My newly purchased computer runs Windows Vista. After having been totally familiar with the workings of Windows XP I now need to learn all the new Vista features. In particular, one Vista “feature” is causing me great problems. I have downloaded two simple programs, which I frequently used on my old Windows XP computer, and Vista is refusing to install these programs. Whenever I double-click on the installer file a message appears saying “The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect”. Both installers are located on the Desktop in the C:\Users\\Desktop folder (the default folder for downloads).

This error message indicates that Windows is having problems accessing the directory in which the files are stored, or with the files themselves, due to something awry with the naming of the directory or file. However, this is quite strange as you mentioned that the Desktop folder is the default folder to which files from the internet are downloaded and you should have full permissions and rights to this folder. As a test, we should try moving the downloaded installer files to a different folder on the computer to see whether the problem continues. You should notice that there is also a Downloads folder under your user profile directory (C:\Users\\Downloads). Try moving the installer files into the Downloads directory and then run the files to check whether the problem continues.

If you are able to successfully run the installer files from the Downloads directory then it seems that there is something wrong with your Desktop folder preventing files from being run within that directory. At least for the time being we have a temporary work around for the problem but this problem should be fixed, as it is unlikely that you will be able to run any programs from your Desktop at the moment. However, you may also find that moving the files into a different directory does not resolve the problem, in which case the issue may be more wide-spread than initially thought. This is an even bigger problem, since you may be unable to run installer and setup files from other directories as well. In either case, when researching the question I have not been able to find any references to match the problem you are currently encountering. Likewise, the suggestions which I have found for troubleshooting similar problems do not address the situation where the problem is specific to a particular directory or folder. Therefore, we will try some more general suggestions which are applicable to both specific folders and multiple folders.

To begin, you should try running the CHKDSK utility on the hard drive. This will scan the drive for any errors and attempt to correct those errors, in case something has gone awry with the file or folder structure on the computer causing Windows to be unable to properly read particular directories on the computer. Go to the “Start” menu and search for “Command Prompt”. When that entry appears in the Start menu right-click on the entry and select “Run as administrator”. Agree to the Vista security prompt that appears and the Command Prompt window should appear. At the command prompt type the following command: “chkdsk /f” (without the quotes) and press ENTER. This tells the CHKDSK utility that you would like it to scan the hard drive for errors and fix any errors which are found. Most likely an error message will appear saying “Cannot lock current drive”. The CHKDSK utility requires exclusive access to the hard drive during operation and needs to “lock” the drive, meaning that no other applications or processes can access the drive during the operation (as they may start changing data which CHKDSK is trying to use). As such, you will receive a message saying “Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)”. Type “Y” and then ENTER. A confirmation message will appear saying “This volume will be checked the next time the system restarts”. Restart the computer and the CHKDSK utility will start and scan the hard drive before Windows starts. Hopefully this should correct the error on the drive which is causing the problem within Windows.

However, if you find that the error is not resolved after running the CHKDSK utility then the problem does not appear to be due to something wrong with the file system as CHKDSK normally does a pretty good job of detecting and fixing those errors. You mentioned that this is a new computer which was pre-loaded with Windows Vista. If you purchased a brand name computer (e.g. Dell, HP, etc) these machines normally come with Windows pre-installed together with many other third-party applications. My suggestion is that as soon as you receive a brand name computer you format the hard drive and complete a full reinstallation of Windows. While this may seem like an unnecessary step it will clear all of the pre-installed applications on the computer leaving you with a fresh installation of Windows without anything unnecessary. While the PC vendors do check that the pre-installed applications do not conflict with the operating system or each other it is possible that something like a pre-installed application, or maybe a program you installed, is conflicting with another program resulting in this problem. Therefore, my suggestion is that you backup any data you need to keep and complete a reinstallation of Windows. You should have been provided with a set of recovery CDs with your new computer allowing you to easily reinstall Windows. Additionally, since the computer is relatively new you hopefully do not need to backup much data (but make sure you do backup the data you need to keep, as all data on the computer will be lost during the reinstallation).