How to delete a folder (file) that cannot be deleted? Hello dear friends, probably each of you has encountered this problem when you want to delete an unnecessary folder or file, but the folder is not deleted. Situations can be different, mostly this happens after programs, utilities, browsers were uninstalled incorrectly, or some kind of failure occurred during the uninstallation process and after uninstallation, folders or files remained that were simply not needed. I want to offer you four ways to solve this problem when folders are not deleted.

The content of the article:

1. We delete a folder or file using additional programs.

We archive a folder that is not deleted.

Let's start with the simplest and try delete non-deletable folder. Probably every user has a WinRar archiver on their computer or laptop, 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 packaging” and click “Ok”. If after archiving the folder or file is deleted, then everything is fine, take the created archive and simply drag it to the trash.

If this method does not help and the folder is still not deleted, then move on to the next solution.

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

Let's try to move the folder or file to another medium. Insert a flash drive or external hard drive, right-click on the folder that is not being 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 works, just delete the folder or format the flash drive. If there is no result, read on.

We use Safe Mode to delete a non-deletable folder.

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

How to delete a non-deletable folder using programs.

So let's try it using 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.”

First, go to the “Windows Task Manager” and 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 is occupying a folder that is not being deleted, then we will 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 the mouse on the Target and point it at 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 the 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.

Download the program Unlocker, in my opinion, this is one of the best programs for deleting folders and files that cannot be deleted. You can download from any site on the Internet; after installing the program, right-click on the folder or file to be deleted.

In the drop-down menu, click on the magic wand)) Unlocker icon.

In the window that appears, click on the arrow and select the “Delete” action. Click "Ok".

The Unlocker utility will automatically terminate the busy process and delete the folder.

I think this method will help everyone 100% delete a folder that cannot be deleted! That's all friends, I hope the article will be useful to you. If, nevertheless, something doesn’t work out for you and the folder or file is not deleted, then write in the comments, I will try to help everyone. Good luck to you!

It happens that you simply need to delete a folder or file, but Windows does not allow you to do this and writes about errors like “this process is busy” or “the folder is not empty” or something else. Maybe you found some folder or file that you “didn’t like” and want to delete it. Maybe you know for sure that this is “unnecessary junk” that only takes up space, but Windows curses and does not allow it. In general it's not that important Why can't I delete it?, How many How to delete and in this article you will find answers to this question.

Most often, such situations occur due to the fact that the files being deleted are occupied by other programs. But it also happens that it is impossible to delete a file even after closing all applications that can use this file. For example, a file or folder may become locked due to incorrect user actions and cannot be deleted in any way. These folders (files) remain “hanging” on the hard drive, take up space, and are not opened or deleted.

The file may not be deleted due to a failure that occurred during the process of writing or overwriting it. If you interrupt the recording process, the file is not completely saved, resulting in invalid entries in the file system. And our beloved Windows, not knowing how to handle it, simply closes access to it, supposedly for security reasons.

So, let's start dancing with a tambourine!

Why is the file not deleted?

1) The file was blocked by an antivirus program. This often happens when an antivirus quarantines a file. Or the antivirus detected a malicious program, but treatment was postponed (waiting for its databases to be updated). In this case, in order to avoid infecting the computer, the user is blocked from accessing this file. Check the quarantine of your antivirus program and delete the file using the antivirus itself, or disable the antivirus and delete the file manually.

2) The file is being used by another program. Think about what programs might use this file. Close them and try deleting the file again. If this doesn't help, use Task Manager to check the process list to see if the program is still running.

3) Administrator rights are required to delete a file. If you are running under a user account, log in again as an administrator and try deleting the file.

4) The file is being used by another user on the local network. Please wait and try deleting the file later.

5) The file is being used by the system. Try deleting the file after restarting your computer or in safe mode.

6) The device is write protected. For example, SD memory cards and some USB flash drives have a special switch to lock the device.

There are several removal methods, I will start with the simplest and most effective ones and gradually move on to more complex ones.

1. Method:

Reboot

We programmers have a saying: “7 troubles - one reset.” You can figure out what it means yourself

But the point of the method is that you need to restart the computer and try to delete the file/folder again.

2. Method:

Safe mode

You need to log in in Safe Mode.

What is the benefit of booting the system in safe mode? The thing is that Windows does not load its libraries to execute dialogs. To put it simply, if you have a virus on your computer (and this is possible), then in this safe mode it will not perform any actions. In this mode there is nothing superfluous, just a clean OS and a person.

