed...
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spack.htm
( Particularly of interest here - #4 )
( Alternative: http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm )

You can run Disk Cleanup - built into Windows XP - to erase all but your
latest restore point and cleanup even more "loose files"..

How to use Disk Cleanup
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312

You can turn off hibernation if it is on and you don't use it..

When you hibernate your computer, Windows saves the contents of the system's
memory to the hiberfil.sys file. As a result, the size of the hiberfil.sys
file will always equal the amount of physical memory in your system. If you
don't use the hibernate feature and want to recapture the space that Windows
uses for the hiberfil.sys file, perform the following steps:

- Start the Control Panel Power Options applet (go to Start, Settings,
Control Panel, and click Power Options).
- Select the Hibernate tab, clear the "Enable hibernation" check box, then
click OK; although you might think otherwise, selecting Never under the
"System hibernates" option on the Power Schemes tab doesn't delete the
hiberfil.sys file.
- Windows will remove the "System hibernates" option from the Power Schemes
tab and delete the hiberfil.sys file.

You can control how much space your System Restore can use...

1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
2. Click the System Restore tab.
3. Highlight one of your drives (or C: if you only have one) and click on
the "Settings" button.
4. Change the percentage of disk space you wish to allow.. I suggest moving
the slider until you have just about 1GB (1024MB or close to that...)
5. Click OK.. Then Click OK again.

You can control how much space your Temporary Internet Files can utilize...

Empty your Temporary Internet Files and shrink the size it stores to a
size between 64MB and 128MB..

- Open ONE copy of Internet Explorer.
- Select TOOLS -> Internet Options.
- Under the General tab in the "Temporary Internet Files" section, do the
following:
- Click on "Delete Cookies" (click OK)
- Click on "Settings" and change the "Amount of disk space to use:" to
something between 64MB and 128MB. (It may be MUCH larger right
now.)
- Click OK.
- Click on "Delete Files" and select to "Delete all offline contents"
(the checkbox) and click OK. (If you had a LOT, this could take 2-10
minutes or more.)
- Once it is done, click OK, close Internet Explorer, re-open Internet
Explorer.

You can use an application that scans your system for log files and
temporary files and use that to get rid of those:

Ccleaner (Free!)
http://www.ccleaner.com/

Other ways to free up space..

SequoiaView
http://www.win.tue.nl/sequoiaview/

JDiskReport
http://www.jgoodies.com/freeware/jdiskreport/index.html

Those can help you visually discover where all the space is being used.

In the end - a standard Windows XP installation with all sorts of extras
will not likely be above about 4.5GB to 9GB in size. If you have more space
than that (likely do on a modern machine) and most of it seems to be used -
likely you need to move *your stuff* off and/or find a better way to manage
it.

 

[Twayne]

My HP dv6149's hard drive appears to have only 10GB of space
remaining. When I use Disk Size Manager (DSM) to view the contents of
my hard drive, it shows that a file in the 'Install' sub-directory of
'WINDOWS' has a 50GB file in it by the name '[File]'. This file
apparently cannot be deleted, viewed or manipulated any way. It also
doesn't appear when viewing this sub-directory in the Windows
Explorer, neither does the Windows Explorer figure this file into the
total size of everything in this sub-directory. Is this a ghost or a
file generated by a virus or something?

Hmm, interesting. Before I go further, let me say: Don't discredit the
things Shenan provided for you; go ahead and try them out, as he hasn't
suggested anything harmful in any way that I can see. I just don't
understand how he is addressing you problem and instead has probably
assumed you have a full disk drive you need to free up some space on.


If my questions seem a little odd, I'm just trying to cover all the
bases:

Checking my own system, I do not see a folder/directory called
"Install" under C:\Windows\. There IS a folder called "InstallER"
however. Did you literally mean "Install" or did you maybe leave off
the "er" at the end?

Are you certain it's in the C:\windows folder and not a different one?

Do you actually mean 50 GigaBytes? Not MegaBytes? 50 Gig is a
humongous size for a file, and even for a folder, for that matter. My
largest file in the Installer folder is around 54 Meg. The largest
folder in the entire Windows folder is System32 at 1.93 Gig.

Are you certain it is a "file" and not a "folder"?

When you say you can't see it in win Explorer, have you set it up to
display hidden files, all known file extensions and all hidden system
files? If not, then that may explain why you aren't able to see it.
The three settings are located in the View tab of win Explorer's
Tools; Folder Options. They're spread out in the list, so you have to
look for them. Setting those three options properly will enable you to
see every folder and file on the disk drive.
You may want to put them back to their original settings when you're
done.

-- Exactly HOW and with WHAT have you tried to delete the file?

You say only DSM sees this file? How about after making the settings to
reveal all files in windows Explorer? Does win Explorer it see the file
now?
Can you delete it now?
If you get any error messages, please quote them as exactly as you
can.

My initial feeling is that you have a virus, trojan, worm or some other
sort of malware in general.
Have you scanned with an anti-virus program? Are the definitions up
to date? And what is the name of the program?

Have you scanned for spyware and general malware? With updated
programs? What programs did you use?
If you haven't done so, you should now. The general concensus is
that at least 3 anti spyware programs are necessary to cover all the
bases; no program yet can find everything.

If you have any questions, feel free to post back for answers. I
haven't included a bunch of links and references because I don't yet
know what you have and don't have so I'm just saving myself a little
typing and research right now<g>.

Go through all the suggestions above and respond back with the results
for each one. Include any/all relevent information you can think of,
especially error messages and what happened just before and just after
the error message appeared?
Then we can go forward from there is necessary.

HTH,

Twayne`

 

[JazzyJeff]

My HP dv6149's hard drive appears to have only 10GB of space
remaining. When I use Disk Size Manager (DSM) to view the contents of
my hard drive, it shows that a file in the 'Install' sub-directory of
'WINDOWS' has a 50GB file in it by the name '[File]'. This file
apparently cannot be deleted, viewed or manipulated any way. It also
doesn't appear when viewing this sub-directory in the Windows
Explorer, neither does the Windows Explorer figure this file into the
total size of everything in this sub-directory. Is this a ghost or a
file generated by a virus or something?

