I've been trying to delete a folder from an external HDD connected to my Windows XP laptop, and the above message keeps coming up. The folder is called "Business Acc.", and I have a feeling that the full-stop in the file name is causing problems - I think it was copied from a Mac.

Here's what I've tried so far:

(1) Connecting the external HDD to a Mac. This at least allows me to see inside the folder (when I try this on the PC I get a long error message that says that the folder "refers to a location that is unavailable") but it doesn't let me delete the folder or any files it contains - according to OS X I don't have the permissions available to do this.

(2) Running chkdsk on the external HDD. No joy.

(3) Using a program called "Unlocker" (|MG| Free Download - Unlocker 1.8.5. No joy. Although I think it did work on another folder on the disk.

(4) Using a program called "Pocket Killbox". No joy.

Edit: (5) Just tried restarting the PC in Safe Mode, but still couldn't delete the file.

Anyone got any further tips? Thanks in advance...

Hello.

What is the full filename?

I can't actually get access to the full file from my Windows PC.

The full path of the folder I'm trying to delete is

G:\Roso's Stuff\Accounts\Business Acc.

When I try and open the folder, it won't let me and I get the error message as described in my first post.

When I connect the HDD to the Mac I can get a little further. There are two files within the errant folder, with full paths:

G:\Roso's Stuff\Accounts\Business Acc.\Jul2006-Jul2007\Expenditure.xls
G:\Roso's Stuff\Accounts\Business Acc.\Jul2006-Jul2007\Income.xls

I can open both the files on the Mac, but they only open as read-only.

A dumb question I know - but can you simply rename the folder to remove the extra dot? That may work.

Ha ha, nice try! But I'm afraid renaming the folder in Windows gives an "Cannot rename folder: cannot read from source file or disk" error, and trying to rename on the Mac gives an "Insufficient permissions" error...

Chiaz, to allow a HDD to be used in both MS Windows and MACWindows requires the HDD to be FAT32 formatted.

Hi Gandalf, Chiaz:

For the record, the volume is NTFS and works on both my Windows XP Home SP2 and my girlfriend's OS X 10.4.9 (or whatever the latest version of OS X 10.4 is).