Windows won't let you delete the file. How to delete undeletable files and save your nerves

Let's start with the simplest and try delete undeleted folder. Probably every user on a computer or laptop has a WinRar archiver, if not, download it and install it. Next, click on the folder that is not deleted with the right mouse button and select the "Add to Archive" tab. In the window that opens, check the box "Delete files after packing" and click "Ok". If the folder or file is deleted after archiving, then everything is fine, take the created archive and simply drag it to the trash.

If this method did not help and the folder is still not deleted, then proceed to the next solution.

We transfer a non-deleted folder or file to another medium.

Let's try to transfer a folder or file to another medium. Insert a flash drive or external hard drive, right-click on the folder that is not deleted and select the "Cut" tab. Open the flash drive or external hard drive and in the window, right-click and select the "Insert" tab. If everything worked out, just delete the folder or format the USB flash drive. If there is no result, read on.

We use Safe Mode to delete the non-removable folder.

Everything is quite simple here, this method helped me personally, I think it will help you to delete the folder without resorting to third-party programs. Just go into Safe Mode, select the folder or file you want to delete and delete it in the standard way. How to enter safe mode read in. What gives Safe Mode? In simple words - To start in safe mode, the windows system loads only the functionality that is necessary to boot windows, practically kills all unnecessary processes, so folders and files that are not deleted are deleted with a bang (not counting the folders of the windows system). If you need to delete the system folder or windows file, read.

How to delete a non-deleted folder using programs.

And so let's try delete the folder that is not deleted with the help of programs. As you can see, this warning says - The folder is already in use "The operation cannot be completed because these folders or files are open in another program."

To get started, go to the "Windows Task Manager" to do this, press the key combination Ctrl + Shift + Esc or Ctrl + Alt + Delete. Click on the "Processes" item, then click on the "Display processes of all users" button, look for the process and click on the "End process" button, then delete the folder.

If you cannot determine which process occupies the folder that is not deleted, then we need the Revo Uninstaller Pro program, you can download it from this link from Yandex disk. After installing the program, open it and select the "Hunting Mode" tab.

A target will appear on your desktop. Hold down the Target with the mouse and hover over the folder or file to be deleted. In the drop-down menu, click on the "Uninstall" tab.

In the window that opens, you will see the process that occupies the folder. In my case, this is the Explorer.exe process, click the "Next" button.

In this window, click "End process and continue." After this procedure, the folder or file should be deleted.

In my case, this cannot be done, if I terminate the Explorer.exe process, then everything will disappear from the desktop, all files, folders and shortcuts. If you have the same situation as me, then read on. By the way, I recommend reading the article at the link below on working with the Revo Uninstaller Pro program.

Downloading the program Unlocker, in my opinion this is one of the best programs for deleting non-deleted folders and files. You can download from any site on the Internet, after installing the program, right-click on the folder or file to be deleted.

Due to incorrect work of users or a failure in the process of recording and rewriting documents, locked or damaged folders and files may appear. They take up a certain amount of space on your hard drive, and they cannot be opened, renamed, or deleted.

When you delete locked folders, you receive a system warning that they are not accessible or are being used by another program. There are several ways to try to delete a folder if it is not deleted, depending on the reason for the blocking.

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The reasons

It may not be possible to delete a folder due to a number of reasons:

• Antivirus blocking;
• Lack of administrator rights;
• Use of the folder (or files contained in it) by another program or user of the local network;
• The folder is involved in the system;
• In the settings, the write protection and deletion option is enabled.

Folder settings

Changing the folder settings will help you delete it. This will require:

• Select a folder;
• Right-click to call the context menu;
• Go to the "Properties" section and the "Service" subsection;
• Open the "View" tab;
• Uncheck the box next to "Use simple file sharing" and click "OK";
• Go to the "Security" tab and click on the "Advanced" field;
• Uncheck all checkboxes for reading and execution;
• Confirm the changes with the "OK" button;
• Try deleting the folder.

Restarting the system can help delete the folder (in this case, possible tasks that use the folder, blocking access to it, will be removed). For this you need:

• To restart a computer;
• Try deleting the folder again.

"Safe mode"

If you cannot delete the folder in the normal mode of the operating system, you can try to perform this action in Safe Mode. For this you need:

• Turn on the computer;
• When loading, press the "F8" key several times;
• In the menu that opens, find the section "Additional download options";
• Select the "Safe Mode" item and press the "Enter" button (the system will start in safe mode);
• Find an unnecessary folder and right-click on it;
• Through the context menu, select the "Delete" command and confirm the deletion.

