Why can't I delete a folder? How to remove an unnecessary program from your computer. Uninstall in Safe Mode

To enable data cataloging in Windows, as well as in other operating systems, a tree structure is used, which is a set of nested special file container objects called folders. In Windows, folders can be system folders, storing files of the operating system itself, or they can be user-defined or program folders, that is, those created by third-party applications.

As a rule, the user can do whatever he wants with folders of the second type; he also has a lot of powers when working with program directories, for example, he can manually delete the folder remaining on the disk after uninstalling the application, but there are cases when the folder cannot be deleted by normal way. There may be several reasons for this. Most often this happens because the user does not have the necessary access rights; the directory may also be held by some process, may have an incorrect name, the path is too long, etc.

Folder is not deleted due to lack of administrator permission

Let's look at how to delete a folder if the action asks for permission from the administrator. This problem is most often encountered by users working under a regular or guest account, but this is also possible when you yourself are the computer administrator.

In the first case, to delete a folder, you will have to enter the password for the PC owner’s account, since the system will constantly ask you for it, or use the universal method, which will be discussed at the end of the article.

But what should you do if the folder is not deleted when working under an administrator account?

The reason may be that you either do not own it or do not have the appropriate access rights. Open the folder properties, switch to the “Security” tab and click the “Advanced” button in the window that opens.

In the new window, opposite the “Owner” line, click on the “Change” link.

In the next window, click the “Advanced” button. Another window will open.

Leave the object type in it as “User”, then click the “Search” button and select the user you want to make the directory owner from the list that appears at the bottom.

Click "OK" and "OK" again.

After the owner has been replaced, check the box next to “Replace owner of subcontainers and objects” and save the settings.

Next, you will need to give the new owner full permissions to the folder. Click “Edit” in the properties window, select the desired user in the permission changes window, grant him full access rights and save the settings.

After this, the folder should be easily deleted.

Note: Folders owned by the system service are deleted in the same way. First, the owner of the folder is changed, then he is granted (if necessary) full rights and the folder is deleted.

The folder is being used by another program

Like any other file system object, a directory may not be deleted because it is being used by some process. How to delete a folder in this case? The first thing you need to try to do is identify the process that is holding it, the second thing is to forcefully terminate it using Task Manager or another specialized utility. In most of these cases, when the folder is not deleted, Windows writes that it is being used by another program, and the name of this program is usually indicated in the message box.

But it may also be that the program name will not appear. In such a situation, the utility can be a great help Process Explorer, included with the Sysinternals administration tools. Run the utility (it's portable), select from the main menu Find – Find Handle or DLL.

Enter the name of the folder to be held in the “Handle or DLL substring” field and click “Search”. In a couple of seconds you will get the name of the process, its PID in the Task Manager and the full path to the object used by the process.

By the way, using the utility, you can end the process and then delete the folder itself.

The system says that it could not find this element

Among the “undeletable” folders there is a special group that belongs to the so-called ghost objects. The difficulty here lies in the fact that it is not always possible to identify the reason for the appearance of such an object. This could be an incorrect (long or reserved) name, the action of a malicious program, another process blocking it, or damage to the file system. We already know how to check whether a process is blocking, now let’s try to figure out what to do if the folder is not deleted from the desktop with the message “this item could not be found.”

If the folder has a system reserved name, such as COM or PRN, you can delete it using the command line. Launch the CMD console as an administrator and run the following command in it:

rd //./Disk:/full path to the folder

To delete a “non-deletable” folder with a too long name, you first need to know its short alias name. This is done again using the command line. Team cd /d (path) go to the parent directory of the problematic directory and print out the names of all the objects it contains using the command dir/x/n.

Note: if the folder is on drive C, the key /d does not need to be used in a jump command.

In our example, a folder with a name consisting of many dots has a short name 782F~1. Knowing the alias, we can safely delete it:

rd C:/Users/compik/Desktop/782F~1

A case that deserves special attention is when a folder is not deleted not because it has the wrong name or is being held by a system process, but because it simply does not exist, which may be indicated by the absence of an object in the command line list or the LiveCD file manager. This may indicate damage to the file system, therefore, before taking any further action, the disk must be checked for errors with the command CHKDSK.

