Hey! I decided to write today about how to clear the history of visited sites, and the history closed tabs at the Opera. I recently wrote how to do this, and now I will write about my favorite Opera browser.

Well, it's not a secret for anyone that when you visit sites, the browser creates a history of visited sites, and also a history of closed tabs. All this is done for the convenience of the user, you can go at any time and find the sites that you visited. Or you can resume a deposit that you accidentally closed.

But it may be necessary to clear this history, for what? Well, there can be many options, for example, you were browsing the Internet from someone else's computer, and you don't want someone to see what sites you visited. If the history of closed tabs is itself cleared after closing the Opera, then the history is not cleared, but now I will write how to clear it manually.

Clearing history in Opera

In order to clear the history in Opera, go to the “History” menu.

Setting up a story in Opera

You can configure the number of saved addresses of visited sites, and set the cache size. To do this, click on the Opera menu, then go to the “Settings” tab and select . Or press “Ctrl+F12” .

A window will open, go to the "Advanced" tab, then "History". Here you can set the number of sites that will be saved, and the size of the cache. Disk cache is a valid place on the hard disk where information from visited sites will be saved. And when you visit this site again, for example, the graphics will no longer be downloaded from the Internet, but will be downloaded from your computer. This will speed up the site loading process, and .

After making changes, click “OK” to save the settings.

How to clear history of closed tabs in Opera?

As I already wrote, the history of closed tabs is cleared by itself, after the browser is closed. But you can also clean it manually. Click on the arrow that opens the history and click on "Clear history of closed tabs".

That's all, now order :).

P.S. If you decide to buy a laptop for yourself, then of course you will have the task of choosing decent model. Now there are a lot of worthy manufacturers and models on the market, but Apple laptops are considered the best. So look at the prices Macbook Air, it is certainly not very cheap, but still such a purchase will definitely please you.

And finally, I suggest you watch a cool video with a parody of Apple presentation iPad Mini. I laughed heartily :). Good luck!

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 free program Unlocker, from a bootable flash drive or LiveCD, or from the DeadLock program.

When deleting locked files and folders, be careful, this may be part of 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 old version 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 "Clear system files". After the analysis is completed, the list in this window will show the item “Previous Windows installation". 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 Windows recovery, run them and safely delete the file standard method or via the command line.


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

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

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 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 in context menu a new item will appear, 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 simpler and effective ways write them in the comments. What method helped you?

If the computer reports that the file is open in another program

Most often, the inability to delete a file in Windows is due to the fact that it is busy with some kind of system process. When this happens, the message "The action cannot be performed because this file is open in" appears. The name of the program».

In this case, you need to close the program that uses the file and try to delete it again. If you see her window, just close it. If a program is running in the background and you don't know how to close it, launch the "Task Manager" (Ctrl + Alt + Del), find this program by its name in the list, right-click on it and select "End task".

If you cannot find desired program in Task Manager, try third party utility, which releases locks on files. Suitable free app lockhunter. After installing it, right-click on the file and select What is locking this file?. When the LockHunter window appears, click on the Unlock It! button in it.

Then try deleting the file again. If unsuccessful, restart your computer and try again. For complete removal Don't forget to empty the Trash from your computer.

If your computer says you are denied access

Sometimes you can't delete a file because your account doesn't have permission to do so. Such Windows cases says access denied. To solve this problem, you need to change the owner of the file. In the process, you may need a login and password from the PC administrator account.

To change permissions, right-click on the file and go to "Properties" → "Security" → "Advanced". Next to the "Owner" item, click "Change", then "Advanced" and "Search". Select the current account from the list and click OK.

After that, you will most likely be able to delete the file in the usual way. If it doesn't work, try restarting your computer and try again.

How to delete a file in macOS

If the Mac says the file is in use

To get started, manually close the applications in which you used this file and try erasing it again. They can interfere with uninstallation, as they do on Windows. If unsuccessful, restart your computer and try the uninstall again.