In order to enter this mode, when you turn on the computer and after loading the BIOS (or in general you can from the very beginning of the “black screen” boot), press the key intensively without ceasing F8(no need to press and hold!!!). A black screen will appear in which you need to use the keys on the keyboard to select Additional boot options, and then Safe Mode (or just Safe Mode, you don’t need to select all sorts of things with command line support and so on. And that will do) and press Enter. If you did everything correctly, the system will boot and in the lower right corner there will be an inscription Safe Mode (it may also be in all corners). Don't be afraid of the black screen that will appear) without wallpaper and beauty.

Now you need to find the file that you just couldn’t delete and try to delete it. In any case (it worked or not), reboot.

3. Method:

Through the Unlocker program

It is precisely for such purposes that the good guys wrote such a program called Unlocker. This is a very small, free program for unlocking files running on Windows. This utility allows you to close open file blockers, thereby making it possible to perform further actions on these files. Those. the program shows all processes blocking a file (folder) and can delete it, despite all the blockers.

In addition, the program allows you to rename files and their extensions or move a locked file to another location. This is also very convenient, because... Windows does not always allow you to do this quickly and calmly.

When installing, DO NOT agree to the proposed toolbar (or you really need it, then click Next) and uncheck Install Babylon Toolbar - RECOMMENDED. Otherwise, the installation is normal - everywhere Next I Accept Install and that’s it)

Just right-click on the file that is not being deleted (not moved/renamed) in the usual way and select the program icon from the menu. A window should appear in which you select Delete from the list and press the button OK.

If the file or folder is blocked, another window will appear. First you need to press the button Unlock everything, and then Delete.

For those who don’t know what the bit depth is on the system, read

4. Method:

Through file managers

Of all the most popular and frequently used file managers, the most popular is Total Commander.

File managers have the ability to bypass some Windows restrictions, which we will use.

To delete a non-deletable file, we will need to download one of these file managers, FAR or Total Commander (I use Total Commander Podarok Edition). After downloading and installation, find your file in the list of directories and delete it by clicking either the right mouse button and selecting Delete, or pressing the Delete key on the keyboard.

These managers also have a good opportunity to see everything that is hidden and encrypted (especially in different colors, like mine). If your folder is not deleted, then go into it through the manager and see what’s there. If you see a hidden file, it means it is interfering. Then launch Task Manager ( ctrl+shift+esc), go to the Processes tab and look for this file in the list (it’s also good to click on the button at the bottom left of the Display the processes of all users manager), find and finish (del or RMB -> End process or the End process button in the lower right corner). The application is the same with files, we look for the file name and “kill”.

5. Method:

Another option with Unlocker

If your folder is not deleted, it says something like “the folder is not empty,” then create a new folder on the same disk, transfer the non-deletable folders to the new folder, delete the new folder using Unlocker

6. Method:

Using startup

Click “Start” => “Run” => In the “Run” line, enter msconfig => Click OK. You will see the System Setup window. Go to the “Startup” tab and in the list of downloadable items, find a name similar to your “not deleted” file.

If there is no such file in the list, then click on the “Disable all” button. Click on the “Apply” => “Close” button. The operating system will issue a warning that all changes made by the system setup program will take effect only after rebooting the computer. Click the "Reboot" button. The computer will restart. After downloading, try deleting the “undeletable” file again.

7. Method:

Using System Restore

In the “System Settings” window (which was the same as in the previous paragraph), select “General”. Click on the “Run System Restore” button. In the window that appears, select the option “Restore the computer to an earlier state”, click “Next”. In a new window, you will see a calendar in which you can select a system restore date. Select a date when the "not deleted" file was not on the computer. Click "Next". Don't worry, System Restore will not affect your personal files.

8. Method:

Lack of access rights to delete files

Right-click on the problematic object and select "Properties" from the drop-down list

In the window that opens, select the “Security” tab

Highlight your name in the list and select "Full Control"

- “Apply” and “OK”

Trying to delete

9. Method:

Use a different operating system.

Try booting from a removable disk (or CD/DVD) (LiveCD or LiveUSB) with a different operating system. Then delete the file/folder.

10. Method:

Move somewhere.

Sometimes it helps to move (cut) the folder to an empty flash drive and then format it.

11. Method:

In the window, type the command chkdsk c: /f/r and click Enter, it should be taken into account that c: is the name of the disk that needs to be checked. If the drive you are checking has a different letter, then write it.

If the drive being checked is C:, then when you press Enter You will be prompted to check it the next time you reboot. When asked whether to check or not at the next reboot, enter Y and press Enter.

