Deleting a folder in the operating room Windows system 10 – simple procedure. However, there are times when it is not possible to remove a directory. It is not deleted, blocked or given special rights. In this case, will advice help on how to delete a non-deletable folder in Windows 10?
Reasons why a folder cannot be deleted
If a directory is not deleted in Windows 10, there are many reasons for this. Let's consider only the main ones:
- The folder or file is blocked by the antivirus. Relevant if the directory has been quarantined or the file has been sent for treatment (waiting for an update of the anti-virus databases).
- The file is being used by the system.
- Only the administrator has rights to the file.
- The directory is in use by another program.
- The folder or file is being used by another user on the local network.
- The folder is write protected.
These are the most common reasons why a folder or file cannot be deleted in Windows 10.
Different ways to delete folders in Windows 10
Before using programs to delete folders and files, you should check standard methods for performance. The file or folder may be in use by the program. Therefore, we restart the PC and try to remove it again. If this method does not work, reboot into Safe Mode and delete the directory.
Method number 1. By using free program Unlocker
The Unlocker program is designed to unlock and delete folders and programs. Its usage is as follows:
- Launch and install the software. Click right click mouse on a file that cannot be deleted and select Unlocker.
- Then select the file and click “Delete”.
Method number 2. Via file manager
Most popular file manager, which is installed on almost every PC, is Total Commander. To delete a file through this manager, you should follow these steps:
- We launch the program and look for the file to delete. Press F8 or the special button on the toolbar.
- File deleted.
Method No. 3. Renaming the file
Often a folder cannot be deleted because it is being used by other programs. Therefore, you can right-click on it and select “Rename”. After assigning a new name, the folder or file will be available for deletion.
Method number 4. By stopping the process and services that are using the file or folder
If the system blocks deletion of a file or folder, it means that the item is being used by some program or service. Therefore, we call the “Task Manager” and remove all processes and services that are associated with the directory.
It's also worth checking the Startup tab to rule out the possibility of using the file from Windows 10 itself.
Method No. 5. Using bootable media
- Boot from the installation media.
- Press F10 to open the command line.
- Enter “del file path” or “rmdir /s folder_name”.
- Afterwards we boot in normal mode.
Method number 6. Granting permissions on a folder
- Right-click on the folder and select “Properties”.
- A new window will open. Go to the “Security” tab. Select your user. Click on the “Advanced” button.
- In the new window, select the user to whom you need to grant rights to delete the directory.
- Check the “Replace owner of subcontainers and objects” checkbox.
- Next, we grant access to the rights to the folder. Click on the “Add” button.
- Then we put the marks that grant rights to the folder.
- Check the box “Replace all permission entries of the child object with those inherited from this object” and click on “Disable inheritance”.
- In the window that opens, click again on “Replace all permission entries of the child object with those inherited from this object.”
- Now we delete the directory.
This method is suitable if the rights to the object belong to another user and access is blocked.
If methods for deleting a folder that cannot be deleted in Windows 10 did not help solve the problem, you should check your PC for viruses and malware.
Also, see the video for ways to delete directories that are not deleted:
If you don’t know how to delete a folder that cannot be deleted, then our material will help you figure it out.
Everyone periodically deals with “undeletable” folders on their PC.
It’s stupid to blame anyone for this, even the system that tells us that this directory is in this moment time is busy with some process.
As a result, all liquidation manipulations end in fiasco. Let's get to the main topic: how to delete a folder that cannot be deleted on windows 7 (win8)?
There are 5 options to solve the problem:
Let's try to figure out the situation.
Reboot
So, you intend to delete the ill-fated directory, but the system claims that it cannot do this for one reason or another. The main reason is that files in the folder are being used by some application or process that is currently running.
The example shows that it is impossible to liquidate the “screenshots” folder, since one or more files are currently being used by one of Windows programs. Since most people don’t know which one it is, they have no choice but to restart the machine.
Click “Start” (1), then click on the small square (2) next to the “shutdown” button. Select the item with reboot (3).
System check
If you do not want to restart, but decide to get to the bottom of the truth, check if the application currently running is in the folder.
Let's say you decide to get rid of Skype for some reason, not by uninstalling, but by barbarously deleting the folder in which all the contents of the program are located. Let's consider this option.
First, let's open the folder. We follow the path: Drive C – Program Files – Skype.
We see this picture.
And this is what the system produces if you press “Delete” on the keyboard.
