I can't delete the file. Video review: how to delete a file or folder? Unlocker program. Using different programs

Inability to delete a folder or separate file applications - a common problem in OS Windows, from old XP version to the new “ten”. If you're trying to delete a file without closing the program, that's one thing. In this case, it is enough to close the running application, for example, a game, and the issue will be resolved. Well, in other cases it will be necessary to use certain actions using system or using software methods.

You often encounter these errors when trying to delete a file or an entire folder:

  • the file cannot be deleted because it hangs in the task manager (occupied by a process);
  • the file cannot be deleted because it is open in some program;
  • Administrator permission is required to perform the action.
There are a number of ways you can delete an unnecessary file or folder. This can be done both by means of the system and special utilities and programs.

Before you begin the process, make sure that deleted file won't be the reason unstable work operating system. When cleaning your computer from unnecessary “garbage”, do not delete system files, without which its stable operation is impossible.

Files occupied by a process can be deleted both using the system itself and third party programs. In the article we will tell you and show with screenshots how such files can be deleted in Unlocker, DeadLock and Live CD. The first two programs are free and suitable for untrained users.

If you are trying to remove files such as hiberfil.sys, the methods discussed in this article will not apply to them. In this case, you need to read the instructions for disabling “hibernation”, energy saving mode PC operating system or by setting the hidden system swap file pagefile.sys. Deleting the Windows.old folder may also help.

Deleting a file without additional programs

If a file cannot be deleted because it is occupied by a process, the system will notify you about this. In this case, the notification will contain the name of the process due to which deletion is impossible. Most often, the files are “occupied” by the main process Windows programs Explorer. And if the file is “freed”, it will be easy to delete.


You can close the process in the task manager. To run it, do the following:
  • If you have Windows XP or Seven, press the combination Ctrl keys+Alt+Del.
  • If you have "eight" or "ten", press Win+X and select task manager.
See what process is occupied by the desired file. By deleting the task, you can easily delete it.


But to delete a file occupied by the main process Explorer programs, it’s not enough, just remove the task. You will only have to remove it using the command line. First, run it, remove the explorer.exe task, and then delete it by typing the command del full_path_to_your file.

Now for the return standard view Desktop, the main process needs to be restarted Windows Explorer. This is done in the task manager. On the File tab, select Run new task" and in the window that opens, specify "explorer.exe".


The process is running again, and the desktop looks standard.

Removing a locked file using a bootable USB flash drive or disk

Boot the operating system from any Live CD, such as a bootable USB flash drive, USB drive, or OS recovery disk. When booting from a Live CD, either the command line or the standard GUI operating system. When you boot the OS from any USB drive, the hard drive partitions may have different letters. To avoid mistakes when deleting a file, it is better to use the dir command. For example, the command "dir d" will show all folders stored on that drive.


If you boot the system from a flash drive or installation disk for “seven” and “eight”, after loading the language selection window or at another stage, run command line, using the combination Shift keys and F10. But you can also use System Restore. Here you can see a similar situation with changing drive letters, so don't forget to use the dir command as well.

Using DeadLock to Unlock and Delete Files

Many users who previously resorted to using the free Unlocker program are gradually switching to Alternative option- DeadLock. IN Last year together with the Unlocker distribution kit are downloaded and unnecessary programs, which are installed on the computer without the user’s knowledge. The program is also perceived ambiguously antivirus programs and browsers.

The free DeadLock utility works on the same principle: it removes the lock and deletes files. The declared functions also include the ability to change the owner of a file, but we have not tested this.


So, how does the program work? If a file cannot be deleted because it is occupied by a program process, launch DeadLock and select File. Now add your file to the program list and click the mouse. Now you have three actions available to you: Unlock, Remove and Move.


The peculiarity of DeadLock is that after unlocking the file, it does not add this action to the Explorer program.

Free Unlocker to unlock files that won't be deleted

Until some time, as we already wrote above, the Unlocker program enjoyed great love from users. It easily, without problems and quickly deleted any file occupied by the process.

Using the program is easy: click on the file you want to delete and unlock it.


The program works the same way as DeadLock: it kills the process and then deletes the file. But it also has distinctive advantages: the program is able to record even those processes that are not shown by the dispatcher.

Why is the file or folder not being deleted?

The official website of the operating system developer corporation provides little information about why it is sometimes impossible to remove specific folders and files.

What may be preventing you from deleting a file or folder?

You may not have enough rights to edit the file and folder and then delete it. The file may not be deleted also due to certain settings PC administrator.

Another option is also relevant - when the file works in specific program. The problem may be resolved if you close all running applications.

Why when I try to delete a file does Windows say the file is in use?

If, when deleting a file, the system displays an error about its use by the program, you need to close it. For example, you want to delete a folder with Word, but you can’t because this moment you are working with a document from this program. Therefore, if you close the document, the folder will be deleted. Or you are trying to delete files while someone else is working on them (if you have a home network).