If the disk name is different, the scan will begin immediately. At the end of the check, the result of the check will appear. Type exit and click Enter.

Now you can delete a file that you did not want to delete. In the case of drive C, simply restart the computer and after checking, delete the non-deletable file.

12. Method:

If you open the command line via Start - All Programs...run the process as an administrator (RMB and Run as Administrator) and move to the folder with the non-deletable file (or folder) using the cd \ command in order to be in the root directory disk, and then cd folder_name to go to the desired folder.

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 occupied by some kind of system process. 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 is using 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 “Task Manager” (Ctrl + Alt + Del), find this program by name in the list, right-click on it and select “End task”.

If you can't find the program you need in Task Manager, try a third-party utility that removes file locks. The free LockHunter app is suitable. 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.

After that, try deleting the file again. If unsuccessful, restart your computer and try again. To completely remove it from your computer, be sure to empty the Recycle Bin.

If your computer says you are denied access

Sometimes you cannot delete a file because your account does not have rights to do this. In such cases, Windows reports that access is denied. To resolve this issue, you need to change the owner of the file. During the process, you may need the login and password for your PC administrator account.

To change access rights, right-click on the file and go to “Properties” → “Security” → “Advanced”. Near the “Owner” item, click “Edit”, then “Advanced” and “Search”. Select your current account from the list and click OK.

After doing this, you will most likely be able to delete the file as usual. If it doesn't work, try restarting your computer and trying again.

How to delete a file on macOS

If the Mac says the file is in use

First, manually close the applications in which you used this file and try to erase it again. They can interfere with uninstallation, as happens in Windows. If unsuccessful, restart your computer and repeat the removal.

If it doesn't work, enter safe mode. To do this, restart your Mac while holding down the Shift key. Try moving the file to the Recycle Bin and emptying it, then restart your computer as normal.

If the file cannot be deleted for other reasons

The file may not be deleted due to disk errors. Therefore, launch “Disk Utility” in the Finder → “Programs” → “Utilities” section and check the disk on which the file is located using the “First Aid” service.

After checking, restart your Mac and try deleting the file.

While working at a computer, a huge amount of unnecessary information accumulates, which reduces the performance of the PC by clogging up the RAM. It needs to be removed. Quite often, due to an operating system failure, a virus attack, the presence of hidden or system files, access blocking and a number of other reasons, when deleting an object, a message appears that the folder is not being deleted. What to do in this case? There are several ways to help solve this problem.

Restarting the computer

An operating system crash is often the reason why an empty folder is not deleted. In this case, a normal computer restart is enough - and the object can be deleted. If rebooting does not help, you will need:

Start your computer in safe mode.
. Delete the problematic folder.
. Return to normal mode.

Deleting folders involved in one of the running processes

If a folder or the file it contains is involved in any system process or used by an application, it cannot be deleted. First of all, you will need to stop the process and only then try to delete the directory again.

To do this you need to follow these steps:

Open the task manager using the key combination Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
. Switch to the Processes tab.
. Find the required file in the list that opens.
. Select it with the mouse.
. Click on the “End process” button.
. Delete the folder via the context menu or the Delete key.

How to delete a protected folder using the standard method

In some cases, the folder is protected and the user must have administrator rights to delete it. To do this you need:

Shut down your computer.
. Turn on PC.
. Login as administrator.
. Delete the folder in the usual way.

Unlocker utility and its capabilities

If this method does not help solve the problem of how to delete an unremovable folder, then you will need to install the additional Unlocker utility. This is a convenient program for deleting various objects, occupies a small amount of hard disk memory and has an easy-to-use interface. Moreover, it is completely free.

You can unlock and delete a folder using this utility as follows:

• Download the utility to your computer.
• Perform the standard software installation procedure, after which the program icon will appear in the system tray and in the context menu.
• Select the folder to be deleted.
• Right-click on it.
• Select Unlocker from the pop-up menu.
• A program window will open.
• At the bottom of the list of actions, select the line “Delete”.
• If the folder is blocked by some process (it will be displayed in the program window), first click on the “Unblock” or “Unblock all” line, and then apply the “Delete” action.

Unlocker may not always be able to remove an item immediately. In this case, a message will be displayed that the action will be performed the next time the system boots.

Deleting a folder via the command line

If a folder with a system name is not deleted, the command line can help. First you need to run the CMD program:

• Click on the “Start” button.
• Find the Run dialog box using the main menu search bar.
• Launch the Run program.
• In the “Open” line, enter the CMD command.
• Launch the command line by pressing the Enter button.