Hmm, interesting.  Before I go further, let me say: Don't discredit the
things Shenan provided for you; go ahead and try them out, as he hasn't
suggested anything harmful in any way that I can see.  I just don't
understand how he is addressing you problem and instead has probably
assumed you have a full disk drive you need to free up some space on.

If my questions seem a little odd, I'm just trying to cover all the
bases:

   Checking my own system, I do not see a folder/directory called
"Install" under C:\Windows\.  There IS a folder called "InstallER"
however.  Did you literally mean "Install" or did you maybe leave off
the "er" at the end?

Are you certain it's in the C:\windows folder and not a different one?

Do you actually mean 50 GigaBytes?  Not MegaBytes?  50 Gig is a
humongous size for a file, and even for a folder, for that matter.  My
largest file in the Installer folder is around 54 Meg. The largest
folder in the entire Windows folder is System32 at 1.93 Gig.

Are you certain it is a "file" and not a "folder"?

When you say you can't see it in win Explorer, have you set it up to
display hidden files, all known file extensions and all hidden system
files?  If not, then that may explain why you aren't able to see it.
   The three settings are located in the View tab of win Explorer's
Tools; Folder Options.  They're spread out in the list, so you have to
look for them.  Setting those three options properly will enable you to
see every folder and file on the disk drive.
   You may want to put them back to their original settings when you're
done.

--  Exactly HOW and with WHAT have you tried to delete the file?

You say only DSM sees this file?  How about after making the settings to
reveal all files in windows Explorer?  Does win Explorer it see the file
now?
   Can you delete it now?
   If you get any error messages, please quote them as exactly as you
can.

My initial feeling is that you have a virus, trojan, worm or some other
sort of malware in general.
   Have you scanned with an anti-virus program?  Are the definitions up
to date? And what is the name of the program?

Have you scanned for spyware and general malware?  With updated
programs?  What programs did you use?
   If you haven't done so, you should now.  The general concensus is
that at least 3 anti spyware programs are necessary to cover all the
bases; no program yet can find everything.

If you have any questions, feel free to post back for answers.  I
haven't included a bunch of links and references because I don't yet
know what you have and don't have so I'm just saving myself a little
typing and research right now<g>.

Go through all the suggestions above and respond back with the results
for each one.  Include any/all relevent information you can think of,
especially error messages and what happened just before and just after
the error message appeared?
   Then we can go forward from there is necessary.

HTH,

Twayne`

Sorry I confused you on the directory names. Well, Norton AntiVirus
doesn't pick this up either when I do a manual scan. I tried booting
up in safe mode as was suggested before but that didn't get me any
more access to this file (and yest it is a file, not a folder) than
what DSM gave me. Heck, at least I got to see where this thing is.

 

[Peter Foldes]

Might that file be in a hidden partition by any chance

 

[JazzyJeff]

Might that file be in a hidden partition by any chance

--
Peter

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

My HP dv6149's hard drive appears to have only 10GB of space
remaining. When I use Disk Size Manager (DSM) to view the contents of
my hard drive, it shows that a file in the 'Install' sub-directory of
'WINDOWS' has a 50GB file in it by the name '[File]'. This file
apparently cannot be deleted, viewed or manipulated any way. It also
doesn't appear when viewing this sub-directory in the Windows
Explorer, neither does the Windows Explorer figure this file into the
total size of everything in this sub-directory. Is this a ghost or a
file generated by a virus or something?

Nope, it's the C: drive, and I've not partitioned it in any way except
for the manufacturer-created D: partition which is the recovery
partition, and that is only 11GB.

 

[Twayne]

My HP dv6149's hard drive appears to have only 10GB of space
remaining. When I use Disk Size Manager (DSM) to view the contents
of my hard drive, it shows that a file in the 'Install'
sub-directory of 'WINDOWS' has a 50GB file in it by the name
'[File]'. This file apparently cannot be deleted, viewed or
manipulated any way. It also doesn't appear when viewing this
sub-directory in the Windows Explorer, neither does the Windows
Explorer figure this file into the total size of everything in this
sub-directory. Is this a ghost or a file generated by a virus or
something?

Hmm, interesting. Before I go further, let me say: Don't discredit
the things Shenan provided for you; go ahead and try them out, as he
hasn't suggested anything harmful in any way that I can see. I just
don't understand how he is addressing you problem and instead has
probably assumed you have a full disk drive you need to free up some
space on.

If my questions seem a little odd, I'm just trying to cover all the
bases:

Checking my own system, I do not see a folder/directory called
"Install" under C:\Windows\. There IS a folder called "InstallER"
however. Did you literally mean "Install" or did you maybe leave off
the "er" at the end?

Are you certain it's in the C:\windows folder and not a different
one?

Do you actually mean 50 GigaBytes? Not MegaBytes? 50 Gig is a
humongous size for a file, and even for a folder, for that matter. My
largest file in the Installer folder is around 54 Meg. The largest
folder in the entire Windows folder is System32 at 1.93 Gig.

Are you certain it is a "file" and not a "folder"?

When you say you can't see it in win Explorer, have you set it up to
display hidden files, all known file extensions and all hidden system
files? If not, then that may explain why you aren't able to see it.
The three settings are located in the View tab of win Explorer's
Tools; Folder Options. They're spread out in the list, so you have to
look for them. Setting those three options properly will enable you
to see every folder and file on the disk drive.
You may want to put them back to their original settings when you're
done.

-- Exactly HOW and with WHAT have you tried to delete the file?

You say only DSM sees this file? How about after making the settings
to reveal all files in windows Explorer? Does win Explorer it see
the file now?
Can you delete it now?
If you get any error messages, please quote them as exactly as you
can.

