Can't delete file

[Joerg Laves]

I have creared a disk image file under XP home, and when
I try to delete it, it tells me that the file being
accessed by a user or program. I even tried safe mode
with command line - same result.
I have downloaded moveOnBoot, but it does not remove the
files either.
I read somewhere that this is a bug in XP. I really would
like to get my 6 GB that is now occupied by this DVD
image back...

Any pointers?

 

[Joerg Laves]

Sorry, e-mail is (e-mail address removed)

 

[OneEye]

I have creared a disk image file under XP home, and when
I try to delete it, it tells me that the file being
accessed by a user or program. I even tried safe mode
with command line - same result.
I have downloaded moveOnBoot, but it does not remove the
files either.
I read somewhere that this is a bug in XP. I really would
like to get my 6 GB that is now occupied by this DVD
image back...

Any pointers?

Go to this site and apply the take ownership of a file tweak.
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm

 

[Joerg Laves]

-----Original Message-----



Go to this site and apply the take ownership of a file tweak.
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm

Thank you for the pointer. I did exactly what the
instructions called for, and saw that I already had all
the permissions. I re-verified, and stil can not delete
those files "Can not delete file, is being used by
another person or program" (same error msg as before.

 

[Malke]

Sorry, e-mail is (removed to foil spambots, but probably Too Late)

Hi, Joerg. First, this is a newsgroup so there isn't any free email
support. Second, if you post your real email address in a newsgroup or
on a messageboard, it will get harvested by spambots. Then you will get
a lot of "interesting" offers!

Try removing the file in Safe Mode. Reboot the computer and while it is
starting up, tap F8 repeatedly. You'll then get a menu with quite a few
choices, one of which is Safe Mode.

If you still need help after trying that, please post back.

Cheers,

Malke

 

[OneEye]

Thank you for the pointer. I did exactly what the
instructions called for, and saw that I already had all
the permissions. I re-verified, and stil can not delete
those files "Can not delete file, is being used by
another person or program" (same error msg as before.

Cannot delete. It is being used by another person or program. Close any
programs that might be using the file and try again.
If you just want to delete that file, create a new file in notepad or such,
and save it using the exact same file location, name, and file extension as
your problem file. Answer yes to "file already exists, do you want to
replace it?". You can now just delete the new file you saved.
Hope this works for you

 

[Guest]

I tried to create a file with the same name, but I get an
error "can not create file"

Any other ideas?

 

[OneEye]

I tried to create a file with the same name, but I get an
error "can not create file"

Any other ideas?

Have you tried creating the exactly same named file in another place then
moving it to where the undeletable file is ?
Maybe it will work and replace this file.

 

[pgriffet]

There are a lot of situations where you can't delete it not because
the file/folder is opened but because it's corrupted or has special
characters in the name or you don't have the rights to delete it (on
NTFS volumes, which are now very common).

Here is how to gain the rights on a file

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308421
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=298345

If the name is corrupted, a chkdsk can be the solution.

Another way if the name of the file/folder is too long or contains a
special character is to get its short name.
Just open a command line (start -> run -> cmd enter), navigate to the
folder and then, type dir /X
You will see both names for each file. Then you can delete a file name
"this file is very long" this way
del "this f~1" or
rd "this f~1" /s if it's a folder.

Pierre.

 

[Plato]

I have creared a disk image file under XP home, and when
I try to delete it, it tells me that the file being
accessed by a user or program. I even tried safe mode

http://www.bootdisk.com/xptop10.htm#8