I’ve got this MP3 file on my hard drive that I ripped from a CD, and played before. All of a sudden, it’s gotten really screwed up. Not only can I not play it, I can’t delete, copy, cut, paste or move it. The icon in the Win2k explorer window is there, and I can click it, right click it etc. but I can’t do anything to delete it. I tried to right-click for properties, and a dialog box comes up saying “the properties for this file are not availible.” This stupid file blows up my playlist maker every time, but I can’t find a way to get rid of it! Help!
I would navigate to the folder that it is stored in by clicking through the folders from the desktop instead of using Explorer. Then I would 1) Try to drag it to the trash that way. 2) If that does not work, try to rename it and give it a new extension (aka Bastard.txt). That may cause something to give. 3) If that does not work, try the file repair tool in the Start - Windows - Accessories - System Tools menu 4) If that doesn’t work, simply go into DOS and reformat your hard drive. That will get rid of it 
is the hard disk file structure OK? run scandisk? Checked file attributes too? You should be able to delete it then.
Go to a DOS prompt.
cd <directory with mp3>
del <filename.mp3>
All done!
None of the above suggestions are working. I can’t rename the file. The DOS approach didn’t work either. My HD is otherwise sound. Any other suggestions?
Well, I’m not a Win2K user, but…does it still have “Restart in DOS mode” as an option when you go to Shut Down? I have yet to meet the file that can withstand deletion after restarting in DOS mode, though many’s the file that resists deletion from a common DOS prompt.
Strangest thing ever. The file couldn’t be touched, but if I moved all the other files out of the folder, deleted the folder, then recreated the folder and moved everything back, it works fine. A real head-scratcher, but at least it’s taken care of.
To mods: you can close this thread at your conveinence.
But not without me posting first. 
That’s what you get for trying to steal free Metallica.
Seriously, though. That might be one of those new MP3s that only plays back a certain number of times. Those were developed as a compromise between Napster and the music industry. People can still “sample” records free to determine whether or not they are worth the price, but they can’t use them as a substitute for buying the CD.
Of course, the previous paragraph may very well be full of what makes the grass grow green, but that’s my opinion. If I was you, I’d run it through a virus scanner.
sethdallob, that same thing happened to me a few months ago while using a version of a certain MP3-sharing program. I deleted the file the same way you did! No clue as to what the actual problem was, though, and the next version of the program fixed that bug.
I had the same problem with a couple of my mp3’s. The strangest thing was how I fixed it. I dragged it from its folder to the desktop, and it deleted easily from there. I have no idea why that worked.
Just email it to me and I’ll delete here. No sweat.
Actually, this was a completely legit MP3 made from a CD that I own. I don’t have/use those mean evil file sharing programs. Strange.