To delete folders, use the command “RD \\.\Drive C or D:\Path\Folder Name”.

Sometimes when using this command you may be asked why the folder is not deleted. For an object with a long name, you must find out its short name before deleting it. You can do this as follows:

• Go to the drive where the undeletable folder is located using the command: cd /d drive name:\.
• Get a list of short names of objects contained on the disk: dir /x /n.
• Find the short name of the desired folder.
• Delete a directory using the delete command.

Terminating the explorer.exe process

Sometimes in order to solve the problem of how to delete an unremovable folder, you need to stop the explorer.exe process. To do this you need:

• Leave the command line open.
• Launch the task manager by selecting this action from the pop-up menu on the system tray.
• In the “Processes” tab, find all processes named explorer.exe.
• Stop them by clicking on the “End process” button.
• If everything is done correctly, the desktop will be cleared of icons, the taskbar, and only the open command line window will remain.

After this, you can begin deleting the object via the command line. The explorer command will help return the desktop to its previous state, which should be entered into the command line and press Enter. You can also restore your desktop by simply restarting your computer.

Program for deleting folders FileASSASSIN

The FileASSASSIN utility will help you delete any object, including those occupied by some process or application. The principle of operation is similar to the Unlocker program. To use this utility, you must:

• Download and install it on your computer.
• After installation, the program is integrated into Explorer and becomes available in the context menu.
• To delete a folder, right-click on it.
• Find the FileASSASSIN item in the menu.
• Select a deletion method from the list provided.
• Click on the “Run” button.

Removing undeletable objects using LockHunter

The LockHunter utility allows you to clear your computer's memory of unnecessary objects and solve the problem of how to delete an undeletable folder. Unlike other similar software, it is equipped with functionality that can protect the operating system and user data from inappropriate use. In addition, deleted objects are stored in the system recycle bin for some time, and if deleted by mistake, they can always be restored.

The LockHunter program works as follows:

• After installation, you need to launch the utility by double-clicking on the icon on the desktop.
• The main program window will open.
• Find the button in the form of an ellipsis and click on it.
• In the window that appears, select the desired folder.
• The program will show the process that is preventing the object from being deleted.
• Click on the button with the red cross.
• The process will be completed.
• Delete the folder in the usual way.

Restoring access to a folder

Sometimes the reason why a folder is not deleted is because access to it is closed. You can restore access to the desired object as follows:

• Change access rights settings - to do this, you first need to go to the “My Computer” section.
• In the top menu, click on the “Service” subsection.
• Find the “Folder Options” block and open it.
• In the “View” tab, uncheck the checkbox next to the line “Use simple file sharing (recommended).”
• Click the “Ok” button.
• Then right-click on the folder you want to delete.
• In the function menu, select “Sharing and Security”.
• Switch to the "Security" tab.
• If a warning appears about the lack of rights, click the “Ok” button.
• In the “Security” tab at the bottom, click on the “Advanced” button.
• In the additional settings window, find the “Owner” tab.
• Select the desired account from the list.
• Check the box next to the line “Replace owner of subcontainers and objects.”
• Click the “Apply” button.
• A warning about the change of ownership will appear.
• Allow changes to be made by clicking on the “Yes” button.
• Go to the “Permissions” tab.
• Click on the line “Change permissions”.
• In the window that opens, select the owner account and click the “Change” button.
• Check the box next to “Full access” and click the “Ok” button.
• In the next window, check the boxes next to the lines “Add permissions inherited from parent objects” and “Replace all permissions of a child object with permissions inherited from this object.”
• Confirm the changes with the “Ok” button.
• Close all windows.
• Delete a folder using the “Delete” function in the context menu or the Delete key.

Deleting an object using a bat file command

If the folder that appears again is not deleted, you need to create a bat file and destroy the directory by running it. This will require the following steps:

• Right-click on an empty area of ​​the desktop.
• In the pop-up menu, select the “Create” function and the “Text document” item.
• Open the document.
• Enter the command into it: RMDIR /S/Q Path to a folder like C:\folder name.
• In the top menu, go to the “File” section.
• Click on the “Save As” line.
• Set the file name to “1.bat” and click the “Save” button.
• Run the created bat file and the folder will be deleted.

Using the Total Commander file manager

You can permanently delete a folder using the Total Commander program. To do this you need:

• Launch file manager.
• Select a folder that cannot be deleted.
• Press the “F8” key.
• In the message that appears, click on the “Delete” button.