After deleting all files, an empty folder remains

The solution to the problem is closing all programs or restarting the PC.

Quite often people face this question: how to delete a file that won't delete, and the file can be contained both on the hard drive and on media. Typically, to perform of this action Just select the file and then click Delete key. However, this simple manipulation may not help in all cases.

Instructions for deleting a non-deletable file

So let's look at how we can delete a non-deletable file.

  • Perhaps the file is involved in a specific process that is currently running on the device. to you in such a case the system will issue a corresponding notification. You will need to close all programs and folders, and then try again.

  • If this message appears again, right click Click on the taskbar, then open “Task Manager”. The “Processes” folder will open in front of us and look through it running file with the same name. Celebrating this process and click on the icon "Complete". A system completion warning will pop up in front of you, which you will need to confirm, and then try to delete the file again, in the usual way.

  • If you are unable to remove executable file, then he may well be virus utility. You must enter the operating system through safe mode. To perform this action, when you turn on the computer, press F8 key, as a result of these actions, a menu will open in front of you in which you can select the download method. Select “Safe Mode” from the list, and then perform standard deletion file.

  • To delete files that cannot be deleted, the special Unlocker program will do; by the way, it is free. You need to download it and activate it. When installation occurs, you must carefully monitor what you install. In the first screen that opens in front of you you will need to uncheck the box opposite the item “I accept the license terms...” if you do not want to see an archiver from this manufacturer on your computer. IN next tab, you will also need to uncheck the box if you do not need another program from that manufacturer.

After this program is installed, you will need to right-click on the file to be deleted, and then select the line Unlocker. You will be presented with actions that can be performed; you will need to select delete.

You are trying to delete a file, but they write to you that it is too long name, or you do not have permission to delete it. And no matter what you do, deletion does not occur. Common situation? So you've come to the right place. There are several ways to delete such a file, or even an entire folder, but all of them are not for novice computer users. Some of you will probably forget about such a file and forget about it, but there are also those for whom this file will be like a thorn, and they will not rest until they remove it, even if this means tearing down the entire operating system. I also belong to the second type of people, that’s why I love the computer, because it’s always full of such problems.

In fact, you can delete any file from your computer; another question is whether the computer will work after that.

Video on how to delete a file that is not deleted:

In fact, you can delete any file from your computer; another question is whether the computer will work after that. Before deleting any folder or file, make sure that these are not system files, after deleting which you will be in best case scenario You may be left without sound, and in the worst case, your system simply won’t boot anymore.

Once upon a time, when the largest computer on the computer was 10 GB in size, and it was running the Windows 98 operating system, I felt that there was too much data on my computer. necessary files, and deleted what I could delete. It ended with my sound simply disappearing, and I had no choice but to reinstall the system again.

All this chaos cost me a pretty penny, because I was a novice user and didn’t know how to do anything except turn the computer on and off. No, I'm lying! I also knew how to delete folders and files. After that incident, I promised myself that I would never delete anything I didn’t know. And for this I had to study the computer.

Then I found out what it was HDD what's his name, what is it hard drive and why is it needed, where free place on the disk, how the disk is checked for errors, what recovery points are and how they are, what it is and why it was disabled by the administrator, although I did not disable it, and much, much more.

If you work on a computer, then all these problems will sooner or later arise in front of you, so my advice to you is to study the computer and try to solve problems with it yourself. There is nothing wrong with the computer! Today I will teach you how to delete files that do not want to be deleted, and you yourself can then help someone with this.

So, what should you do if a file or folder doesn't want to be deleted?

  • Firstly, make it a rule that before any configuration, installation or removal operations, do backups the folders that are most dear to you, and even better, store duplicates of them in or on your hard drive, and always restore points. Then you won't be afraid to experiment.
  • Download from the Internet free program Unlocker. To do this, type its name in the search and add the word “download”.
  • If you have an antivirus program installed, and it swears on the page with the program, then close such a site and look for the program elsewhere.
  • If the program is packaged in an archive, then run the file double click left mouse button. Select required language and press the button OK.

  • In the welcome window, click the button Further.

  • But in the next window, be careful! Set the switch to record Advanced(just left-click on the circle to the left of this inscription), and uncheck all the checkboxes that are located in the inscription Advanced. If you do not do this, then together with the program Unlocker a few more will not be installed necessary programs, which will probably only bother you. This is the price for free stuff. Press the button Further.

  • In the next window, don’t touch anything and press the button Further.

  • In the next window, leave everything as it is and click the button Install.

  • The program installs quickly. At the end of the installation, press the button Ready.

  • Now, in order to delete a file or folder that you do not want to delete, you need to right-click on this file or folder and select the item in the drop-down menu Unlocker with an icon like magic wand with an asterisk at the end.

