I ran into a nasty site that froze my FF browser just as a download was finishing. Now I’m stuck with two files on my desktop. One is an 88.2mb part file that I can delete, the other is the actual video file but is 0kb and Vista freezes saying “recycling”, and the file will not delete. If anyone knows of a way to delete this file please let me know

You could try this, just create a folder on your desktop drag and drop the file into it then try and delete the folder, it worked for my a few months back for me when I had a similar problem.I think when your trying to delete the file windows thinks your trying to open it, but if it's tucked away in a folder when you delete you aren't actually activating the file. Ohh I'm on XP by the way dunno if this will work on Vista.

mott

  Thanks for trying mott but it didn't work, couldn't move the file either. I had to reboot into safe mode with command prompt and manually "del filename.mpg", now back to a nice clean desktop

LOL..

I bought a new ASUS notebook recently with pre-installed Vista. Been spending loads of time trying to downgrade the OS to XP Prof for this very reason. Vista seems to have many bugs, some of which we know about and some of which we don't. Unfortunately MS and ASUS appear to have ganged up to make life difficult to anyone wanting to change their OS.

- mike =)).

Ah, another "fan" of Vista, I see.

Okay, if you REALLY want Vista off your computer and want to retrograde back to XP Pro or something else, here's a few tips:

MAKE SYSTEM RECOVERY DISKS BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE.

1. Make sure you have the OS disks for whatever system you want to replace Vista with. A brand new, still-sealed-in-plastic, authentic-license disk is best.

2. Make sure you identify ALL of the hardware on your computer (the motherboard, drives, display, display adapter (video card), disk drives, USB controllers) and then search the net and download all the drivers for your hardware. Save them to a separate disk (CD, floppy, or USB) and have them ready when you reinstall the OS. XP might not easily identify your hardware. Make sure the hardware drivers are appropriate to the OS you are going to install.

3. Make sure that your system will accept an OS retrograde. Some newer systems, especially those coming from Acer, won't accept any OS other than Vista. It's a good idea to make sure you download the correct BIOS for your motherboard as well.

4. Vista is known for being an "anchored" system, meaning it won't let you downgrade to another OS. To get past this, you might need to completely wipe your hard drive and start from scratch with the OS disk.

WIPING THE HARD DRIVE

1. Make sure ALL of the data that you value is backed-up on another drive or to disk. If you are using an alternate drive, make sure you disconnect it from your computer before proceeding.

2. Download DARIK'S BOOT AND NUKE and save it to a CD or USB drive (Carefully select the correct version for your needs).

3. DISCONNECT your computer from the internet and/or any network cables that are attacked. Disconnect any peripherals (such as a printer, scanner, router, or hub).

4. Darik's Boot And Nuke will COMPLETELY wipe ANY hard disk it finds. Run the program and select your computer's drive that contains the Vista OS. It will take a while because it is erasing EVERYTHING.

5. Once it is done, insert your new OS disk for your system retrograde and reboot the computer. Follow the instructions, and have your hardware drivers disk handy.

errrrrrr.....

thanks for info !!!

one of the issues that was preventing downgrading (and yes, I did check with manaufacturer if downgrade is possible), is that the harddrive has a SATA connection. The ASUS bios could not find the harddrive for this reason, so first thing is to update the bios. The most recent version should be ok.
Next will be indeed identifying ALL the hardware. ASUS do not give support for XP on this laptop, so all drivers will need to be found at their respective manufacturers. After that, Partition Magic should be ok to format everything, then using a mirror install XP, preferably using an official version.

Having said that, a friend is attempting this work for me during the weekend. I'll get him your comments.

- mike =)). 

 

the problem was probably the FF background service still holding on to the files, easy fix would have been crl-shift-esc -> processes and kill the service on a sidenote - i seem to be the only person whos not having trouble with vista O.o

I've had similar problems like this before and I suggest you bring out the big guns...Cyberscrub once you install it do a search for your "send to" folder and put a copy of the Cyberscrub shortcut in there. Now any time you wanna get rid of something for good including stubbern partial files, just right click>send to>Cyberscrub and erase the bitch.