My initial feeling is that you have a virus, trojan, worm or some
other sort of malware in general.
Have you scanned with an anti-virus program? Are the definitions up
to date? And what is the name of the program?

Have you scanned for spyware and general malware? With updated
programs? What programs did you use?
If you haven't done so, you should now. The general concensus is
that at least 3 anti spyware programs are necessary to cover all the
bases; no program yet can find everything.

If you have any questions, feel free to post back for answers. I
haven't included a bunch of links and references because I don't yet
know what you have and don't have so I'm just saving myself a little
typing and research right now<g>.

Go through all the suggestions above and respond back with the
results for each one. Include any/all relevent information you can
think of, especially error messages and what happened just before
and just after the error message appeared?
Then we can go forward from there is necessary.

HTH,

Twayne`

Sorry I confused you on the directory names. Well, Norton AntiVirus
doesn't pick this up either when I do a manual scan. I tried booting
up in safe mode as was suggested before but that didn't get me any
more access to this file (and yest it is a file, not a folder) than
what DSM gave me. Heck, at least I got to see where this thing is.

You didn't answer what the exact folder name is; "install" or
"installer"?

Nor did you cover:
Plase reread the post and respond to all the information requested.
There are just too many different things to go over and those help
narrow things down.

HTH,

Twayne`

 

[JazzyJeff]

My HP dv6149's hard drive appears to have only 10GB of space
remaining. When I use Disk Size Manager (DSM) to view the contents
of my hard drive, it shows that a file in the 'Install'
sub-directory of 'WINDOWS' has a 50GB file in it by the name
'[File]'. This file apparently cannot be deleted, viewed or
manipulated any way. It also doesn't appear when viewing this
sub-directory in the Windows Explorer, neither does the Windows
Explorer figure this file into the total size of everything in this
sub-directory. Is this a ghost or a file generated by a virus or
something?
Hmm, interesting. Before I go further, let me say: Don't discredit
the things Shenan provided for you; go ahead and try them out, as he
hasn't suggested anything harmful in any way that I can see. I just
don't understand how he is addressing you problem and instead has
probably assumed you have a full disk drive you need to free up some
space on.
If my questions seem a little odd, I'm just trying to cover all the
bases:
Checking my own system, I do not see a folder/directory called
"Install" under C:\Windows\. There IS a folder called "InstallER"
however. Did you literally mean "Install" or did you maybe leave off
the "er" at the end?
Are you certain it's in the C:\windows folder and not a different
one?
Do you actually mean 50 GigaBytes? Not MegaBytes? 50 Gig is a
humongous size for a file, and even for a folder, for that matter. My
largest file in the Installer folder is around 54 Meg. The largest
folder in the entire Windows folder is System32 at 1.93 Gig.
Are you certain it is a "file" and not a "folder"?
When you say you can't see it in win Explorer, have you set it up to
display hidden files, all known file extensions and all hidden system
files? If not, then that may explain why you aren't able to see it.
The three settings are located in the View tab of win Explorer's
Tools; Folder Options. They're spread out in the list, so you have to
look for them. Setting those three options properly will enable you
to see every folder and file on the disk drive.
You may want to put them back to their original settings when you're
done.
-- Exactly HOW and with WHAT have you tried to delete the file?
You say only DSM sees this file? How about after making the settings
to reveal all files in windows Explorer? Does win Explorer it see
the file now?
Can you delete it now?
If you get any error messages, please quote them as exactly as you
can.
My initial feeling is that you have a virus, trojan, worm or some
other sort of malware in general.
Have you scanned with an anti-virus program? Are the definitions up
to date? And what is the name of the program?
Have you scanned for spyware and general malware? With updated
programs? What programs did you use?
If you haven't done so, you should now. The general concensus is
that at least 3 anti spyware programs are necessary to cover all the
bases; no program yet can find everything.
If you have any questions, feel free to post back for answers. I
haven't included a bunch of links and references because I don't yet
know what you have and don't have so I'm just saving myself a little
typing and research right now<g>.
Go through all the suggestions above and respond back with the
results for each one. Include any/all relevent information you can
think of, especially error messages and what happened just before
and just after the error message appeared?
Then we can go forward from there is necessary.
HTH,
Twayne`

Sorry I confused you on the directory names. Well, Norton AntiVirus
doesn't pick this up either when I do a manual scan. I tried booting
up in safe mode as was suggested before but that didn't get me any
more access to this file (and yest it is a file, not a folder) than
what DSM gave me. Heck, at least I got to see where this thing is.

You didn't answer what the exact folder name is; "install" or
"installer"?

Nor did you cover:

Plase reread the post and respond to all the information requested.
There are just too many different things to go over and those help
narrow things down.

HTH,

Twayne`- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Aah, well, the file directory is 'Installer', hidden file display is
on and I've turned it off and back on to confirm that, I've manually
scanned everything with Norton AntiVirus and everything on that is up-
to-date. I'm using Spybot Search & Destroy to handle the spyware and
it's mostly been picking up the analytic 'bots' found on websites but
not much else. Hope I'm using the best utilities for this stuff.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

<snipped>

Aah, well, the file directory is 'Installer', hidden file display is
on and I've turned it off and back on to confirm that, I've manually
scanned everything with Norton AntiVirus and everything on that is
up- to-date. I'm using Spybot Search & Destroy to handle the
spyware and it's mostly been picking up the analytic 'bots' found
on websites but not much else. Hope I'm using the best utilities
for this stuff.

Download, install, run, update and perform a full scan (separately) with the
following two applications (freeware versions are the ones to use for this):

SuperAntiSpyware
http://www.superantispyware.com/

MalwareBytes
http://www.malwarebytes.com/

After performing a full scan with one and then the other and removing
whatever they both find completely, you may uninstall these products,
if you wish.

Download and run the MSRT manually:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx

Reboot.

Did you do some of the cleanup tips I gave you elsewhere in this
conversation?