Action of viruses

Less likely, but viruses that have entered the system can create a similar problem. Their action may be indicated by the constant automatic re-creation of the folder after its deletion using LiveCD or special utilities, as well as the presence of suspicious hidden files, executable or configuration, in the folder itself. The solution to the problem in such cases is standard - a full scan of the computer with at least two anti-virus scanners, preferably carried out in offline mode before loading the operating system.

Invalid attributes

Another possible reason why a folder is not deleted is that the system and read-only attributes are set for it. It’s easy to check the presence of such “holding” attributes; just run the command attrib [full path to the folder] in the command line. The presence of the S or R keys will indicate that the folder is read-only or system. To unlock a directory, run the following command in a command prompt running as administrator:

attrib -r -s D:/Private /d /s

In this example, we removed the “Read Only” and “Hidden” attributes for the Private directory at the root of drive D. After changing the attributes, the folder can be deleted.

If the folder is not deleted from the desktop or any other location, you can try using the free Unlocker utility. This lightweight and extremely easy-to-use tool allows you to remove files and folders locked by system and third-party processes, it can also be useful when deleting objects that require higher access rights than local administrator rights, problems sharing files and folders, and other errors .

How to delete a folder in Windows 7/10 using Unlocker? Very simple. During the installation process, the utility is built into the Explorer context menu, so to delete an object you just need to right-click on it and select the “Unlocker” option in the menu. If the object is not deleted immediately, a window will appear in which you can select the desired action, such as deleting, renaming and moving. If a file or folder is locked by a system process that cannot be closed immediately, the utility will offer to delete the object when the computer restarts.

Above, we figured out why a folder may not be deleted from the computer, and at the same time we looked at the main ways to solve the problem. In conclusion, we suggest considering another way to delete blocked folders. Its main advantage is its versatility, since it allows you to gain almost unlimited access to the computer’s file system. For this you will need any LiveCD based on Linux or WinPE with a built-in file manager. Having set the appropriate priorities in the BIOS, boot from such a disk, use the built-in Explorer to find the blocked object and delete it.

One of the most common problems that novice users encounter is that some object on the computer cannot be deleted. Sometimes these files interfere with your work or simply cause aesthetic inconvenience. If you don't know how to delete an unremovable file from your computer, this article is for you.

Why isn't it deleted?

There are several reasons why you cannot delete an object on your computer:

being used by another application or process;
engaged by the user on the network;
access is blocked because you do not have administrator rights;
Write protection is enabled.

For example, if you open a file, the antivirus software will begin scanning it. The process often takes a long time, so you will not be able to delete it until the scan is completed.

Deleting a file

If you encounter one of the problems described above, do not worry - you can fix the situation with standard tools and third-party programs.

No additional programs

When a file is occupied by another process and you cannot delete it, a warning indicates which program is using the object (for example, Explorer.exe).

If you need to stop the Explorer.exe process, first launch the command line (right-click on the Start menu → Command Prompt (Administrator)).

If the file moves from folder to folder without any problems, drag it onto an empty flash drive (read the article “How to remove the write protection of a flash drive if you can’t copy information to it?”). After this, run formatting, which will delete all data on the removable media.

Using a bootable USB flash drive or disk

Start your computer using any LiveCD, bootable USB flash drive or disk (also read “Create a Windows 10 installation USB flash drive in various ways”). When using a LiveCD, a menu will open with a graphical interface or command line access.

Important! Please note that when using these utilities, different drive letters may be assigned.

When using bootable media, during the process of selecting a language, press Shift+F10 → this will take you to the command line, using which you can delete the file. Remember the difference in the names of the disks.

Changing administrator rights

If the object is not deleted due to lack of access to it, change the administrator rights.

Unlocker utility

Among software designed to unlock files, the Unlocker program is considered the most popular. It's free and easy to use:

The advantage of the utility is that it finds background processes that are using a non-deletable file. In addition, all programs and services stop automatically.

In the video you can see the Unlocker program in action, and also look at other options for deleting objects that cannot be deleted by third-party programs.

Conclusion

You can delete a file from your computer that is being used by another program or is blocked using standard Windows tools or using a third-party program. The utility will do everything automatically, quickly and without disturbing the stability of the system.

