Deleting Undeletable Files

We’ve all encountered those “Access Denied” or “Sharing Violation” messages in Windows when trying to delete a file that doesn’t want to be killed. Other roadblocks include “There has been a sharing violation”, “The file is in use by another program or user”, and “Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use.” Typical culprits include no-longer-welcome antivirus software, security programs and home-built code that didn’t properly close an open file on exit.

In response, some try incrementally closing running processes, one at a time, till whatever was holding them up lets loose. Others continually reduce items in Startup then reboot, again and again. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. There are much better and easier ways to bypass these errors, kill the desired program, and go on about your business.

The first utility, Unlocker, adds a right-click option that lists running processes and allows you to pick items to unlock for access or deletion. Keep in mind that many running processes cannot be interrupted without screwing up your system. So it’s up to you to choose wisely. You can download the latest version of Unlocker at the author’s site. (Installation tip: To prevent Unlocker from automatically contacting its update server, you must unclick “Check for Updates” when you install it.)

If Unlocker doesn’t get the job done, try MoveOnBoot. As the name implies, MoveOnBoot renames, moves or deletes the offending file(s) when you reboot. It even helps you remove files that can’t be deleted in Safe Mode, including the occasional virus file that a/v software can’t kill. The most current freeware version of MoveOnBoot can be downloaded at Softpedia.

Together, Unlocker and MoveOnBoot will almost always finish the job when standard procedures like Uninstall don’t. Nevertheless, in the wrong hands, they can break things you don’t want broken. So be careful.

News source: EmailBattles