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How to delete an undeletable file

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How to delete an undeletable file

Postby Deathlok » Thu Jan 20, 2011 3:20 pm

We've all been there,something weird has happened to our computer and a file which was open at the time becomes invulnerable to having any change made to it, including deleting the damned thing!

So, How do I delete an "undeletable" file?

This might just do the trick
  • Make a note of the exact location of the file you cannot delete
  • Open a Command Prompt window and leave it open
  • Close all open programs
  • Click Start, Run and enter TASKMGR.EXE or use CTRL-ALT-DEL and click Task Manager
  • Go to the Processes tab and End Process on Explorer.exe
  • Leave Task Manager open
  • Go back to the Command Prompt window and CD to the directory the file is located in
  • At the command prompt type DEL <filename> where <filename> is the file you wish to delete
  • Go back to Task Manager, click File, New Task and enter EXPLORER.EXE to restart the GUI shell
  • Close Task Manager
This should definitely work in NT/2000/XP not sure about Vista and Windows 7
It ain't the years honey, it's the mileage.
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Deathlok
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