Entire archived conversation:
http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics/browse_frm/thread/7494c7b6d580224b

 

[Twayne]

news:[email protected]

My HP dv6149's hard drive appears to have only 10GB of space
remaining. When I use Disk Size Manager (DSM) to view the contents
of my hard drive, it shows that a file in the 'Install'
sub-directory of 'WINDOWS' has a 50GB file in it by the name
'[File]'. This file apparently cannot be deleted, viewed or
manipulated any way. It also doesn't appear when viewing this
sub-directory in the Windows Explorer, neither does the Windows
Explorer figure this file into the total size of everything in
this sub-directory. Is this a ghost or a file generated by a
virus or something?

Hmm, interesting. Before I go further, let me say: Don't discredit
the things Shenan provided for you; go ahead and try them out, as
he hasn't suggested anything harmful in any way that I can see. I
just don't understand how he is addressing you problem and instead
has probably assumed you have a full disk drive you need to free
up some space on.

If my questions seem a little odd, I'm just trying to cover all the
bases:

Checking my own system, I do not see a folder/directory called
"Install" under C:\Windows\. There IS a folder called "InstallER"
however. Did you literally mean "Install" or did you maybe leave
off the "er" at the end?

Are you certain it's in the C:\windows folder and not a different
one?

Do you actually mean 50 GigaBytes? Not MegaBytes? 50 Gig is a
humongous size for a file, and even for a folder, for that matter.
My largest file in the Installer folder is around 54 Meg. The
largest folder in the entire Windows folder is System32 at 1.93
Gig.

Are you certain it is a "file" and not a "folder"?

When you say you can't see it in win Explorer, have you set it up
to display hidden files, all known file extensions and all hidden
system files? If not, then that may explain why you aren't able to
see it. The three settings are located in the View tab of win
Explorer's Tools; Folder Options. They're spread out in the list,
so you have to look for them. Setting those three options properly
will enable you to see every folder and file on the disk drive.
You may want to put them back to their original settings when
you're done.

-- Exactly HOW and with WHAT have you tried to delete the file?

You say only DSM sees this file? How about after making the
settings to reveal all files in windows Explorer? Does win
Explorer it see the file now?
Can you delete it now?
If you get any error messages, please quote them as exactly as you
can.

My initial feeling is that you have a virus, trojan, worm or some
other sort of malware in general.
Have you scanned with an anti-virus program? Are the definitions up
to date? And what is the name of the program?

Have you scanned for spyware and general malware? With updated
programs? What programs did you use?
If you haven't done so, you should now. The general concensus is
that at least 3 anti spyware programs are necessary to cover all
the bases; no program yet can find everything.

If you have any questions, feel free to post back for answers. I
haven't included a bunch of links and references because I don't
yet know what you have and don't have so I'm just saving myself a
little typing and research right now<g>.

Go through all the suggestions above and respond back with the
results for each one. Include any/all relevent information you can
think of, especially error messages and what happened just before
and just after the error message appeared?
Then we can go forward from there is necessary.


Sorry I confused you on the directory names. Well, Norton AntiVirus
doesn't pick this up either when I do a manual scan. I tried booting
up in safe mode as was suggested before but that didn't get me any
more access to this file (and yest it is a file, not a folder) than
what DSM gave me. Heck, at least I got to see where this thing is.

You didn't answer what the exact folder name is; "install" or
"installer"?

Nor did you cover:

When you say you can't see it in win Explorer, have you set it up
to display hidden files, all known file extensions and all hidden
system files?
Have you scanned with an anti-virus program? Are the definitions up
to date? And what is the name/version of the program?

Have you scanned for spyware and general malware? With updated
programs? What programs did you use?
If you haven't done so, you should now. The general concensus is
that at least 3 anti spyware programs are necessary to cover all
the bases; no program yet can find everything.

Plase reread the post and respond to all the information requested.
There are just too many different things to go over and those help
narrow things down.

HTH,

Twayne`- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Aah, well, the file directory is 'Installer', hidden file display is
on and I've turned it off and back on to confirm that, I've manually
scanned everything with Norton AntiVirus and everything on that is up-
to-date. I'm using Spybot Search & Destroy to handle the spyware and
it's mostly been picking up the analytic 'bots' found on websites but
not much else. Hope I'm using the best utilities for this stuff.

Shenan's advice is good; as I said, you need to run multiple malware
detectors and those he referenced are decent ones. Norton AV and Spybot
are both decent applications.

-- Are you saying that "bots" are being found? I'm not sure what you
meant by "analytic": Can you put a name or description to what it's
finding?
If it is finding bots, that's not good.
Try running the same application (Spybot S&D) again and see if it
finds them again. They might be the kind of thing that comes back even
after it's been removed. Meaning only parts of it are being removed.
You are aware that if any of them are dialer bots, to be sure your
computer can't make any regular phone calls thru a regular modem, right?

-- Are you on dialup or DSL, or what? Either could end up with a rude
surprise when you get your next phone bill if there are dialer bots
being found. I haven't heard of a dialer bot turning up on a long time,
but ... worth mentioning.

OK, so you still can't find any way to access "FILES", in
c:\windows\installER\ . Thanks for the clarification: THAT folder DOES
exist in XP.

big storm starting - leaving - will try more later - bye

 

[JazzyJeff]

