The Mystery of the reappearing file!

[TraceyHand]

Ok, this one has me stumped!
I have a file on my desktop that just won't stay dead (ironically, it happens to be an .acd file!)

I've lost count of how many times I've deleted it and emptied my recycle bin but it reappears EVERY time, without fail!
Usually next day (or perhaps next boot up?) but it's always back!
I've been trying to delete the damn thing since July, with no luck!

Incidentally, each time it reappears, it changes the 'last modified' date too to the current date.

anyone got any words of wisdom as to the best way to get shot of the blighter?

TIA!
Frustrated of Gainsborough :rolleyes:

[jont]

Have you tried renaming it - shifting it to a temp folder off the desktop and then shredding the fecker?

[TraceyHand]

hadn't thought of shredding it actually!

hmmmmmmmm...

*rubs her hands together.....*

[Duncan Rounding]

Just watch - you're going to wish you kept that file later. LOL

[TraceyHand]

LOL
well, it's an early V8 snapshot. The second one I took on 8th July 2007 (apparently..according to it's original filename anyway!) so I very much doubt it's going to be much use!
Unless it has some historical importance, that is.....but I seriously doubt it
:D

[TraceyHand]

right, I've placed the renamed file into a new folder and deleted the whole folder...also (as I have many times before) emptied the recycle bin.
If it reappears again, I'll shred it and anything near it LOL

Morbid curiosity has me checking the desktop, obsessively, now...watching for the reappearance of..well, something!

Meantime, I found 3 occurances of it in my recycle bin as a testiment to how many times I've deleted it since I last emptied.
I've almost become immune to seeing it on the desktop...but not so much that it doesn't bug the hell outta me!
:D

[gabrielcrowe]

perhaps you have some backup or mirroring software, putting it back?

[jont]

almost become immune to seeing it on the desktop

Change the icon it uses to fluffy cats sitting in a basket.

[Duncan Rounding]

It seems this is quite a common 'feature' - a G search brings up many such examples. The only common thing that is mentioned is the user profile.

It also seems that they may reappear after accessing another PC on the network....?

Perhaps:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/283902

[TraceyHand]

It seems this is quite a common 'feature' - a G search brings up many such examples. The only common thing that is mentioned is the user profile.

It also seems that they may reappear after accessing another PC on the network....?

Perhaps:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/283902

hmm..well, I have no user profiles set up as the laptop is only ever used by me..and I don't have access to any other computers, nor do any others have access to this one.

It's definitely very odd that it's only this one file although, since renaming, putting in a new folder and deleting the whole folder, it hasn't reappeared (am I going to miss it?!) so fingers crossed!


As for jont's fluffy cats...that'd just make me MORE likely to want to shoot the screen!

[chris ashdown]

Tracey

Rignt click on the toolbar and switch off lock the toolbar, then remove the file

If you have the toolbar locked it just keeps making copies as you delete them

[NormanRouxel]

Do you sync your PC to a PDA or mobile phone? If so, the file may be coming from there.

[TraceyHand]

oh fgs...we have a reappearance!
It's reappeared, on the desktop, with its original filename :rolleyes:

According to the 'last modified' time, it reappeared at 12.13pm today!

No PDA/device synch used.. no remote anything..nothing.
Just me and my laptop!

Right...gonna shred the beggar now and see if that gets shot of it!

[Duncan Rounding]

Next time you'll have thousands of little bits reappear!!

[Mike Hughes]

Are you sure it's not your backup snapshot that actinic's creating every time you close it.

What's inside the file anyway?

Mike

Edit: OK, it sounds like an old one, but worth checking inside it anyway.

[TraceyHand]

It's not a backup..it's just a very old .acd file.
It's definitely not reappearing each time I shut down or I'd get it back more often.
Today is its first showing since I deleted it on the 9th.
The file size, on its last reappearance, is only 300bytes so it isn't even a real snapshot..just an empty 'shell', I suppose.