Firstly, the program is running, so the ability to uninstall is blocked by the system. Secondly, it “hangs” in the task manager, namely in processes.
You need to close the program and, just in case, “kill” the process so that the notification does not appear again.
Exit Skype, then press Ctrl+Alt+Delete (task manager) and select the program. After that, click on the “end process” button.
A window will appear confirming your intentions. Click again to complete. Now you know how to delete a folder that cannot be deleted on Windows 8 and other versions of the OS.
Note! The above procedure is equally useful for all such cases, not just for Skype.
Viruses
In some cases, deleting a directory is impossible for the simple reason that potentially unwanted software has entered the PC, i.e. viruses. In addition to the Internet, they can get to your computer via a flash drive.
How to delete a folder that is not deleted from the flash drive? That's right, by preliminary scanning with an antivirus.
Open the antivirus and scan the drive. Then we try to delete the folder. If that doesn't work, you'll have to format the flash drive.
Note! Remember, after formatting, all data, folders and files stored on the flash memory will be deleted.
The procedure is as follows. Right-click on the drive and select “format”.
Before us is a menu with settings.
- Flash drive capacity;
- File system;
- Volume label (drive name);
- Formatting method;
- Start the process.
The main focus is on the file system. FAT 32 should be selected by default. This way, the contents of the drive can be “read” by any PC. You can give any name, since it does not affect any parameter.
But for better formatting, it’s better to uncheck the “quick cleaning” box. Click “start” and wait.
Folder Settings
This technique is good for network directories. In other words, several PCs are combined into a single subnet. The administrator creates one or more shared folders, where you can dump various information. To prevent anyone from accidentally deleting it, it sets access rights.
This is done as follows. First, open the folder properties with the right button.
Go to the “security” section and click “advanced”.
We select a group or user whose rights we are cutting.
We select the group again, and now we configure the access level.
If you check the two boxes related to deletion, a user over the network will not be able to delete either the folder or its contents.
After this, you can easily get rid of the application, since we “killed” it.
In this simple way, you can clean your system of other programs, applications and folders.
It’s impossible to say that this method is designed for the lazy. In any case, you will need to know the location where the folder is stored. On the other hand, all programs are initially installed in the Programm Files folder.
How to delete a folder that is not deleted from the desktop and other places on the PC? By following our advice, you can easily get rid of various software that is stored in directories. The latter, in turn, can be easily and naturally eliminated.
Important! The system will never “swear” if the list of files located in the folder is not used anywhere at a given time. Whether it's a set of photos, movies or music. If you do not use the file, but for some inexplicable reason you cannot clean your computer, then the contents of the directory are simply infected with a virus. Just in case, scan your system for unwanted software and be careful when downloading something from the Internet.
In all other cases, the culprit is simple negligence and unwillingness to read the message in the dialog box, which clearly explains the reason for the impossibility of deleting the folder.
If you don’t know how to delete a folder that cannot be deleted, then our material will help you figure it out.
Everyone periodically deals with “undeletable” folders on their PC.
It is stupid to blame anyone for this, even the system, which tells us that a given directory is currently occupied by some process.
As a result, all liquidation manipulations end in fiasco. Let's get to the main topic: how to delete a folder that cannot be deleted on (win8)?
There are 5 options to solve the problem:
Let's try to figure out the situation.
Reboot
So, you intend to delete the ill-fated directory, but the system claims that it cannot do this for one reason or another.
The main reason is the use of files by some application or process that is currently running.
The example shows that it is impossible to liquidate the “screenshots” folder, since one or more files are currently being used by one of the Windows programs.
Since most people don’t know which one it is, they have no choice but to restart the machine.
Click “Start” (1), then click on the small square (2) next to the “shutdown” button. Select the item with reboot (3).
System check
If you do not want to restart, but decide to get to the bottom of the truth, check if the application currently running is in the folder.
Let's say you decide to get rid of Skype for some reason, not by uninstalling, but by barbarously deleting the folder in which all the contents of the program are located.
Let's consider this option.
First, let's open the folder. We follow the path: Drive C – Programm Files – Skype.
We see this picture.
And this is what the system produces if you press “Delete” on the keyboard.
Firstly, the program is running, so the ability to uninstall is blocked by the system. Secondly, it “hangs” in the task manager, namely in processes.
You need to close the program and, just in case, “kill” the process so that the notification does not appear again.
How can I delete a folder that cannot be deleted from a flash drive? That’s right, by first scanning it with an antivirus.
