Sometimes when you try to delete a file in Windows XP, you may receive the following error message:
Cannot delete <filename>: Access is denied. Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use.
Edit Steps
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Locate the file stored on your hard drive.
- Once the file is located, right-click on it and choose properties and remove(uncheck) all the attributes of the file or folder.
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Make a note of the file location.
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Open a Command Prompt Window. You can do this by Clicking on Start, Run, and type CMD and Press Enter.
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Leave the Command Prompt window open, but proceed to close all other open programs.
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Open the Windows Task Manager. You can do this in two ways :
- Click on Start, Run and type TASKMGR.EXE and press Enter.
- Press CTRL+ALT+DEL.
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Click on the Processes tab of the Windows Task Manager, click on the process named Explorer.exe and click on End Process and minimize Task Manager but leave it open.
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Go back to the Command Prompt Window and follow the Sub-Steps to delete a file or folder. You can follow the example below.
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To DELETE a FILE : Assuming that your “My Documents” folder contains a file called “myFile.exe” which needs to be deleted.Follow the steps given below :
- In Command Prompt window you will find a path : C:\Documents and Settings\XYZ>(where XYZ is the name of User Account).
- Execute the following command in Command Prompt window : cd My Documents(C:\Documents and Settings\XYZ>cd My Documents)
- Now the path will be changed and it will look like : C:\Documents and Settings\XYZ\My Documents>
- Now use the DEL command to delete the offending file in Command Prompt Window. Syntax : Type DEL <filename> (where <filename> is the file you wish to delete). Example:C:\Documents and Settings\XYZ\My Documents>del myFile.exe
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To DELETE a FOLDER : Assuming that your “My Documents” folder contains another folder called “New Folder” which needs to be deleted.Follow the steps given below :
- In Command Prompt window you will find a path : C:\Documents and Settings\XYZ>(where XYZ is the name of User Account).
- Now use the RMDIR /S /Q command to delete the offending folder in Command Prompt Window. Syntax : Type RMDIR /S /Q “” (where is the Location of folder you wish to delete). Example:C:\Documents and Settings\XYZ>rmdir /s /q “C:\Documents and Settings\XYZ\My Documents\New Folder”
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Use ALT+TAB to go back to Task Manager. In Task Manager, click File, New Task and enter EXPLORER.EXE to restart the Windows shell.
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Close the Task Manager. The file should now be deleted.