Total Commander

The Total Commander file manager allows you to see hidden and encrypted information in folders that cannot be opened or deleted from Windows. For this you need:

• Download the Total Commander program from the developer's official website (ghisler.com/download.htm);
• In the Total Commander window, find an unnecessary folder in the list of directories and try to delete it through the context menu (or by pressing the "Delete" key);
• If the folder is not deleted, then go into it;
• When a hidden file is found, launch the task manager through the key combination "Ctrl + Shift + Esc";
• Go to the "Processes" tab;
• Find and highlight a hidden file;
• Press the "End Process" button;
• Try to delete the folder through Total Commander again.

Unlocker

The Unlocker program allows you to perform various actions with locked folders (move, rename, merge and delete). This will require:

• Download and install the utility on your computer (emptyloop.com/unlocker/);
• Right-click on the desired folder;
• In the list of the context menu, select the line "Unlocker" (load the program window).

In the upper part, all processes working with an unnecessary folder and its files will be registered. You need to end the processes through:

• "Task Manager" (called by right-clicking on the "Start" panel (not on the button itself, but on an empty space on the panel) and selecting the corresponding item in the list that appears);
• Or in Unlocker itself by clicking on the "Unlock All" button.

Then it remains in the bottom line of the program to select the action "Delete" and confirm the deletion.

You can also try to delete the folder using the section: “Start” -> “Programs” -> “Startup” (if there is any file in the list that is in an unnecessary folder, this means that it is its loading at system startup that prevents the folder from being deleted) or through system restore (if you have previously created a Windows restore point).

On Windows of any version (XP, 7, 8, 10), a problem often occurs when a file or folder with a locked file is not deleted. A message pops up that the file is busy with another process or is open in some program, or you need to ask permission from someone.

There are several ways to delete a file that is not deleted, renamed, or moved. This is done without additional software, using the free Unlocker program, from a bootable USB flash drive or LiveCD, or using the DeadLock program.

When deleting locked files and folders, be careful, it may be part of the operating system. Without them, Windows will stop loading.

Why is it not removed?

• The file is open in another program. End all unnecessary processes and try again. Sometimes restarting the computer helps.
• Insufficient rights to delete. For example, this file was created by another user or the computer administrator removed the rights to delete.

Exceptions

The methods described in the article will not always help:

• pagefile.sys and swapfile.sys - disable the swap file to remove it.
• hiberfil.sys - Deleted when hibernation is disabled.
• If an access denied message appears. You need to take ownership of the file or folder. The easiest way to do this is with the TakeOwnershipPro program.
• If you receive a message asking permission from TrustedInstaller. This is protection against the removal of system components.
• Windows.old - folder with the old version of the operating system. It is deleted through the "Properties" of the local drive C. On the General tab there is a "Cleanup" button. A window will open in which select "Clean up system files". After the analysis is completed, the item "Previous Windows installations" will appear in the list in this window. Check this box and click OK.

Delete the file manually

Message: File already in use, please close and try again.

If the file does not want to be deleted, the error message usually says which process has locked it. It can be explorer.exe or any program that has it open. If you close this program, the file will be deleted.




If the file is occupied by the explorer.exe process

• Before completing the task, open a command prompt as an administrator. It is located in "Start - All Programs - Accessories". Right click on Command Prompt and select run as administrator.
• Remove the explorer.exe task in the task manager and type del full_path/name.extension on the command line.
• The path does not have to be entered manually. Right-click on the desired file while holding down Shift - Copy as path, and paste it into the command line through the right-click context menu.
• Now restart explorer.exe. In Task Manager, click "File - New Task - explorer.exe".

We use a bootable USB flash drive or disk

If you have a bootable flash drive or LiveCD, or a Windows recovery disk, run them and safely delete the file using the standard method or via the command line.


Be careful, sometimes when you enter through the boot disk, local drives have different letters. To see a list of folders on drive C, type dir c: on the command line.

If you use a bootable USB flash drive or a Windows installation disk, the console opens at any time after the language selection step, using the key combination Shift + F10.

You can also select the system recovery mode that will be offered before starting the OS installation.

Command to delete via console: del full_path_to_file.