You decide to delete files or folders on your Windows computer. When trying to delete, the system reported an error: “This item could not be found.”

Sometimes the folder name is something like "New Folder". If you look at the end of the title, you will notice a space. If you have Windows 8, 8.1 or even 10, try to create a folder that ends with a space and you will see it automatically disappear.

This is problem!

In previous versions of Microsoft's Windows, such as XP or Vista, the system allowed users to create a file or folder with a trailing space.

For example, you have a “New Folder” (look at the end of the name!) and you decide to delete it in Explorer. Windows will try to erase the folder (without the space), which will result in a "This item could not be found" error.

Deleting unremovable files or folders: the easiest way

So, let's see how to clean your computer of unnecessary and problematic junk:

Click on the "Windows" button and select "Command Prompt" (open it with administrator rights).
Then find the file folder you want to delete.
Now type "cd", copy the location of the folder or file, and paste it into the command prompt window as follows (just change the username): "cd C:\UsersYourUserNameDesktop". Then press enter.
After this you will see that you are inside the folder because the path has changed. Now type “dir/x” and then press “Enter”.
After this, you will see a list of files in the folder. Find the data you can't delete. In our case it is AFTERE~1.
Now, once you find the file, see if it has a specific name like ABCD~1 rather than the actual one.
Enter the following line, just change the file name, “rmdir/q/s” and then write the name of your file. It should be similar to the one above. Press "Enter".
Finally, you have successfully deleted the folder. Go ahead and check it out.

So, you have decided to remove the hated folder from the system, but the latter, as luck would have it, reports that it cannot do this. There are several reasons for this.

The main one is the involvement of folder data in some running process.

It will not be possible to delete the “screenshots” folder due to the fact that one or more of its files are currently used in the Windows system.

You probably don’t know which one, so the only correct solution is to reboot the device.

Important! We recommend rebooting using the Start button. As a result, you will save important documents that were in progress. If you choose to force a restart using the “Reset” option, you will lose all data.

System check

In case you do not want to restart, we recommend that you check whether the running program is present in the folder.

For example, you need to get rid of Skype. However, you did this not using the control panel, but by deleting the folder with all the contents of the program.

Let's look at this option.

Step 1. First of all, you need to open the folder. Go to this address: “Drive C/Program Files/Skype”. As a result, the following picture will open.

Step 2. When you click “Delete” the system will report the following.

Because the program is open and running, you will not uninstall it. The system blocked this opportunity. In addition, it is present in the “Task Manager”, more precisely in the processes tab.

Step 3. First, close the program and cancel the task. As a result, the message should not appear again.

To do this, log out of Skype, and then open the task manager using the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl+Alt+Delete”. Find the program and select the "End process" option.

A window will appear asking you to confirm the action (it is not available in the latest version of the system). Click on completion again. We hope this option helps you, and if not, then try running a virus scanner.

Note! The advice we offer will be useful in all analog cases.

Viruses

It also happens that it is not possible to delete a folder because the computer has come under the influence of a malware, Trojan, or dangerous code.

It is worth noting that it is not only the Internet that is to blame for this. The virus also infects the device through a flash drive.

What to do with a non-deletable folder on an external drive? As you might have guessed, using the full power of an antivirus scanner.

Launch the program and select the option to check the flash drive. Then try to delete the folder. If unsuccessful, proceed to format the device.

Important! You should know that formatting will permanently erase all data from the flash drive.

This process is simple and involves the following steps:

Step 1. Open the menu by right-clicking on the drive and find the format option.

Open the menu by right-clicking on the drive and find the option “Format...”

Step 2. Then the settings will open:

storage capacity;
file system type;
drive name;
formatting method;
start of the process.

Pay attention to the file system type. By default, FAT 32 is defined. It can be read by any device, and not only those running Windows.

Come up with a name of your own. This will not change the parameters.

To make the formatting process more efficient, use deep cleaning. Then click "Start" and wait.

It seems that you have easily dealt with the problem and will no longer have to deal with unwanted files or folders that cannot be deleted.

Video - How to delete a folder if it cannot be deleted

As information accumulates on a computer's hard drive, files and folders appear whose information is outdated and no longer used. To free up disk space, such files must first be moved to the Recycle Bin and then permanently deleted. No matter how simple the procedure for deleting unnecessary information may seem, many users of the Windows operating system often have problems deleting it. This article provides a detailed description of the solution to this problem.