  • In the small window of the program you need to select an action (Delete, Rename, or Move) and press the button OK.

  • Sometimes the program cannot immediately delete files, then it will write that deletion will continue after the system is rebooted.

This program, as you already understand, can not only delete sensitive files, but renames them and moves them to another location.

Now you know how to delete a file that won't delete. Be sure to add this program to your kit. You will need it more than once.

this often happens when certain files are not deleted. And the system writes that this file or folder is occupied by another process. This can happen both in Windows XP and in Windows 7, 8, 10. Today we will look at troubleshooting methods similar problem, When files are not deleted.


So, imagine, you installed some program on your computer, used it, and you didn’t like it. What are your actions? Of course, delete it. Uninstallation allegedly removed the program, but the folder with some program files remained. When you try to delete such a file, an error appears:



Let's look at ways in which you can delete files that cannot be deleted using standard means.

1st method. Simplest
If the file is not deleted, restart your computer and try deleting it again. In many cases this helps. If the problem persists, then read below.

2nd method. Task Manager
In the operating room Windows system 7 and XP, to get to the Task Manager, you need to press the key combination Ctrl + Alt + Del.
In Windows 8 and 10, just press the combination Windows keys+ X and select Task Manager from the menu that appears.



The Task Manager we called will open, where you need to find the process that is using the file and remove the task from it. Then try deleting the file again.



3rd method. Usage boot disk or flash drives
The next method is to start the computer with LiveCD or a bootable USB flash drive and then deleting the file or folder. In the first case, we need to use a standard graphic Windows interface to find and delete the required file, or use the command line. If you use bootable USB flash drive with Windows 7, 8 or 10, then during installation you can open the command line by pressing Shift + F10. There is also “System Restore”, thanks to which you can return the computer to its previous state. By the way, the drive letters may be different, so use the dir c: command to display the contents of that drive. Thanks to this, you can easily understand what kind of local disk it is.

4th method. Deleting files in safe mode
It's very simple here. You need to go into safe mode, find the required file or folder and delete it. In safe mode, only operating system programs are launched, while all your installed third party utilities(messengers, drivers, antiviruses, etc.) do not start. Therefore, the probability of successful removal required file very high.

5th method. Usage special program Unlocker
This program, called Unlocker, helps delete files that are used by some process. A very useful utility that copes with its tasks with a bang. You can download it at https://yadi.sk/d/PkczjpOKjbeje

When the program downloads, install it.



Next, select Advanced and uncheck all the boxes,



The essence of the Unlocker program is downloading from random access memory processes that are used by the file. The program can find and terminate a process that is even hidden in the Task Manager. In general, an excellent utility that every system administrator should have.

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Well, now to the topic of the post...

Have you ever encountered such a problem when, for some reason unknown to you, you cannot delete some file or folder, archive or program from your computer? I think we have. So today I will tell you how to delete any files from your PC without problems.

It happens like this: you seem to right-click on a file, click “delete”, and windows error gives something like the file cannot be deleted, access is blocked, the disk may be full or write-protected, or the file is occupied by another application, etc. and so on. You sit and think what is the reason?

It’s understandable when you try to delete a file, folder or program that is currently open (you haven’t closed it yet) and it is not deleted. Of course, we first close everything and then delete it, but there are times when everything seems to be closed, but you try to delete a file and it still won’t be deleted.

Here you already have to think about what to do, but it’s very difficult to think when you don’t know what to do =).

If you let everything take its course and leave everything unnecessary files, folders, zip archives, rar, programs, etc. on your computer, then over time it will become clogged and begin to fail! Fact! Therefore, I advise you to always clean your computer from unnecessary trash. Windows, with normal care, will work smoothly for years! Well, if you want to change Windows every 3 months, then please, clog it.

What to do if the file is still not deleted?

So. How to remove undeletable files from your computer? Very simple. For this we need one cool utility that helps me all the time! It's called Unlocker.

- a utility for deleting files and folders that cannot be deleted in the usual way. You can download the utility for free using this link - download Unlocker

Now deleting a file is very easy. Run this utility (the program icon will appear in the system tray) and do everything the same way.

Right-click on the file that cannot be deleted and click “Delete”. First, some kind of error will probably come up, click “ok”, and then Unlocker will automatically work, it will find on the PC all programs, applications and tasks that use this file, and will disconnect them from of this file and you can delete the file.

Sometimes you will need to restart your computer to remove more complex files. Files are not placed in the trash, but are deleted immediately and forever!

If you cannot move a file from one folder to another, then Unlocker will also help you with this! Right-click on the file to be moved and click - Unlocker.

In the small window that appears, select the action - move and specify the folder to which you want to move the file.

That's basically all for today. The utility is great, use it, it saves me all the time! By the way, I recently wrote an article about another useful utility, it's called Uninstall Tools.