Using DeadLock

The free DeadLock program allows you to delete a locked file and change the owner. Download from the official website: https://codedead.com/?page_id=822 .

Through the File menu, add the problematic file to the program. Right-click on it in the list - unlock (Unlock) and delete (Remove).




Using Unlocker

The simplest and most popular program, but now even the official website displays a warning about unwanted software. Some other virus or advertising may come with the program, so use at your own risk. Try the methods above first. Website: http://www.emptyloop.com/unlocker/.

After installation, a new item will appear in the context menu, which is called Unlocker. After clicking on the button, the program will end the interfering process and the file will be unlocked.




If you want to delete a folder, first delete all its contents.

Through the command line

There was such a case that the file did not want to be deleted by any of the methods. The size was 0 bytes, the name was written in Russian letters (not supported in older versions of MS-DOS), there was a Read-only attribute and an A attribute (only reading and replenishing content). The command line helped.




That's all for now. If you know more simple and effective ways, write them in the comments. What method helped you?

Deleting a folder in the Windows 10 operating system is a simple procedure. However, there are cases when it is not possible to remove any directory. It is not deleted, blocked or endowed with special rights. In this case, tips on how to delete an undeletable folder in Windows 10 will help?

Reasons why a folder cannot be deleted

If a directory is not deleted in Windows 10, there are many reasons for this. Consider only the main ones:

• The folder or file is blocked by antivirus. Relevant if the directory was quarantined or the file was sent for treatment (the anti-virus databases are waiting to be updated).
• The file is in use by the system.
• Only the administrator has rights to the file.
• The directory is being used by another program.
• The folder or file is being used by another user on the local network.
• The folder is write-protected.

These are the most common reasons why a folder or file cannot be deleted in Windows 10.

Various Ways to Delete Folders in Windows 10

Before using programs to delete folders and files, it is worth checking the standard methods for performance. The file or folder may be in use by the program. Therefore, we restart the PC and try again to uninstall. If this method did not work, reboot into Safe Mode and delete the directory.

Method number 1. Using the free Unlocker program

The Unlocker program is designed to unlock and remove folders and programs. Its usage is as follows:

• Run and install software. Right-click on the file that cannot be deleted and select Unlocker.

• Then select the file and click "Delete".

Method number 2. Through the file manager

The most popular file manager that is installed on almost every PC is Total Commander. To delete a file through this manager, you should follow these steps:

• We launch the program and look for a file to delete. Press F8 or on the special button on the toolbar.

• File deleted.

Method number 3. Renaming the file

Often the folder cannot be deleted because it is being used by other programs. Therefore, you can right-click on it and select "Rename". After assigning a new name, the folder or file will be available for deletion.

Method number 4. Stopping the process and services that are using the file or folder

If the system blocks the deletion of a file or folder, then the item is being used by some program or service. Therefore, we call the "Task Manager" and remove all processes and services that are associated with the directory.

It's also worth checking the Startup tab to rule out the possibility of the file being used by Windows 10 itself.

Method number 5. Using bootable media

• Boot from the installation media.
• Press F10 to bring up the command prompt.
• Type "del file path" or "rmdir /s foldername".

• After we boot in the usual mode.

Method number 6. By granting permissions to a folder

• Right-click on the folder and select "Properties".
• A new window will open. Go to the "Security" tab. Choose your user. Click on the "Advanced" button.

• In the new window, select the user to whom you want to grant rights to delete the directory.

• Check the "Replace owner of subcontainers and objects" box.

• Next, we issue access to the rights to the folder. Click on the "Add" button.

• After we put the marks with which we grant the rights to the folder.

• Check "Replace all child object permission entries with those inherited from this object" and click on "Disable inheritance".

• In the window that opens, click "Replace all permission entries of a child object with those inherited from this object" again.

• Now let's delete the directory.

This method is suitable if the rights to the object belong to another user and access is blocked.

If the methods on how to delete a folder that cannot be deleted in Windows 10 did not solve the problem, you should check your PC for viruses and malware.

Also for ways to remove directories that are not deleted, see the video:

Unfortunately, it often happens that a Windows user needs to rename or delete any files and folders, and the system suddenly starts to issue error messages 0x80070490 “Element not found” for no reason (for example, regarding certificates) , although the user is sure that this information is available. Let's figure out what to do in such a situation.

