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From: jcb2647@cec1.wustl.edu (James Christopher Beard)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Return of the Undead Folder from Hell
Message-ID: <1990Mar22.201703.4193@cec1.wustl.edu>
Date: 22 Mar 90 20:17:03 GMT
References: <460@clover.warwick.ac.uk>
Sender: news@cec2 (USENET News System)
Reply-To: beard@wuibc2.wustl.edu (James Christopher Beard)
Organization: Washington University, St. Louis MO
Lines: 29

In article <460@clover.warwick.ac.uk> psrds@warwick.ac.uk (Dr T A Harley) writes:
>
>A little while ago I remember discussion about a "folder from hell".  My
>machine is now possessed by something similar, but all the remedies that
>were suggested before don't seem to work (at least the ones I remember):
>
>The file, which was probably created by denying resources via SAM
>intercept while transferring across Appletalk, just sits there, and
>cannot be deleted ("file/folder cannot be deleted or moved as it is missing"),
>and it is claimed that it cannot be renamed (I get an error message), but in
>actual fact it can be.  You cannot move files into this folder ("folder
>missing") or open it or move it into other folders.  RedEdit and Disktop
>don't help much because the folder can't be opened. I've rebuilt the desktop
>and this didn't do anything either.

I had a similar problem.  In my case, the folder (or, I suspect,
something invisible living in it) gave messages about being "busy"
when one tried to delete it.  This was despite the fact that the
"busy" bit for the folder itself was not set.  Renaming the folder in
my case did not give rise to error messages.  Attempts to delete it by
holding down command-option while placing it in the trash and while
selecting "Empty Trash" did not work (but that's worth a try, since I
have had it work for files that acted that claimed to be busy).

After learning of no effective remedy from anyone, I copied the
contents off the hard disk and reformatted it, which fixed the
problem.  (Just what you want to hear, I'm sure.)

Jamie Beard (beard@wuibc2.wustl.edu)