Folder not being deleted? What to do? There are many ways to solve this problem. The choice of deletion method depends on the type of folder and the reasons that prevent you from clearing your computer of unnecessary objects.

Even users who are not very familiar with computers know such a simple operation as deleting files and folders.

As a rule, it is done very simply, and the unnecessary object is instantly moved to the trash or deleted permanently.

However, in some situations, pressing the Delete button or using the Shift+Delete key combination does not lead to anything - the Windows 7 system refuses to delete the file. What to do in such a situation?

How to delete files that won't delete in Windows 7

Causes of the problem

A file or folder may not be deleted for various reasons. Typically, the problem is that the object is busy with some process. Because of this, you cannot erase:

• executive files (.exe) of running games and other programs;
• system files responsible for the functioning of Windows and hardware resources - drivers, etc.;
• editable and viewable text and graphic files;
• playable audio and video files;
• files that are downloaded from the Internet or uploaded to the network using download managers, browsers, and torrent clients.

The solution to this problem is very simple - the active process using the file to be deleted must be closed. This can be done in several ways, which will be discussed below.

Another reason is the user's lack of rights. Some files - for example, system and read-only files - can only be deleted by the system administrator. You can get access rights through the file properties, the “Security” menu - in it you need to give yourself full access.

It is important to consider that Windows 7 does not simply give the user rights to delete certain files - without them, the computer may stop working normally. Therefore, if you do not have access to this feature, you should make sure that deletion will not cause harm before trying the methods below.

To delete undeletable files and folders, you can use:

• system tools;
• command line;
• third party programs;
• another system.

Closing an active process

If a file is not deleted because a process is using it, the system will throw an error when you try to delete it. The error window will indicate the name of the interfering process and information about the file being deleted. Windows 7 will prompt you to close the program and try the operation again.

The easiest way to “kill” an interfering process is to use the task manager. It opens in Windows 7 like this: press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+Del and select Task Manager from the screen that appears.

The main manager window will show all currently active processes. Find the one that was indicated in the error message, highlight it and click the “End task” button.

If the required process is not found, simply restart your computer and try deleting the file immediately after the system starts. If this does not work, start the computer in safe mode, in which only system processes can run, and delete the file in it.

If the explorer.exe process is interfering

Explorer.exe is the process responsible for displaying the desktop along with all the shortcuts, as well as the taskbar, start menu, and tray. Therefore, if you simply close it, you may not be able to delete the file - the folder containing it will be impossible to open. There are several solutions to this problem:

• Open the desired folder in advance.
• After closing the process, press Win+R, enter cmd. A command line will open in which you need to write the command “del file_address” (for example, del C:\Users\Public\document.txt).

To delete an entire folder, instead of del you need to write rmdir. If you supplement this command with the /s operator, the folder will be deleted regardless of problems with the individual files it contains.

After the problem is resolved, you need to return the desktop. To do this, restart your PC or press Win+R and write in the line explorer.exe.

Using a different system

If you cannot delete a file from inside Windows 7, you can temporarily run another operating system - for example, Linux. For this, LiveCD is used - an OS distribution that runs from a CD and does not require installation on a hard drive. Additionally, a bootable USB flash drive can help.

To boot from external media, when the computer starts booting (before the system starts), you need to press the Del key or Shift+F12 - you will be taken to the boot menu. By default, the hard disk drive (HDD) has first priority; other devices are used if problems arise with it. By changing the priority to CD or USB, you will force the computer to start the system from a disk or flash drive, respectively.

There are two ways to work with external OS distributions:

• via graphical interface;
• via the command line.

In the first case, the system from the Live CD will boot in the same way as regular Windows 7. To delete the file, you just need to find the desired folder and use the standard move to the trash.

The command line is used when starting the Windows installation disk. At any time during installation you need to press Shift+F10. The commands used are the same - del and rmdir.

It should be taken into account that during the installation process, the drives may have different designations - the system drive C:\ will remain the same, but additional local drives may change letters. To make sure that you are in the right directory, you need to use the command dir.

Using a third party program

To unlock the deletion function, the DeadLock program is suitable. It's easy to use:

• From the File menu, add the object to be deleted to the list.
• Right-click on it, select Unlock, then Remove.

You can also use it to move non-movable files. An additional feature is changing the owner.

Analog of the program - Unlocker. Its disadvantage is that it clogs up the computer with unnecessary additional applications and adds itself to the context menu.

In this article we looked at how to delete files that are not deleted by Windows 7, we hope that you liked it, if we missed something or forgot to write about it, please indicate it in the comments.