If that doesn't work, enter Safe Mode. To do this, restart your Mac while holding the Shift key. Try moving the file to the trash and emptying it, then restart your computer in normal mode.

If the file cannot be deleted for other reasons

The file may not be deleted due to disk errors. So run " disk utility” in Finder → Programs → Utilities and check the disk on which the file is located in it with the First Aid service.

Once verified, restart your Mac and try deleting the file.

Lists open files and connected by USB devices, browser history, DNS cache - all this helps to find out what the user was doing. We have compiled step by step instructions how to remove traces of your activities in different versions Windows, Office and popular browsers. At the end of the article, you will find some scripts that will help you keep your machine clean automatically.

1. Clearing lists of recent places and programs

Let's start cleaning with lists of recent places and programs. The list of recent (in Windows 10 - frequently used) programs is in the main menu, and the list of recent places is in File Explorer.

How to turn off this mess? In Windows 7 - right-click on the "Start" button, select "Properties" and in the window that appears, uncheck both checkboxes in the "Privacy" section.

To clear the list of recent places and documents, you need to delete the contents of the %appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent directory. To do this, open a command prompt and run two commands:

Cd %appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent echo y | del *.*

It also doesn't hurt to delete the contents of the %appdata%\microsoft\windows\recent\automaticdestinations\ directory. It stores recent files that appear in the jump list:

cd %appdata%\microsoft\windows\recent\automaticdestinations\ echo y | del *.*

To have recent files cleared automatically on exit, you need to enable the "Clear recently opened document history on exit" policy, which is located in User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Start Menu and Taskbar.

Now let's move on to Windows 10. You can turn off the list of recently added and frequently used applications through the "Settings" window. Open it and go to the "Personalization" section, the "Start" item. Turn off everything in there.

It seems that the problem is solved, but, alas, this is not entirely true. If you enable these options again, then all lists in the same composition will appear again. Therefore, you will have to disable this feature through group policy. Open gpedit.msc and navigate to User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Start Menu and Taskbar. Enable the following policies:

• "Clearing the list of recently used programs for new users";
• "Clear the history of recently opened documents on exit";
• "Clear notification log on tile on exit";
• "Remove the list of programs pinned to the start menu."

Clearing recent places in Windows 10 is easier than in the "seven". Open File Explorer, go to the "View" tab and click the "Options" button. In the window that appears, turn off the options "Show recently used files in the panel quick access' and 'Show frequently used folders in the Quick Access Toolbar'. Don't forget to click the "Clear" button.

As you can see, a task as simple as clearing the last objects has a rather difficult solution. Without editing group policies- nowhere.

2. Clearing the list of USB drives

At some secure facilities, only flash drives registered in the log are allowed to be connected to the computer. And, as usual, the magazine is the most common - paper. That is, the computer itself does not in any way restrict the connection of unregistered drives. Does not limit, but records! And if during the check they find that the user connected unregistered drives, he will have problems.

By no means do we advise you to try to steal military secrets, but the ability to clear the list of recently connected drives can come in handy in other life situations. To do this, look in the following registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USBSTOR\ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USB\

Here they are - all the drives that you connected to your computer.

It would seem that you just need to take it and clean everything. But it was not there! Firstly, the permissions for these registry branches are set in such a way that you won’t delete anything even in the “seven”, not to mention the “ten”.

Secondly, assigning rights and permissions manually takes a long time, especially if there are a lot of drives. Thirdly, admin rights will not help. The screenshot above was created when I performed the delete operation with just admin rights. Fourth, in addition to these two partitions, there is a long list of partitions to clean up. Moreover, they must not only be deleted, but correctly edited.

If for some reason you need to do everything manually, then look for keywords MountPoints, MountedDevices, DeviceClasses, and RemovableMedia. But it is much easier to use a ready-made program that will do everything for you. Some forums recommend USBDeview for this. However, I tested it and declare that it does not clean out information from all the necessary sections. USBSTOR And USB continue to contain information about connected media.