My HP dv6149's hard drive appears to have only 10GB of space
remaining. When I use Disk Size Manager (DSM) to view the contents
of my hard drive, it shows that a file in the 'Install'
sub-directory of 'WINDOWS' has a 50GB file in it by the name
'[File]'. This file apparently cannot be deleted, viewed or
manipulated any way. It also doesn't appear when viewing this
sub-directory in the Windows Explorer, neither does the Windows
Explorer figure this file into the total size of everything in
this sub-directory. Is this a ghost or a file generated by a
virus or something?
Hmm, interesting. Before I go further, let me say: Don't discredit
the things Shenan provided for you; go ahead and try them out, as
he hasn't suggested anything harmful in any way that I can see. I
just don't understand how he is addressing you problem and instead
has probably assumed you have a full disk drive you need to free
up some space on.
If my questions seem a little odd, I'm just trying to cover all the
bases:
Checking my own system, I do not see a folder/directory called
"Install" under C:\Windows\. There IS a folder called "InstallER"
however. Did you literally mean "Install" or did you maybe leave
off the "er" at the end?
Are you certain it's in the C:\windows folder and not a different
one?
Do you actually mean 50 GigaBytes? Not MegaBytes? 50 Gig is a
humongous size for a file, and even for a folder, for that matter.
My largest file in the Installer folder is around 54 Meg. The
largest folder in the entire Windows folder is System32 at 1.93
Gig.
Are you certain it is a "file" and not a "folder"?
When you say you can't see it in win Explorer, have you set it up
to display hidden files, all known file extensions and all hidden
system files? If not, then that may explain why you aren't able to
see it. The three settings are located in the View tab of win
Explorer's Tools; Folder Options. They're spread out in the list,
so you have to look for them. Setting those three options properly
will enable you to see every folder and file on the disk drive.
You may want to put them back to their original settings when
you're done.
-- Exactly HOW and with WHAT have you tried to delete the file?
You say only DSM sees this file? How about after making the
settings to reveal all files in windows Explorer? Does win
Explorer it see the file now?
Can you delete it now?
If you get any error messages, please quote them as exactly as you
can.
My initial feeling is that you have a virus, trojan, worm or some
other sort of malware in general.
Have you scanned with an anti-virus program? Are the definitions up
to date? And what is the name of the program?
Have you scanned for spyware and general malware? With updated
programs? What programs did you use?
If you haven't done so, you should now. The general concensus is
that at least 3 anti spyware programs are necessary to cover all
the bases; no program yet can find everything.
If you have any questions, feel free to post back for answers. I
haven't included a bunch of links and references because I don't
yet know what you have and don't have so I'm just saving myself a
little typing and research right now<g>.
Go through all the suggestions above and respond back with the
results for each one. Include any/all relevent information you can
think of, especially error messages and what happened just before
and just after the error message appeared?
Then we can go forward from there is necessary.
HTH,
Twayne`
Sorry I confused you on the directory names. Well, Norton AntiVirus
doesn't pick this up either when I do a manual scan. I tried booting
up in safe mode as was suggested before but that didn't get me any
more access to this file (and yest it is a file, not a folder) than
what DSM gave me. Heck, at least I got to see where this thing is.
You didn't answer what the exact folder name is; "install" or
"installer"?
Nor did you cover:
When you say you can't see it in win Explorer, have you set it up
to display hidden files, all known file extensions and all hidden
system files?
Have you scanned with an anti-virus program? Are the definitions up
to date? And what is the name/version of the program?
Have you scanned for spyware and general malware? With updated
programs? What programs did you use?
If you haven't done so, you should now. The general concensus is
that at least 3 anti spyware programs are necessary to cover all
the bases; no program yet can find everything.
Plase reread the post and respond to all the information requested.
There are just too many different things to go over and those help
narrow things down.
HTH,
Twayne`- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -

Aah, well, the file directory is 'Installer', hidden file display is
on and I've turned it off and back on to confirm that, I've manually
scanned everything with Norton AntiVirus and everything on that is up-
to-date. I'm using Spybot Search & Destroy to handle the spyware and
it's mostly been picking up the analytic 'bots' found on websites but
not much else. Hope I'm using the best utilities for this stuff.

Shenan's advice is good; as I said, you need to run multiple malware
detectors and those he referenced are decent ones.  Norton AV and Spybot
are both decent applications.

--  Are you saying that "bots" are being found?  I'm not sure what you
meant by "analytic": Can you put a name or description to what it's
finding?
   If it is finding bots, that's not good.
   Try running the same application (Spybot S&D) again and see if it
finds them again.  They might be the kind of thing that comes back even
after it's been removed.  Meaning only parts of it are being removed.
You are aware that if any of them are dialer bots, to be sure your
computer can't make any regular phone calls thru a regular modem, right?

--  Are you on dialup or DSL, or what?  Either could end up with a rude
surprise when you get your next phone bill if there are dialer bots
being found.  I haven't heard of a dialer bot turning up on a long time,
but ... worth mentioning.

OK, so you still can't find any way to access "FILES", in
c:\windows\installER\ .  Thanks for the clarification:  THAT folder DOES
exist in XP.

big storm starting - leaving - will try more later - bye

Oh, I'm talking about the 'bots' that measure how many hits a website
is getting (ie: Hitbox, Google Analytcis, etc.) pardon my French.
Also, found more references to [Files] in the C:\WINDOWS diectory
which i could actually view the contents of, one of these had some
elements of ElectricSheep in it. Unistalling ElectricSheep got rid of
that stuff but all the other references to [Files], even the one in
the C:\WINDOWS\Installer directory is still there even after running
all those anti-virus apps. None of these [Files] can be opened in any
way either.

 

[Twayne]

news:[email protected]

news:[email protected]

My HP dv6149's hard drive appears to have only 10GB of space
remaining. When I use Disk Size Manager (DSM) to view the
contents of my hard drive, it shows that a file in the 'Install'
sub-directory of 'WINDOWS' has a 50GB file in it by the name
'[File]'. This file apparently cannot be deleted, viewed or
manipulated any way. It also doesn't appear when viewing this
sub-directory in the Windows Explorer, neither does the Windows
Explorer figure this file into the total size of everything in
this sub-directory. Is this a ghost or a file generated by a
virus or something?

Hmm, interesting. Before I go further, let me say: Don't
discredit the things Shenan provided for you; go ahead and try
them out, as he hasn't suggested anything harmful in any way
that I can see. I just don't understand how he is addressing you
problem and instead has probably assumed you have a full disk
drive you need to free up some space on.

