Quick Answer: How To Delete Files On Windows 10 That Won't Delete?

Contents

Here’s what you need to do to delete a certain file or folder with Command Prompt:

Go to Search and type cmd. Open Command Prompt.
In the Command Prompt, enter del and location of folder or file you want to delete, and press Enter (for example del c:usersJohnDoeDesktoptext.txt).

How do I force delete a file in Windows 10?

TO DO: Press Windows logo key + X, and hit C to open the command prompt. In the command window, type the “cd folder path” command and press Enter. Then type del/f filename to force delete the file that is in use.

How do I delete empty folders in Windows 10?

1. Search for empty folders

Open My Computer.
Click on the Search Tab to open the Search Menu.
From the Search Menu set the Size filter to Empty and be sure that the All subfolder feature is checked.
After the search ends, it will display all files and folders that do not take up any memory space.

How do I force delete a folder?

Tap on the Windows-key, type cmd.exe and select the result to load the command prompt.

Navigate to the folder that you want to delete (with all its files and subfolders).
The command DEL /F/Q/S *.* > NUL deletes all files in that folder structure, and omits the output which improves the process further.

How do I permanently delete a folder in Windows 10?

How to delete files permanently in Windows 10?

Go to the Desktop on your Windows 10 OS.
Right Click the Recycle Bin folder.
Click the Properties option.
In the Properties, select the drive for which you want to delete the files permanently.

How do I force delete a folder in Windows 10?

Here’s what you need to do to delete a certain file or folder with Command Prompt:

Go to Search and type cmd. Open Command Prompt.
In the Command Prompt, enter del and location of folder or file you want to delete, and press Enter (for example del c:\users\JohnDoe\Desktop\text.txt).

How do I delete undeletable files in Windows 10?

You may accidentally delete some important files.

Press ‘Windows+S’ and type cmd.
Right-click on ‘Command Prompt’ and select ‘Run as administrator’.
To delete a single file, type: del /F /Q /A C:\Users\Downloads\BitRaserForFile.exe.
If you want to delete a directory (folder), use RMDIR or RD command.

How do I force delete?

To do this, start by opening the Start menu (Windows key), typing run , and hitting Enter. In the dialogue that appears, type cmd and hit Enter again. With the command prompt open, enter del /f filename , where filename is the name of the file or files (you can specify multiple files using commas) you want to delete.

How do I delete a corrupted folder?

Method 2: Delete corrupted files in Safe Mode

Reboot computer and F8 before booting to Windows.
Select Safe Mode from the list of options on screen, then enter safe mode.
Browse and locate the files you want to delete. Select these file and press Delete button.
Open Recycle Bin and delete them from Recycle Bin.

How do I delete a large number of files in Windows?

In order to delete a large number of files, which otherwise will take a lot of time, you’ll need to use the del and rmdir commands using these steps: Open Start. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the result, and select Run as administrator. Browse the folder path that you want to delete.

Can’t delete file because it is open in another program?

Fix – “The action cannot be completed because the file is open in another program”

Open Task Manager and navigate to the Details tab.
Locate explorer.exe on the list, select it and click on End Task button.
Now go to File > Run new task.
Enter explorer and press Enter or click OK.

Can’t delete Steam files?

Please observe the following procedure to uninstall Steam and any game content from your machine:

Exit Steam.
Move the Steamapps folder out of C:\Program Files\Steam to keep game installations.
Click the Windows Start button and select Control Panel.
Open the Add or Remove Programs dialog.

How do I get administrator permission to delete a folder in Windows 10?

Steps to get administrator permission to delete folders

Navigate to the folder you want to delete, right click it and select Properties.
Select the Security tab and click the Advanced button.
Click on Change located at the front of the Owner file and click on the Advanced button.

How do I delete an Undeletable folder?

Deleting an Undeletable Folder

Step 1: Open the Windows Command Prompt. In order to delete the folder we need to use the Command Prompt.
Step 2: Folder Location. The Command Prompt needs to know where the folder is so Right Click on it then go to the bottom and select properties.
Step 3: Find the Folder.

How do I force delete a locked file in Windows?

How to Delete a Locked File in Windows 10

Locate the folder you wish to delete.
Download Process Explorer from Microsoft’s website, and press OK on the pop-up window.
Double click processexp64 to extract the file.
Choose Extract All.
Click Open.
Double click the procexp64 application to open the application.
Select Run.

Can I delete Programdata folder Windows 10?

You’ll find the folder underneath your new Windows folder for Windows 10. If you don’t want to revert to your old operating system, though, it’s just wasted space, and lots of it. So you can delete it without causing problems on your system. Instead, you’ll have to use Windows 10’s Disk Cleanup tool.

How do I delete a lot of files at once?

To select everything in the current folder, press Ctrl-A. To select a contiguous block of files, click the first file in the block. Then hold down the Shift key as you click the last file in the block. This will select not only those two files, but everything in between.

How do I delete large files in Windows 10?

I. Search for Large, Unnecessary Files

Open File Explorer (aka Windows Explorer).
Select “This PC” in the left pane so you can search your whole computer.
Type “size: ” into the search box and select Gigantic.
Select “details” from the View tab.
Click the Size column to sort by largest to smallest.

How do I mass delete files?

Delete Files or Folders

Select the items you’d like to delete by holding the Shift or Command key and clicking next to each file/folder name. Use Shift to select all items between the first and last item selected.
Once you have selected all items, scroll to the top of the file display area and click the Trash button in the upper-right.

How do I remove a locked file in Windows?

Release a File Lock in Windows

Hold the Windows Key and press “R” to bring up the Windows Run dialog screen.
Type “mmc“, then press “Enter“.
Go to “File” > “Add/Remove Snap-in…“.
Scroll down and select “Shared Folders“, then choose “Add“.

How do I delete a locked file?

Deleting or Changing a Locked File. To delete a locked file, the process is pretty simple. If you want to delete one locked file, move it to the trash, and when you click “Empty Trash” or press “Shift + Command (Apple) + delete,” make sure you hold down the Option key.

How do I delete a folder in Windows 10?

To remove this system folder, open the ‘Run’ dialog box, type regedit.exe, and hit the Enter key to open the Windows Registry editor. Now, to remove the folder from File Explorer, right-click on the entry, and select Delete. That’s it!

Photo in the article by “Flickr” https://www.flickr.com/photos/alancleaver/4105722502