I can recommend the program. Run it, check the "Perform a real cleaning" checkbox. You can turn on the “Save .reg-file of the cancellation” parameter or not, but if the goal is not to check the program, but to prepare for the upcoming computer inspection, then it is better to turn it off.

The program not only cleans the registry, but also displays a detailed log of its actions (see below). When it finishes, there will be no mention of connecting drives to the computer.

3. Clear cache and browser history

The third item in our tudu is clearing the cache and browser history. There are no difficulties here - each browser allows you to reset the list of recently visited sites.

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Creating, moving, deleting and other manipulations with files are routine actions that everyone has to perform. However, it happens that it is not possible to delete a folder that has become unnecessary. The system reports that the operation cannot be performed. If you still need to get rid of extra folder, you will have to understand what causes such a reaction of the operating system and how to fix this situation.

Let's try to figure it out ourselves. Those for whom this may seem complicated can turn to the master who performs subscription maintenance of computers in your office or at home.

Causes and possible solutions to the problem

The impossibility of deleting a particular folder may be due to the following reasons.

Folder corruption

Folder corruption. This may be due to a software failure, physical problems on the disk, or due to the destructive actions of a virus. Often it is quite enough to simply restart the computer or check it with an antivirus.

File busy

The file is occupied by some program or system process. To verify this, you should open the "Task Manager" and stop desired process The that uses the given file or folder.

Often there are situations that the folder in the "Explorer" looks empty, but it cannot be deleted. The reason may be hidden in the settings of the standard Windows Explorer. The "Do Not Show" mode can be activated. hidden folders, files and drives", so the folders only seem empty at first glance, but in fact, service files are stored there. You should make sure of this, otherwise there is a risk of deleting important data.

Lack of rights

The folder contains files, but it cannot be deleted due to insufficient rights to perform this action. The options for correcting this situation are as follows:

• Use an account that has sufficient rights. You need to log in as a different user who has administrative rights. After completing all the manipulations, you can again log into the system under your name.
• Get rights for your account to delete folders. There is a risk that extended rights will not only allow the user himself to gain more control over the system, but a virus that penetrates an account that has administrative privileges can do much more trouble.
• Use third-party programs to forcefully delete information that has become unnecessary.

Granting Administrator Rights

A user with normal rights already has enough ability to freely perform the necessary actions with many folders, while not having access to system information. This prevents damage, accidental or intentional, of folders and files important for the operation of the OS. Only accounts with administrative rights have these rights.

A good option is to have, in addition to the main account, also a second one that has administrative privileges for situations where the rights of the main account are not enough.

If it is required to grant extended rights to a user account, then only the system administrator can do this. Next, we will show several ways in which you can, using an administrator account, issue a user with large rights to manage computer resources.

Using system settings

The sequence of actions is as follows:

Using the command line

This method requires a certain amount of experience, and if you are not confident in your abilities and knowledge, then it is best to turn to specialists, for example, to a company that provides computer help in Balashikha, or another area closest to you. For the rest, let's continue:

This activated the normally dormant administrator account.

Disabling TrustedInstaller

In Windows 7, there is a user that has even more rights than the administrator. Account TrustedInstaller protects critical system components. Even the administrator will not be able to delete such information. When trying to execute something, a window will be displayed with the message "Request permission from TrustedInstaller to modify this file."

To this protection bypass, you will have to manually grant administrator access to the desired file. Sequencing:

Now nothing should prevent you from deleting a folder or file. You should do the same if you need to move any folders to another location. This should not be abused. After completing all the steps, you should return the previous owner so that the system can continue to function correctly.

If a running program interferes with the removal

In the event that deletion is impossible due to the fact that the file is occupied by some program, you must either stop this program, or, if it is a system process or a program that cannot be stopped just like that, perform some actions.

Editing the Startup List

In order to prevent the launch of a program that blocks the ability to uninstall desired folder, necessary:

Now, if the interfering application has been disabled, the removal will succeed. If you didn’t guess with the program, then you should repeat the steps and disable the one you need.