If my questions seem a little odd, I'm just trying to cover all
the bases:

Checking my own system, I do not see a folder/directory called
"Install" under C:\Windows\. There IS a folder called "InstallER"
however. Did you literally mean "Install" or did you maybe leave
off the "er" at the end?

Are you certain it's in the C:\windows folder and not a different
one?

Do you actually mean 50 GigaBytes? Not MegaBytes? 50 Gig is a
humongous size for a file, and even for a folder, for that
matter. My largest file in the Installer folder is around 54
Meg. The largest folder in the entire Windows folder is System32
at 1.93 Gig.

Are you certain it is a "file" and not a "folder"?

When you say you can't see it in win Explorer, have you set it up
to display hidden files, all known file extensions and all hidden
system files? If not, then that may explain why you aren't able
to see it. The three settings are located in the View tab of win
Explorer's Tools; Folder Options. They're spread out in the list,
so you have to look for them. Setting those three options
properly will enable you to see every folder and file on the
disk drive. You may want to put them back to their original
settings when you're done.

-- Exactly HOW and with WHAT have you tried to delete the file?

You say only DSM sees this file? How about after making the
settings to reveal all files in windows Explorer? Does win
Explorer it see the file now?
Can you delete it now?
If you get any error messages, please quote them as exactly as
you can.

My initial feeling is that you have a virus, trojan, worm or some
other sort of malware in general.
Have you scanned with an anti-virus program? Are the definitions
up to date? And what is the name of the program?

Have you scanned for spyware and general malware? With updated
programs? What programs did you use?
If you haven't done so, you should now. The general concensus is
that at least 3 anti spyware programs are necessary to cover all
the bases; no program yet can find everything.

If you have any questions, feel free to post back for answers. I
haven't included a bunch of links and references because I don't
yet know what you have and don't have so I'm just saving myself a
little typing and research right now<g>.

Go through all the suggestions above and respond back with the
results for each one. Include any/all relevent information you
can think of, especially error messages and what happened just
before and just after the error message appeared?
Then we can go forward from there is necessary.


Sorry I confused you on the directory names. Well, Norton
AntiVirus doesn't pick this up either when I do a manual scan. I
tried booting up in safe mode as was suggested before but that
didn't get me any more access to this file (and yest it is a
file, not a folder) than what DSM gave me. Heck, at least I got
to see where this thing is.

You didn't answer what the exact folder name is; "install" or
"installer"?

Nor did you cover:

When you say you can't see it in win Explorer, have you set it up
to display hidden files, all known file extensions and all hidden
system files?
Have you scanned with an anti-virus program? Are the definitions
up to date? And what is the name/version of the program?

Have you scanned for spyware and general malware? With updated
programs? What programs did you use?
If you haven't done so, you should now. The general concensus is
that at least 3 anti spyware programs are necessary to cover all
the bases; no program yet can find everything.

Plase reread the post and respond to all the information requested.
There are just too many different things to go over and those help
narrow things down.

Twayne`- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Aah, well, the file directory is 'Installer', hidden file display is
on and I've turned it off and back on to confirm that, I've manually
scanned everything with Norton AntiVirus and everything on that is
up- to-date. I'm using Spybot Search & Destroy to handle the
spyware and it's mostly been picking up the analytic 'bots' found
on websites but not much else. Hope I'm using the best utilities
for this stuff.

Shenan's advice is good; as I said, you need to run multiple malware
detectors and those he referenced are decent ones. Norton AV and
Spybot are both decent applications.

-- Are you saying that "bots" are being found? I'm not sure what you
meant by "analytic": Can you put a name or description to what it's
finding?
If it is finding bots, that's not good.
Try running the same application (Spybot S&D) again and see if it
finds them again. They might be the kind of thing that comes back
even after it's been removed. Meaning only parts of it are being
removed. You are aware that if any of them are dialer bots, to be
sure your computer can't make any regular phone calls thru a regular
modem, right?

-- Are you on dialup or DSL, or what? Either could end up with a rude
surprise when you get your next phone bill if there are dialer bots
being found. I haven't heard of a dialer bot turning up on a long
time, but ... worth mentioning.

OK, so you still can't find any way to access "FILES", in
c:\windows\installER\ . Thanks for the clarification: THAT folder
DOES exist in XP.

big storm starting - leaving - will try more later - bye

Oh, I'm talking about the 'bots' that measure how many hits a website
is getting (ie: Hitbox, Google Analytcis, etc.) pardon my French.
Also, found more references to [Files] in the C:\WINDOWS diectory
which i could actually view the contents of, one of these had some
elements of ElectricSheep in it. Unistalling ElectricSheep got rid of
that stuff but all the other references to [Files], even the one in
the C:\WINDOWS\Installer directory is still there even after running
all those anti-virus apps. None of these [Files] can be opened in any
way either.

If that file was created by a legitimate program, then AV etc. isn't
going to find it. Since you said ElectricSheep had references to it,
and you uninstalled it, which got rid of the references, it wouldn't be
unusual for it to leave files behind. BUT, that's good because now you
know where it came from, and why you're being denied access to it! So
this is a bit of a turn of events.

Can you now see the file in a Command Prompt or with windows Explorer?
The Command Prompt to get to it would be something like:
CD\ to go back to the root
CD C:\WINDOWS\INSTALLER will take you to the Installer
directory/folder. The screen prompt will should look like
"C:\WINDOWS\INSTALLER >" without the quotes.

If you have adjusted all 3 areas to get to display files, try using the
DIR command and see if the file shows up. Say the file's name is
"file". DIR F* will find only the files that start with F and will be a
shorter list to look thru. In my case it's only a few files, in fact.

If no luck with DIR, then:

ATTRIB followed by return will display ALL files in the folder, along
with their property tags (a, s, h, r, etc.) and filesize. Find the file
of interest and issue the command:

attrib file -r -s <---- followed by return.
For "file" use exactly what the ATTRIB command showed the name to be.

