We use Windows 98, and I have my own folder on the desktop with documents and such. It was named Amy’s Folder.
Well my brother thought it would be funny to put some kind of a “block” on it. Now my folder is named amy_ and if I click on it, or try to change my name it says this folder does not exist. What do I do?
Oh, I remember this trick. It essentially makes the folder impossible to access through Windows. I believe you have to go into DOS and rename the folder back to just “amy”.
i dont know how to go into DOS, it’s been so long…and i’m afraid i will cause irreprable damage to some issential part of the computer.
If SPOOFE is right, here’s what you have to do.[ul][li]Select Start/Programs/MS-DOS prompt.[/li]
[li]At the “c:” prompt type this:[/li]
cd \windows\desktop
[li]Use the MS-DOS “DIR” command to display the directory and find your folder.[/li]
Use the “REN” command to rename it to something convenient, like AAA. Then using Windows Explorer, name it what you want.[/ul]
Thanks, but I got to this part
Use the MS-DOS “DIR” command to display the directory and find your folder.
Found it on the directory, but i dont know how to use the REN command. Can you explain, please?
SORRY! Thanks for your help so far, BTW.
Once you’re in the directory, blink178, type as follows
REN AMY_ AAA
Not to insult your intelligence, but if you are REALLY unfamiliar with executing DOS commands, just thought I should point out that there is a SPACE between the old directory name and the new name you are renaming it.
The DOS Rename command is REN (short for rename) followed by a space, then the name of the file or folder you wish to rename (in this case the name of the folder as your brother renamed it, and as you see it displayed when you used the DIR command), followed by a space, then the name you are changing it to (in this case AAA or whatever it is you want to rename it to).
Thanks guys, but I never did get it. When I tried to rename it, it said “required parameter missing”
But its OK, because my brother unlocked it anyway! So thanks for your help. He said he was gonna use it as blackmail against me sometime 
Well, you can also right click on the folder on the desktop & select ‘properties’ & change stuff there.
richardb, Jonathan Woodall got it right, there is a space in the original post (try selecting the text with your mouse). If anything his only fault was not using the code tag:
REN AMY_ AAA
(Copied and pasted right from his post)
Thanks, Mirage, but I wasn’t suggesting than Jonathan Woodall’s post was incorrect in any way.
I was pointing out to someone who was not familiar with DOS commands that the space was needed. Not that the example didn’t have the space, but when you copied it yourself and tried to use the command that there was a space there.
Otherwise, DOS would report a “parameter missing” error… hmmm. Looks like that is exactly what happened, too! The only parameter the REN command takes – OK, I’m not a DOS expert, perhaps there are other parameters possible, but certainly the required one that is necessary for the command to work is that you tell it what the new name is. The way DOS knows what the new name is, is what is typed after a space following the name of the file or folder you are renaming. Since blink178 received a “required parameter missing” error, that means blink178 did not notice the space between the underline and the AAA, and since there was no space the command was “missing” the required parameter.
OK, I’m not trying to be a smartass, but when giving instructions to someone who has less experience than yourself (how’s that for being diplomatic) it is often very helpful to anticipate problems, and to point out what mistakes to avoid before they make them. I know the example Jonathan Woodall gave had a space there, but someone who looked at it quickly might not notice that space. If you were sitting down with blink178 and saw it typed in, the mistake of a missing space would not be a big deal and you would immediately correct it, but since giving instructions via posts has a good deal of lag time, simple unanticipated errors get misinterpreted to mean “the whole of the advice was obviously incorrect”!
You tell your brother that you have the Power of the SDMB behind you - more than 20,000 Members, many of them old, evil, diabolocal master programmers who really did “invent the Internet”, who have stains older than him, who will teach you how to destroy his computing life.
We will show you how to crack any e-mail account he ever opens.
We will show you how to destroy his websites.
We will show you how to get him a worse rep online that the Amazing X-Cam and the Make Money Fast! people.
We will show you how to get him permanently on the mailing lists of profoundly sick hard-core animal porn.
We will even show you how to get him ordained as a “minister” in the Church of Scientology.
We will turn you into an ass-kicking mirrorshade-wearing Chemical-Brothers-listening-to lesbian terrorist Linux ubërcracker who can destroy his credit rating and put him on America’s Most Wanted before she has her breakfast double-espresso.
And, we will convince him that the sooner he comes to grips with his new position in life, the happier he’ll be about it.
Una
[sub]OK, not really, but it sure sounds like fun![/sub]
Actually, as I just re-read my first post, I realize why Mirage “got on my case.”
I can see where you can interpret my comments as directed towards the person who offered the advice, as opposed to my true intent of merely adding to that advice to the person who asked the question in the OP.
I should have been more specific in directing my comments towards blink178, as I was just trying to help blink178 properly interpret the DOS commands.
This probably falls under the category of “beating a dead horse,” but at least I’m clear about it. 
blink178, why don’t you set the password in the Bios so your brother can’t access the computer at all?
Oooo…but if he’s clever, there’s pretty easy ways of getting around that, too, ya know. One hardware method and a hit-and-miss backdoor password method. I wouldn’t trust BIOS passwords to keep my computer safe at all. If he’s even the least bit computer savvy, he probably knows how to get around BIOS. I think it’s fairly common knowledge (every computer techie’s gotta know how to do it) , but I won’t reveal exactly what you need to do.
So disable all the peripherals in BIOS and set a password, then, AFAIK, he’ll be staring at a password screen with nothing to do short of manually reseting the BIOS. (at least I think, or is there some way around this?)
Well, yes, manual reset was one of the approaches I was thinking of. I am not a computer guru by any stretch of the imagination, so somebody who knows what they’re talking about can comment more expertly on the matter. I just have a fascination with getting around locks of all types, be they passwords, doors or whatnot. I’ve only used my power for good, though, I swear.
However, there are BIOS password backdoors that I’ve seen on the web (on tech support websites.) I have no idea whether they work well or not, as I’ve never bothered to try them. From what I’ve read, it seems to be a hit-and-miss affair, like I said.
I set up a system for a friend of mine with two children: boy, 13, girl, 15, who are constantly battling over things like this. I got him a locked computer case, loaded with Win 2K, and disabled booting from floppy or CDROM, with local user accounts for both kids and security enforced with NTFS. Now, try as he might, his sister’s files are safe from her brother’s maleficient efforts.
The locked system case was necessary because, as I was discussing the setup with his father, the kid confidently informed me that he was going to break into anything I set up. I decided I wouldn’t put it past him to open the case, remove the HD, and install it in another NTFS system and take ownership of the files that way…
Bricker - two words: PGP Disk. Completely free for download and use, up to certain versions.
It works.
Heh. I’d nearly forgotten about that trick. He probably read about on LittleWhiteDog.com
Basically, all you need to do is make the folder under the command prompt. At some point when typing the name, you hold down alt and then tap a number like 253 on the numpad–since this isn’t a valid ascii character (at least according to windows), you say a space. It isn’t treated like one, though. Windows will hiccup whenever it attempts to access it. The only way to remove it is to rename it (again, using the same sequence of keys, including alt-253 or whatever number he used).
Source of endless amusement, particularly when you use names like “Kiddie Porn” or “Photos-Boss’s Wife”…