Using safe mode

Another way to delete a folder that is used by some program, or that a virus does not allow you to remove, is to use the system boot in safe mode. For this:

The system will now boot into safe mode. After deleting the folders, you should again go to the "System Configuration" and uncheck the safe boot.

You can get into safe mode in another way. When booting the computer, until the initial Windows splash screen, you must press the F8 button. A window should appear with additional options downloads.

Select the line " Safe mode" and press "Enter". After downloading, open File Explorer and delete everything that is required.

Removing using the command line

You can use command line by opening the MS-DOS terminal window we mentioned earlier. To delete a file, you can use one of the commands:

• "del c:\BadFolder\BadFile.txt" - deleting the BadFile.txt file from the c:\BadFolder folder.
• "del/f c:\BadFolder\BadFile.txt" – the "/f" key allows you to delete a protected file.
• "del/a c:\BadFolder\BadFile.txt" - using the "/a" key, all files in the folder containing the BadFile.txt file are deleted.

All names of folders, files must be entered without errors. It will be impossible to restore files deleted in this way, because they will not be placed in the "Recycle Bin".

Removal using third-party programs

You can get rid of unnecessary, but not amenable to conventional deletion, folders if you use third-party applications.

File managers

Most of these programs have built-in tools for deleting protected files and folders. For example, in the popular Total Commander» it is enough to highlight with the cursor desired file, press F8 and, after answering yes to the request to confirm the deletion, perform this action.

This file manager can delete many protected files, but not all. In some cases, it is better to use specialized utilities.

Unlocker

It's comfortable and simple program after installation, it creates the "Unlocker" line in the context menu. Having selected a file, it is enough to call this menu by pressing the right mouse button.

The window that appears will show the program interfering with the removal given file. This is convenient, because you just need to close the specified program, and you no longer have to perform any "violent" actions to delete the file.

Lockhunter

Another program with very similar features to the previous one. After installation, a line is also created in the context menu.

All operations that can be performed on the file are represented as large buttons.

The program should be used carefully so as not to accidentally delete the files that Windows needs for normal operation.

Fileassassin

This program works a little differently. To delete a file, you need to run the program and select the desired file in the window that opens.

After the object intended for deletion is selected, and the parameters for working with it are specified, you must click the "Execute" button.

System Restore

Another way to try to unlock folders or files is to roll back the system to one of the backup points. This method is applicable if such backup points are created regularly. This is a radical remedy, since all changes made to the system since the last point was created will be forgotten.

Procedure:

Using a different OS

An alternative way is to connect the drive that contains files that cannot be deleted to another computer with Windows system or Linux running from its own disk. You can use and run from a flash drive or optical disc a special assembly of the system, the so-called "Live CD", designed to restore and check the main OS of the computer. You can use boot utilities antivirus software developers.

From the point of view of the system, the folders and files of the operating system of a foreign disk are just objects file system disk that can be easily removed, moved to another location, etc. It is important not to remove the excess, otherwise, returning the disk to its place, you can get an inoperable system.

other methods

If the files that cannot be deleted are located on a flash drive, external drive, SD card, then you can use, for example, a smartphone. By connecting a memory card to it or external drive, using the adapter and the necessary applications, you will finally be able to get rid of unnecessary information.

Conclusion

Summarizing all of the above, we will briefly list all the methods for deleting locked files, building them from simple and safe to more time-consuming and requiring caution when using:

• User level. Close programs that "hold" a file or folder. Restarting the computer.
• Windows level. Making changes to startup, performing an uninstall from safe mode.
• Change access rights. Granting administrative rights to the user.
• Command line. Using low-level delete commands.
• Usage third party programs. Special utilities and the possibilities of file managers.
• System rollback. Restoring the OS state from a backup point.
• Using an external OS. Connecting a drive to a computer that runs the OS from another drive.