cannot delete file – cannot read from the source file or disk

Had a big problem deleting files that emule created, tried check-disk tried safe mode, nothing helped… until I found this article: http://blog.dotsmart.net/2008/06/12/solved-cannot-read-from-the-source-file-or-disk/

 

Briefly explaining –
The problem occures when file names have illegal characters (for windows but not for NTFS) – probably macintosh files. The solution:

(go to command line)

But thankfully you can get Win32 to ignore these checks by prefixing your file paths with \?, (ie. C:TempSomeFile.txt becomes \?C:TempSomeFile.txt) which I discovered after reading this blog post about long paths in .NET.

So at a command prompt (Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt) I was able to delete the file using:

Note: On Windows 7 it seems you can just use wildcards without the \? trick to delete the offending files: e.g.
del c:tempsomefil*

If it’s a folder/directory you’re trying to delete use the rd or rmdir command, e.g.:

Tip: as you’re typing the file/directory name use the TAB key to auto-complete the name (press TAB repeatedly to cycle through possible names).