Open the antivirus and scan the drive. Then we try to delete the folder. If that doesn't work, you'll have to format the flash drive.
The procedure is as follows. Right-click on the drive and select “format”.
Before us is a menu with settings.
- Flash drive capacity;
- File system;
- Volume label (drive name);
- Formatting method;
- Start the process.
The main focus is on the file system. FAT 32 should be selected by default. This way, the contents of the drive can be “read” by any PC.
You can give any name, since it does not affect any parameter.
But for better formatting, it’s better to uncheck the “quick cleaning” box. Click “start” and wait.
Folder Settings
This technique is good for network directories. In other words, several PCs are combined into a single subnet.
The administrator creates one or more public folders where various information can be dumped. To prevent anyone from accidentally deleting it, it sets access rights.
This is done as follows. First, open the folder properties with the right button.
Go to the “security” section and click “advanced”.
We select a group or user whose rights we are cutting.
We select the group again, and now we configure the access level.
If you check the two boxes related to deletion, a user over the network will not be able to delete either the folder or its contents.
Let's look at the example of Skype.
Select all the processes that are currently running and click “kill process”.
After this, you can easily get rid of the application, since we “killed” it.
In this simple way, you can clean your system of other programs, applications and folders.
It’s impossible to say that this method is designed for the lazy. In any case, you will need to know the location where the folder is stored.
On the other hand, all programs are initially installed in the Programm Files folder.
How to delete a folder that is not deleted from the desktop and other places on the PC?
By following our advice, you can easily get rid of various software that is stored in directories.
The latter, in turn, can be easily and naturally eliminated.
Important! The system will never “swear” if the list of files located in the folder is not used anywhere at a given time. Whether it's a set of photos, movies or music. If you do not use the file, but for some inexplicable reason you cannot clean your computer, then the contents of the directory are simply infected with a virus. Just in case, scan your system for unwanted software and be careful when downloading something from the Internet.
In all other cases, the culprit is simple negligence and unwillingness to read the message in the dialog box, which clearly explains the reason for the impossibility of deleting the folder.
How to delete a folder or file that cannot be deleted? Just!
The answer has been found! Without any installation programs on computer!
When working with a computer, we constantly create and delete many files and folders. But what if the folder is not deleted? In this article, I will show you how to delete a folder that won't delete.
There are several reasons why we cannot delete a file or folder. I will list the main reasons and ways to solve them.
Folder in use
You will not be able to delete a folder if it is being used by any program. Try closing all programs. If this does not help, then restart your computer.
The folder is protected from deletion
This usually applies system folders and files. I do not advise you to try to delete such a folder, as this may negatively affect the operation of the system or cause it to fail completely.
Folder with a program or game
If you need to delete it earlier installed application no need to try to delete its folder. Use this simple guide:
How to delete a protected folder
Think again about whether you really need to delete this folder. After all, protection against deletion was not imposed by chance. If you are sure that this procedure is necessary, you must use a third-party application.
That's all. Now you can delete this folder.
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 that contain files of the operating system, can be custom and software, that is, those that are 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 in the usual way. There may be several reasons for this. Most often this happens due to the user's lack of necessary rights access, also the directory may be held by some process, may have an incorrect name, the path is too long, etc.
The 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 faced by users working under regular or guest account, but this is also possible when you yourself are a 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 “Change” in the properties window, highlight in the permission changes window the desired user, give it 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 may be an incorrect (long or reserved) name, action malware, another process blocking it, or file system corruption. 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 system process, but because it simply does not exist, which may be indicated by the absence of the 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 it is deleted using LiveCD or special utilities, as well as the presence of suspicious hidden files, executable or configuration. The solution to the problem in such cases is standard - full check scan your computer with at least two anti-virus scanners, preferably done in offline mode before loading the operating system.
Invalid attributes
Another one possible reason, by which the folder is not deleted - the attributes set for it are system and read-only. It is not difficult to check the presence of such “retaining” attributes; it is enough to command line run the command attrib [full path to folder]. 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 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 free utility Unlocker. This lightweight and extremely easy to use tool allows you to remove blocked system and third party processes files and folders, it can also be useful when deleting objects that require higher access rights than the rights local administrator, problems with sharing files and folders, as well as other errors.
How to delete a folder in Windows 7/10 using Unlocker? Very simple. During the installation process, the utility is built into context menu Explorer, so to delete an object you just need to right-click on it and select the “Unlocker” option from 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 file system computer. For this you will need any LiveCD on Linux based or WinPE with 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.
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