Reasons for undeleted files

If you cannot delete a file or folder in the Windows operating system, then one of the following reasons occurs:

a file or folder is used during the operation of some operating system process;
the folder contains other hidden files or folders;
the file or folder only has read permissions;
the file system on the hard drive has errors;
the operating system is infected with some kind of virus;
the hard drive is physically damaged;
the non-deletable object belongs to another user, and you do not have access to it, and therefore do not have the rights to delete it.

When trying to delete a non-deletable file or folder, Windows will show one of the following messages:

“An error occurred while deleting a file or folder”;
"Unable to delete file: access denied";
"Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected, and that the object is not currently in use."

If you find in the lists above the answer to the question of why you cannot delete a non-deletable object, then use one of the solutions to this problem that are presented below.

How to troubleshoot problems with deleting a file or folder

How to show all files in Windows

To make all system and hidden objects visible in the Windows operating system, click on the Start menu > My Computer. Go to Tools > Folder Options and click on the View tab.

In the Additional configuration section, check the box next to the words Show hidden files and folders. Uncheck the box next to the words Hide extensions for known file types, and uncheck the box next to Hide files protected by the operating system (recommended). Click Apply to all folders and then Accept.

After completing these steps, restart your computer in Safe Mode and try to delete the non-deletable object again.

To boot your computer into safe mode, use the F8 key if your computer is running a Windows operating system (7, Vista or XP). After restarting the computer, follow the BIOS instructions by continuously pressing the F8 key (F5 if F8 does not work) until the BIOS menu appears. If you press the F8 key too quickly, a “keyboard error” message may pop up; in the latter case, restart your computer and try again.

Once you are in the BIOS menu, use the up and down arrows to get to Safe mode and press Enter.

Copy and paste a file/folder to delete it/him

Go up one level in the directory tree and create a folder or file with the same name as the item you can't delete. Then copy and paste it into the folder with the item that is not being deleted.

For example, if you want to delete the object C:\movies\my_file.avi, go to the folder C : , create a new text file named my_file.avi (the system will ask if you want to change its extension, answer yes). Drag this created object into the C:\Movies folder. When the system asks you, answer that you want to replace an existing object. Now try to remove it again.

Stop the explorer.exe process to delete the object

Another possibility for deleting a non-deletable object is to simultaneously pressing the Ctrl keys+Alt+Supr and stopping the execution of the explorer.exe program. All icons and the taskbar will disappear. After that, click on File > New Task and run the command cmd. Go to the folder with the object using the cd command and delete it using the del command. Click File > New Task again and run explorer.exe. If the last program started working, then the desired object was deleted.

Run a hard drive check

Check your hard drive using the program scandisk. To do this, click on the My Computer icon, then right-click on the image of the hard drive and select Properties. Then click on the Tools tab, and in the Error Checking section, select Check Now. This check allows you to find bad disk sectors and use this information to reconcile it with the file system.

After this, try to delete the non-deletable object as soon as the disk analysis is completed. If it was not possible to delete an object using this method, then using the same analysis program scandisk, execute checking the hard drive for errors, only this time in safe mode. Then try deleting the item again.

Use an antivirus program to remove an undeletable object

A virus may not allow you to remove the object, so you need to analyze your software using some anti-virus program with updated databases.

Currently, there are a huge number of programs that allow you to find and remove viruses from your computer. These can be both paid and free programs. Most popular antivirus programs are the following:

Each antivirus program has its own advantages and disadvantages, and is designed to perform a specific range of tasks. You can read more about these and other antivirus programs in the review http://softcatalog.info/ru/obzor/reyting-antivirusov.

Use special tools to remove an unremovable object

If none of the above suggested methods help, then you will need to use a special tool, e.g. Unlocker program. By simply clicking on the right mouse button, Unlocker allows you to unlock a file or folder that is locked by the Windows operating system. If the object being deleted is not in use by any current process, then this program can rename it, delete it, or move it. If the object is used by any program or process, then you need to close this program and stop the current process. The Unlocker program performs its functions from the context menu of the explorer.exe program in Windows.