I've been racking my brains trying to think what, specifically, I might have been doing/using at 12.13 this afternoon to see if I can work out what has put it back there but I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary.

I need to spot it within minutes of its reappearance but, short of becoming ridiculously obsessive, that's unlikely!

Fingers crossed that shredding it fixes it (for some reason, I'm feeling pessimistic!) and that I don't end up with a hundred 3byte files instead (thanks for giving me that fear, Duncan :p )
It's

[Mark H]

Have you at some point in the past deleted or uninstalled the version of Actinic that would have created that file? Apparently left over bits of program software can cause similar problems.

[TraceyHand]

I've no doubt that it's been uninstalled plenty of times!
Being an early V8 snapshot, I've upgraded, uninstalled and reinstalled numerous times since.
The odd thing is, this is just a second snapshot from a particular day...with no problems with the first one or subsequent ones, I guess.

If it reappears again, I'll pick it apart and see what's inside..or something
LOL

[jont]

Another trick I have done in the past with a recurring file back on windows 3.11 is to delete the file then create a small text file in notepad and rename to match the existing.. leave it in place for a few reboots and then delete it

[Cheapprices4u]

tracey drop in to safe mode and try to delete then
then you know its not being controled by anything or any one programme as safe mode loads up bugger all
its normally the best way to get rid of viruses aswell then there not attatched to any programmes

[TraceyHand]

right...a couple of days ago (not sure exactly when, desktop is very full and it went unnoticed for I don't know how long) the file reappeared.
Didn't check at the time but the 'last modified' date on the file today is 19th May, 15.30 implying that SOMETHING is modifying it even AFTER its reappearance.

So, now I'm reduced to maniacally checking it, every time I do something, to see if I can find out what is affecting it.
It's only a snapshot, fgs! (or, used to be!)

[george]

Reinstall Windows.

End of thread.

hth

[TraceyHand]

Reinstall Windows.

End of thread.

hth

sod that :p

I'm just going to find it a pretty icon (nice pink flower or something) and give it pride of place instead!

[jont]

I'm just going to find it a pretty icon

I told you that fluffy cat icons would be the future! You should have jumped on the band-wagon sooner :p

[TraceyHand]

I told you that fluffy cat icons would be the future! You should have jumped on the band-wagon sooner :p

well, definitely NOT going to be a cat (or I could be tempted to hurl the laptop in the same direction as Chris Ashdown's!) but pink and fluffy? yeh....p'raps!

I stand corrected (partially...being a woman, I'm not going to entirely give in :p )

[guccij]

Would Move on Boot software help get rid of it?

More info at Gibinsoft (http://www.gibinsoft.net/gipoutils/fileutil/index.htm)

[TraceyHand]

interesting...further investigation show that the file was 'created' on 16th May 12.25pm and 'modified' on 19th May 15.30pm.
I wonder if my virus scans/registry checkers are finding and reinstating it? But, then again, you'd think it'd happen every day rather than after 3 or so days as sometimes happens
:confused:

oh well, I'm off to find a pretty desktop icon for my .acd files... Maybe a big pink smiley face or something :D

[pinbrook]

sod that :p

I'm just going to find it a pretty icon (nice pink flower or something) and give it pride of place instead! in all seriousness, when did you last install windows? I tend to schedule a complete rebuild every 18 months or so.

Its an easy task nowadays with big external/network drives, just hive all your data, copy stuff like favourites, email data, ftp logins, DW site data and bob's your uncle. i even put all software on NAS too so i've got all the exes to hand too.

Total time - a few hours to get the esentials, the rest gets added back bit by bit.

[TraceyHand]

Well, the laptop is only 11 months old so I haven't needed to reinstall Windows yet.
That said, I am looking into getting a new one shortly (I'm in indecisive 'which make, which OS' mode!) so I guess a good clean out will do it good anyway.