19
2006
Deleting stubborn files and folders
Sometimes when you try to delete a file or folder, Windows won’t let you. You may get a message like
This situation can arise for a variety of reasons. The worst case is when a virus infection is causing the problem. Here is a page that deals with that situation. Other causes are programs running in the background (often security programs) that have locked the file that you are trying to delete. ZoneAlarm log files are an example. They can pile up but ZA keeps them locked so you can’t delete them the normal way. Norton Anti-Virus Protected Files are also locked, sometimes even if you uninstall Norton. Windows XP locks AVI files if you are using the Preview Pane. And then there are files that are being used by the system and that should not be deleted.
If you know that a stubborn file is unneccessary and want to get rid of it, there are some free software programs that can do this. They work by removing the file after a reboot and before the system gets a chance to lock the file. One program is MoveOnBoot and another is
Unlocker
If you have FAT32 instead of NTFS for your file system, you can do the deletion yourself by booting to DOS and deleting from there.
Deleting stubborn files and folders
Originally from Windows Tips and Tricks by
Great concept, pulling everything together in one place.
However, I need some help. I’m trying to see the full text of http://techtips.chanduonline.com/2006/08/19/deleting-stubborn-files-and-folders/
but all I can get is the opening lines. None of the links get me there to the full post, and when I went searching for the post in the listed locations, I couldn’t find it at all. Am I missing something obvious? Also, is clicking Previous Entries the only way to move through an archive?
Thanks in advance for your educating me.
david