You can also use other programs to delete files that won't delete. Additionally, these programs are tools that can be used when answering the question of how to remove a program that won't uninstall. The following programs allow you to do this:

Many files in the Windows system are blocked from deletion, as they can entail a series of changes. Deleting such files and folders is highly not recommended so as not to harm the entire operating system, however, if you are an experienced and confident computer user, you can try to get rid of such files. In addition, many programs and applications leave behind undeletable files, which, in turn, can take up an impressive amount of memory. This “junk” from programs must first be unblocked using special software, only then can it be deleted like a regular file. In this article, you will learn how to remove residual files, as well as eliminate the causes of some blockages.

How to Delete an Undeletable File: Check Processes in Task Manager

You cannot erase even a simple photograph or picture while it is running in the system processes. For example, you just watched a movie and want to delete it from your computer, but Windows gives you an error. Most likely, your video file remains running in the player and simply cannot be deleted for this reason. Go to the task manager and make sure that you do not have any processes open that may be using the undeletable file.

Press the CTRL + SHIFT + ESC key combination on your keyboard. A window called “Windows Task Manager” will open in front of you. Here you can see all running applications, stop them or close them altogether.
Go to the “Processes” tab.

Take a close look at what processes you have open. Perhaps one of them is using the correct file.
To close this process, left-click on it once and click on the “End process” button in the lower right corner.
The process will be stopped and the file will be freed. Now delete the required file as usual. Windows won't bother you anymore.

How to delete an undeletable file: cleaning the registry

A file that remains in the registry or is somehow associated with it cannot be deleted from the computer. Before cleaning the registry, think carefully about whether you have the skills to do it. There are two cleaning options: do it yourself and through specially created computer cleaning programs. The first method is suitable for experienced users, it is more reliable.

Cleaning the registry yourself

Open the search bar by clicking on Start in the Explorer menu.

In the search bar, write “regedit” and press Enter to start searching. At the top you will see the file you are looking for, click on it with the mouse.

The Windows Registry Editor will open in front of you. You need to work with this window very carefully and know for sure which files are preventing you from deleting a folder or other file on your computer. The essence of the work is as follows: you find in the registry the folder that has not been removed from the program or uses the required file and delete it.
Folders are divided into system, program and user. Find the one you need using the menu on the left and delete.

Cleaning the registry with special programs

To save precious time and not delete unnecessary things, there are special utilities for working with junk on your computer. One of the most popular such programs is called CCleaner. Download it from the developer’s official website to completely remove programs, clean the registry, clear browser caches and other utilities.

Visit the official website at http://ccleaner.org.ua/download and click on the field to download the program. It is possible to download two versions: portable and regular. The portable version is not installed on your computer, and you can transfer it to a flash drive or disk for use on other computers.

Installing the software will only take a couple of minutes. Just follow all the instructions on the screen.
Open the program after installation and go to the “CCleaner” tab. There will be a “Windows” section here, in which you need to check the first five items in the “Windows Explorer” section and seven in the “System” section. This way you will clear the cache, recycle bin, registry and other unnecessary files that slow down your computer and also prevent you from deleting files.
Click on the “Run Cleaner” button and wait until it finishes. Try deleting your file now.

How to delete an undeletable file: Unlock the file

Many programs lock their files so that they cannot be deleted even after the software is completely erased from the computer. Typically, these files are designed to store information about the previous settings and program logs so that you can restore them if you want to install the software again. You can only unlock such files using special utilities; here is a small list for your choice:

FileAssassin is a free program that is distributed freely. It will be used in this article as an example.
Unlocker is the most popular program for unlocking files; it can even remove the block from some system folders and files.
LockHunter allows you to work in the program also as in the task manager, stopping all unnecessary processes.
IObit Unlocker. The program supports Russian language.

Go to the official FileAssassin website to download and click “Download”.

In the folder where all your downloaded files are saved, find and double-click on the file FileAssassin.exe

The installation process is not much different from other programs:

Select the installation directory.
Agree to the license agreement.

After installation is complete, check the box next to the words “Run FileAssassin” and click “Finish”.

The program will open itself. On the first line you need to specify the file that is not being deleted. Click on the three dots on the right side of the window.

Select a file and click “Open”.