Delete the undeletable file

[Faint]

i was trying to delete a file but there is an error that "Can't delete the file, file is in use" where the file is not in use.

How can delete such folders?

[Steinbach]

Many times when trying to remove an unwanted program, especially a piece of adware or spyware, you may run across a file that is undeletable by any normal method. When you try to remove it you'll receive the error message shown below telling you "access denied" and explaining the file may be in use.

In such case try this method in Windows XP:-

1. Click on Start, Search, All Files and Folders


2. Type the name of the undeletable file in the box shown


3. Make sure the Look In box shows the correct drive letter


4. Click Search and let the computer find the file


5. Once the file is located, right-click on it and choose properties, make a note of the file location. Usually this is something similar to

c:\windows\system32\undeleteablefilesname.exe


6. Close the search box


7. Click on Start, Run, and type CMD and Press Enter to open a Command Prompt window


8. Leave the Command Prompt window open, but proceed to close all other open programs


9. Click on Start, Run and type TASKMGR.EXE and press Enter to start Task Manager


10. Click on the Processes tab, click on the process named Explorer.exe and click on End Process.


11. Minimize Task Manager but leave it open


12. Go back to the Command Prompt window and change to the directory where the file is located. To do this, use the CD command. You can follow the example below.

Example: to change to the Windows\System32 directory you would enter the following command and Press Enter

cd \windows\system32

13. Now use the DEL command to delete the offending file. Type DEL <filename> where <filename> is the file you wish to delete.

Example: del undeletable.exe
14. Use ALT-TAB to go back to Task Manager

15. In Task Manager, click File, New Task and enter EXPLORER.EXE to restart the Windows shell.

16. Close Task Manager

[aalbaiz]

You can delete such files by trying this and i hope your problem will be resolved:-


1. Close all open programs.

2. Open a command prompt.

3. Right-click the taskbar, and select Task Manager.

4. On the Processes tab, select Explorer.exe, and click the End Process button.

5. Minimize Task Manager, but don't close it.

6. At the command prompt, use the Delete command to remove the file, and close the command prompt.

7. In Task Manager, go to File | New Task (Run).

8. In the Create New Task dialog box, enter Explorer.exe, and click OK.

9. Close Task Manager.


I hope you have done it!!!!

[Anand D.]

You can try this to delete those files,,

1. Open Notepad.exe

2. Click File>Save As..>

3. Locate the folder where your undeletable file is

4. Choose ‘All files’ from the file type box

5. Click once on the file u wanna delete so its name appears in the ‘filename’ box

6. Put a ” at the start and end of the filename
(the filename should have the extension of the undeletable file so it will overwrite it)

7. Click save,

8. It should ask u to overwrite the existing file, choose yes and u can delete it as normal