Now see if windows Explorer shows the file. If it does, try to Rename
it. Do NOT try to edit it with anything, as a file that size will take
forever just to open! If that works, try to Delete it.
What happened in each case? You might be able to Rename it but not
Delete it.

If it renamed but still wouldn't delete, the next step will be to simply
take ownership of the file. The file will be "owned" by the program
that created it, not you, thus the need to take ownership (this is
typical with many programs). But let's see if any of this worked first.
OK?
Let us know.

-- Can you now see the file in windows Explorer?
-- Could you rename it?
-- Did it delete?
Explain anything else you did too that I may not have mentioned.

HTH,

Twayne`

 

[Jose]

My HP dv6149's hard drive appears to have only 10GB of space
remaining. When I use Disk Size Manager (DSM) to view the contents of
my hard drive, it shows that a file in the 'Install' sub-directory of
'WINDOWS' has a 50GB file in it by the name '[File]'. This file
apparently cannot be deleted, viewed or manipulated any way. It also
doesn't appear when viewing this sub-directory in the Windows
Explorer, neither does the Windows Explorer figure this file into the
total size of everything in this sub-directory. Is this a ghost or a
file generated by a virus or something?

Sigh. This is ridiculous (but easily explained).

I download the DSM application and it analyzed my C drive and I
drilled down to the C:\WINDOWS\INSTALLER
folder.

The "problem" here is the interpretation of the DSM report and
presentation of information.

In the nice pie chart, it shows [Files] as a big red blob consuming
51.19 percent of my Installer folder. This does not equal 51.19
gigabytes (GB) if that is how you are interpreting it. Pay attention
to the display! % does not equal GB.

If you then click on Files in the left hand side of the display, it
shows (for me) 208MB being consumed by [Files] and the rest of the
Installer folder is uninstaller information broken out into little
sections as best DSM can cipher.

DSM can't categorize accurately all the files in Installer, so lumps
them all the [Files] category, but even that can be deciphered with
little effort and is left as an exercise for the student.

Windows Explorer doesn't show [Files] because it is not supposed to.
That is the way DSM represents things it can't categorize.

So, your [Files] section of the pie chart represents about 50% (not
50GB) of your Installer folder and the other 50% are all well listed.
You can keep drilling down to individual files and get bytes consumed
and percentages if you want.

Windows Explorer show Properties of Installer (for me) of about 450MB.

DSM says Installer occupies aout 452MB. That's pretty close.

In my case the Installer folder and DSM's [Files] is only taking up a
small fraction of my actual space.

If you don't understand the purpose of the Installer folder, or after
you do understand it, you don't like it, you can do something about
it. The safe thing is to leave it alone if you don't understand it
and it is not causing a problem.

No bots, no gremlins, no ghosts - nothing.

I just couldn't figure out WTF this "[File]" thing was all about...

 

[Twayne]

My HP dv6149's hard drive appears to have only 10GB of space
remaining. When I use Disk Size Manager (DSM) to view the contents of
my hard drive, it shows that a file in the 'Install' sub-directory of
'WINDOWS' has a 50GB file in it by the name '[File]'. This file
apparently cannot be deleted, viewed or manipulated any way. It also
doesn't appear when viewing this sub-directory in the Windows
Explorer, neither does the Windows Explorer figure this file into the
total size of everything in this sub-directory. Is this a ghost or a
file generated by a virus or something?

Sigh. This is ridiculous (but easily explained).

I download the DSM application and it analyzed my C drive and I
drilled down to the C:\WINDOWS\INSTALLER
folder.

The "problem" here is the interpretation of the DSM report and
presentation of information.

In the nice pie chart, it shows [Files] as a big red blob consuming
51.19 percent of my Installer folder. This does not equal 51.19
gigabytes (GB) if that is how you are interpreting it. Pay attention
to the display! % does not equal GB.

If you then click on Files in the left hand side of the display, it
shows (for me) 208MB being consumed by [Files] and the rest of the
Installer folder is uninstaller information broken out into little
sections as best DSM can cipher.

DSM can't categorize accurately all the files in Installer, so lumps
them all the [Files] category, but even that can be deciphered with
little effort and is left as an exercise for the student.

Windows Explorer doesn't show [Files] because it is not supposed to.
That is the way DSM represents things it can't categorize.

So, your [Files] section of the pie chart represents about 50% (not
50GB) of your Installer folder and the other 50% are all well listed.
You can keep drilling down to individual files and get bytes consumed
and percentages if you want.

Windows Explorer show Properties of Installer (for me) of about 450MB.

DSM says Installer occupies aout 452MB. That's pretty close.

In my case the Installer folder and DSM's [Files] is only taking up a
small fraction of my actual space.

If you don't understand the purpose of the Installer folder, or after
you do understand it, you don't like it, you can do something about
it. The safe thing is to leave it alone if you don't understand it
and it is not causing a problem.

No bots, no gremlins, no ghosts - nothing.

I just couldn't figure out WTF this "[File]" thing was all about...

Makes lots of sense Jose. I never dreamed of mixing up Gigs and %'s<g>.
I thought about downloading DSM but don't download things I don't need
or have knowledge of.

You said :

Windows Explorer doesn't show [Files] because it is not supposed to.
That is the way DSM represents things it can't categorize.

So, IS there a remnant there to be deleted or not? I think that's what
he needs to be assured of. It doesn't seem clear, at least to me,
whether he has anything there or not as leftover junk from the
uninstall.
I'm guessing not, and that the ten Gig he sees if a correct figure?

Cheers,

Twayne`

 

[Jose]

My HP dv6149's hard drive appears to have only 10GB of space
remaining. When I use Disk Size Manager (DSM) to view the contents of
my hard drive, it shows that a file in the 'Install' sub-directory of
'WINDOWS' has a 50GB file in it by the name '[File]'. This file
apparently cannot be deleted, viewed or manipulated any way. It also
doesn't appear when viewing this sub-directory in the Windows
Explorer, neither does the Windows Explorer figure this file into the
total size of everything in this sub-directory. Is this a ghost or a
file generated by a virus or something?

