problems with Recycle Bin

When I try to empty the recycle bin I get the message "cannot delete __: Cannot find the specified file. Make sure you specify the correct path and filename"

I must have accidentally sent to the recycle bin a folder containing a hidden ( by one of the long gone security programs) file .
How can I fix this problem and get the recycle bin to ignore the invisible item? The file count in RecBin is always one more then all the visible entries. I'm cleaning up my computer to sell to my friend, I need to fix this!! I do not want to give her a computer that always comes with this error message when emptying a Recycle Bin.

Can this RecBin be somehow reset to empty ?

Try going to command prompt, type:

cd c:\recycler

You get a prompt like C:\RECYCLER> (If you don't get it, do NOT continue this). Now type:

dir /x /a

You should see the files/folders in the recycle bin. Now try to locate the file/folder that is hidden. If you find it, it should have a long and a short name shown. Try to remove it like this:

rd <name_of_folder>

or

del <name_of_file>

If the long name doesn't work, try the short name.