Delete: Access denied files

There are many times when you try to delete a file and it throws a message on you saying

"Cannot delete file: Access is denied"

 

There has been a sharing violation.

The source or destination file may be in use.

The file is in use by another program or user.

Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use.

So if the file is in use, how do you delete it?

# Click on Start, Search, All Files and Folders

# Type the name of the undeletable file in the box shown

# Make sure the Look In box shows the correct drive letter

# Click Search and let the computer find the file

# 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

# Close the search box

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

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

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

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

# Don't worry about the blank screen.

# Minimize Task Manager but leave it open

# Go back to the Command Prompt window and change to the directory where the file is located. To do this, use the CD command. See the cmd tutorial for more details. 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

# Now use the DEL command to delete the offending file. Type DEL where is the file you wish to delete.

Example: del undeletable.exe

# Use ALT-TAB to go back to Task Manager

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