Circumstances when the error "Could not find this element. It is no longer in... (file path). Check file location"

Yes, indeed, such an error followed by a warning can occur very often. The simplest situation is too long file names inside folders, when the system writes that it is impossible to move, copy, or rename such a folder.

And it is after this that the message of interest to us appears that this element could not be found. How to remove leftovers? After all, it is clear that when copying, moving or deleting, the system nevertheless initially made such an attempt. Another thing is that it was not successful, which led to problems.

It turns out that in fact the folder or files are present on the disk, the system no longer recognizes them in the initial version. In addition, the message "Element not found" may appear when any files or folders are blocked by system processes (currently in use), say, antivirus software or the same "Explorer" (Explorer service).

Sometimes the situation may be different. For example, an attempt to delete, rename, or move may fail when you are not logged on as an administrator, but on behalf of another user with limited rights. Probably, there is no need to explain that a file with system attributes cannot be deleted, as well as documents created using administrator rights in the main account. This is where the message "Could not find this item" pops up. How to delete such files, we will now figure it out.

In addition, it is also worth noting that such errors can occur after renaming, say, office documents. Programs, as a rule, remember the last few files, so when using the quick opening of one of them, unpleasant situations can also arise when the application simply does not find the file you are looking for in the specified path.

The simplest way to fix a bug

First of all, every user should know that even having administrator rights is not always a guarantee of successful deletion, renaming or moving of locked files, since some files and folders of a system nature have long names. And only elements with short names that are usually inaccessible to the user are subject to deletion.

On the other hand, you can use the simplest method, which is to add some entries to the system registry. So, for example, the files FolderDescription-x86.reg (for 32-bit versions of Windows OS) and FolderDescription-x64.reg (for versions of Windows with 64-bit architecture) perfectly cope with such a problem. If there are no such files on the computer terminal (and this, as a rule, they are), they can be easily downloaded from the Internet. Don't worry, nothing terrible will happen, but you can be guaranteed to get rid of the "Unable to find this element" error. How to delete files after that? In the standard way. Only and everything.

Remains of "garbage" after uninstalling applications

In some cases, the error may appear when it is incomplete. It often happens that the “native” uninstaller of the program or the standard Windows InstallShield Wizard does not completely remove all components, prompting the user to delete some files manually. Very often this concerns the uninstall.exe uninstaller itself.

In this case, a message may also be displayed stating that the element was not found. correctly and completely, so that no unnecessary garbage remains in the system in the form of residual files or registry keys? It's very simple: it's better to use uninstallers like iObit Uninstaller, which remove absolutely all software components, as well as system registry entries and keys that cannot be removed by the usual method (Forced Uninstall).

Yes, and rummaging through the registry in manual mode, too, do not want to. Moreover, this is undesirable.

Additional ways to remove stubborn files

Among the most common methods for deleting files and folders that cannot be deleted are the use of a special Unlocker utility, as well as direct deletion of elements with system attributes using a short name. In principle, both methods are good. However, the average user will have to tinker a bit with the names.

Program Unlocker

The Unlocker application is a universal option for solving many incidental situations. In fact, the program is a kind of means of unlocking access to any element of the system, after which it will be possible to perform the necessary actions.

As a rule, the program itself is already included in the Windows 7 OS. If it is not on the computer, it can be easily found and downloaded from the Internet.

When you enter the same standard "Explorer" Windows, the corresponding command "Unlock all" will appear. The application will stop all processes associated with a particular file, after which it can be deleted or renamed without any problems. You can, of course, end related processes in the "Task Manager", but it's just not recommended to do this, because one process can be responsible for the operation of several programs and use many files (for example, dynamic libraries.dll). And the correct completion of the process in this case is not guaranteed.

Deleting files and folders with system names

A slightly more complicated method, but no less effective, is to use short file and folder names. Suppose, during operations with a system file, an error occurs due to the fact that this element could not be found. How to remove it using this method, we will try to figure it out.

First of all, to uninstall, you will need to use either the Run menu. Let's say we have a file named "111" located in the Program Files folder on the C drive. The delete command will look like this: DEL \\.\C:\Program Files\111. For a folder named "111" located at the same address, the command takes the form RD \\.\C:\Program Files\111.

This method may not work when you need to know the short name of a file or folder. In this case, after starting the command line (cmd.exe), you must first execute the line CD drive letter:\path to file or folder\ /d, and then to get a short name - the DIR /X /N command. After the required name is known, the folder or file can be deleted as described above.