Deleting files from mybook

WD External Drives External Drives for PC
1

Hello, I can’t seem to delete individual files or folders from my external drive. It says something like “make sure the disk isn’t full, write-protected and that the file is not in use”. This shouldn’t happen right?

2

HI…

I’ve the same problem, i’ve wrote to WD but without answer

Francio from Italy

3

I’m going to need some additional information about your drive and the issue. What is the model of the drive that you have? What is your OS? What format/partition do you currently have the drive set to? Also, can you copy and paste to or from the drive? If possible, describe step-by-step what you are doing before you get the error message.

4

It’s a MyBook Essential 1,5TB. The problem is that I can’t delete anything from it, folders, files etc. I have tried on both XP Home SP3 and Vista Home Premium SP2 but with no luck. Format is NTFS. I also noticed I can’t change ownership or user rights on the drive (it’s locked at read/edit for Everybody but Full rights for SYSTEM), maybe that’s why I can’t delete anything from it? Yes, I can both copy and paste to and from the drive.

5

If you are seeing that type of permission level you may need to take control of the files on the drive, especially if the data is from another system and has a different set of permissions on it. You may need to check on Microsoft’s site on how to take control of files/folders for your particular OS. Another possibility could be a partition issue. One thing that you can do is copy the data off the drive and do a “write zeros” to it with our Data LifeGuard Diagnostics. Then apply a new partition and format and see how that works. I included a link below.

DLG Diag (Win)

  http://community.wdc.com/t5/forums/replypage/board-id/BoardExample/message-id/1304

1 Like
6

Edit: I were able to take ownership of some folders. I guess i’ll settle with that, ain’t much else to do. Thank you

7

I had the same problem.  I think my is working now.  I error-checked using windows.  It found a couple of bad areas, repaired them and it works fine so far.

I hope this helps you because I know what it is like to try and fix something that is not supported well.