Sigh.  This is ridiculous (but easily explained).

I download the DSM application and it analyzed my C drive and I
drilled down to the C:\WINDOWS\INSTALLER
folder.

The "problem" here is the interpretation of the DSM report and
presentation of information.

In the nice pie chart, it shows [Files] as a big red blob consuming
51.19 percent of my Installer folder.  This does not equal 51.19
gigabytes (GB) if that is how you are interpreting it.  Pay attention
to the display!  % does not equal GB.

If you then click on Files in the left hand side of the display, it
shows (for me) 208MB being consumed by [Files] and the rest of the
Installer folder is uninstaller information broken out into little
sections as best DSM can cipher.

DSM can't categorize accurately all the files in Installer, so lumps
them all the [Files] category, but even that can be deciphered with
little effort and is left as an exercise for the student.

Windows Explorer doesn't show [Files] because it is not supposed to.
That is the way DSM represents things it can't categorize.

So, your [Files] section of the pie chart represents about 50% (not
50GB) of your Installer folder and the other 50% are all well listed.
You can keep drilling down to individual files and get bytes consumed
and percentages if you want.

Windows Explorer show Properties of Installer (for me) of about 450MB.

DSM says Installer occupies aout 452MB.  That's pretty close.

In my case the Installer folder and DSM's [Files] is only taking up a
small fraction of my actual space.

If you don't understand the purpose of the Installer folder, or after
you do understand it, you don't like it, you can do something about
it.  The safe thing is to leave it alone if you don't understand it
and it is not causing a problem.

No bots, no gremlins, no ghosts - nothing.

I just couldn't figure out WTF this "[File]" thing was all about...

Makes lots of sense Jose.  I never dreamed of mixing up Gigs and %'s<g>..
I thought about downloading DSM but don't download things I don't need
or have knowledge of.

You said :

Windows Explorer doesn't show [Files] because it is not supposed to.
That is the way DSM represents things it can't categorize.

So, IS there a remnant there to be deleted or not?  I think that's what
he needs to be assured of.  It doesn't seem clear, at least to me,
whether he has anything there or not as leftover junk from the
uninstall.
   I'm guessing not, and that the ten Gig he sees if a correct figure?

Cheers,

Twayne`

When you launch DSM, you tell it a drive to scan (takes a bit) and are
presented an explorer type window. If you click the C:\WINDOWS
\INSTALLER folder on the left pane, the pie chart breaks out what it
finds into categorys with each category taking up a slice of the pie.

DSM knows what .exe, .msi, .dll, etc. files are and they take up a
piece of the pie with a colored percentage of the selected folder.
You can drill up and down and the pie changes accordingly.

When DSM finds files that it can't figure out (apparently by
extension), it lumps all them in a general purpose slice called:
[Files]. It is not a remnant - just some stuff it can't put into a
category, could be dozens/hundreds of files.

[Files] is a big red hunk - about half of the pie when looking at my
Installer folder. Red can be psychologically intimidating. Maybe
they should have picked a more neutral color. If it was green or a
nice light bleu, that might be better!

You can drill down in the [Files] section to individual files, see
what they are and decide what to do with them.

I don't download stuff just to try either, but figured that the [File]
thing (especially with the brackets) was somehow the clue. It
requires a little extra effort to type that in by the OP so he must
really be seeing it somewhere, but I was not seeing it until I got
DSM. Plus, he said he had other [Files] things in other folders.
This is true. Other folders have a [Files] section in the pie, some
do not.

I don't know how much his Installer folder is occupying in bytes, but
50% of it is "other" stuff. Mine is also at about 50% "other" stuff"
according to DSM, but I know what it is and don't care. We have to
get over this 50 thing! It is only the percent of total consumed for
that folder.

DSM is a glorifed GUI for file viewing. It looks like there are lots
of options, but I did not explore them. I don't know if you can
delete, rename, etc. with it and it is no longer installed...

 

[Twayne]

When you launch DSM, you tell it a drive to scan (takes a bit) and are
presented an explorer type window. If you click the C:\WINDOWS
\INSTALLER folder on the left pane, the pie chart breaks out what it
finds into categorys with each category taking up a slice of the pie.

DSM knows what .exe, .msi, .dll, etc. files are and they take up a
piece of the pie with a colored percentage of the selected folder.
You can drill up and down and the pie changes accordingly.

When DSM finds files that it can't figure out (apparently by
extension), it lumps all them in a general purpose slice called:
[Files]. It is not a remnant - just some stuff it can't put into a
category, could be dozens/hundreds of files.

[Files] is a big red hunk - about half of the pie when looking at my
Installer folder. Red can be psychologically intimidating. Maybe
they should have picked a more neutral color. If it was green or a
nice light bleu, that might be better!

You can drill down in the [Files] section to individual files, see
what they are and decide what to do with them.

I don't download stuff just to try either, but figured that the [File]
thing (especially with the brackets) was somehow the clue. It
requires a little extra effort to type that in by the OP so he must
really be seeing it somewhere, but I was not seeing it until I got
DSM. Plus, he said he had other [Files] things in other folders.
This is true. Other folders have a [Files] section in the pie, some
do not.

I don't know how much his Installer folder is occupying in bytes, but
50% of it is "other" stuff. Mine is also at about 50% "other" stuff"
according to DSM, but I know what it is and don't care. We have to
get over this 50 thing! It is only the percent of total consumed for
that folder.

DSM is a glorifed GUI for file viewing. It looks like there are lots
of options, but I did not explore them. I don't know if you can
delete, rename, etc. with it and it is no longer installed...

You're a good writer, Jose; that's good.

Perhaps between that and being in front of his keyboard the OP will now
be better able to give a more accurate description of his problem, which
I suspect now is a non-problem and you've correctly established mixing
up Gig with % occupied.

Hope he's still reading,

Twayne`