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Question

How do I delete orphan icons in my Download folder?

Oct 24, 2013 2:52AM PDT

I have three icons for files I downloaded but later deleted in my Download folder (Windows 7). When I try to delete them, I get a "This is no longer located (in the folder) error message and I'm not allowed to delete these icons. They appear each time I reboot my system. The actual files are gone. It's the icons I want to get rid of.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
There're multiple ways to delete things...
Oct 24, 2013 3:59AM PDT

...which ones have you tried? Clicking then delete, right-click & delete, CUT without paste, drag to the recycle bin are 4 that come to mind. If none of these work, you can get hold of a live CD like Ubuntu, boot from it and do the delete.
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Good luck.

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failed attempts
Oct 24, 2013 5:14AM PDT

wpgwpg,

I tried each of those without success. I am not familiar with alternate OSs, so Ubuntu isn't an option.

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Ubuntu is ALWAYS an option
Oct 24, 2013 5:26AM PDT

You can download Ubuntu from http://www.ubuntu.com/download and put it on a DVD or flash drive. Then you can boot from it, and you'll have a user interface a lot like Windows. You don't have to install it on your hard drive. My copy boots in about 3 min. from a DVD and about 2 min. from a USB 2 flash drive.

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Re: can't delete a file
Oct 24, 2013 5:28AM PDT

- I googled "This is no longer located in" and got hits about your problem. For example http://helpdeskgeek.com/help-desk/fix-could-not-find-this-item-when-deleting-in-windows-7/ that in step 5 recommends a program to delete it. part of the filename of the program is "inv", which is short for "invalid". Which makes me think something is wrong indeed.

- I don't really see the difference between a file and an icon. In detail view I only see filenames, never icons.

- The GUI in the file manager in Ubuntu is rather intuitive to use.

Kees