My computer froze while downloading an mp3 file. When I rebooted two
files appeared in the folder where the mp3 was being saved. (I'll call
this Folder A.)One file was called:
40-5081-.101
The other had the word "shell" in it.
One of the files was about 222,000KB.

I tried to delete the above files but could not. At first I got an
"access denied, the disk is full or write protected" message and then a
freeze due to an "exception in crypt32.dll"

On the next reboot the files were no longer visible in windows explorer,
but I could not remove Folder A in windows or from a DOS window or a DOS
"command only" prompt because windows and DOS reported Folder A
contained files.

On the next reboot, I tried to copy the files and folders on the same
level as Folder A (2nd level) to a new first level folder. The files
and folders wound up in the Folder A.

I rebooted and was able to move the other second level files and folders
to an external drive, except for one (an older wav file) which showed
about a 300,000KB in windows explorer but winamp reported had 0 minutes.
Yet, I was now able to move Folder A to the recycle bin, which I emptied.

On the next reboot, I restored my registry to a few days before the
crash. The recycle bin icon was full but when I opened it, the list
showed no files. When I emptied it, it asked if I wanted to remove 2
files, which I assume were mysterious files in Folder A.

Then I tried to scan the partition Folder A was on with a utility called
System Suite, but it could not access the partition that had contained
the now deleted Folder A.

Is there any way that I can check to see if these files are still on my
system and, if so, remove them? Perhaps a low-level formatting program?
Or would they show up in a registry entry? Or can they be made visible
with a windows or DOS command? I'm uneasy about using the computer.

BTW, TrojanHunter found no trojans in Folder A.

Thanks for any help.

Ellen