Unable To delete thumbs.db

the solution you are giving , is nto correct, you are just turning off a a feature.

the question was how to delete the thumb.db ans till see thumbnails instead of program icons.

Apologies for the geeky article, but it solves a problem experienced by many web developers who use Windows as their primary OS. Thumbs.db is an image cache which makes thumbnail viewing faster. The file is automatically created in Windows Vista, 7 and 8 whenever images are encountered in a folder. It’s usually hidden but can appear, disappear and is often impossible to delete.

I understand the point of Thumbs.db, but that doesn’t prevent several irritations:

• It affects version control. If you’re using a system such as TortoiseGit or TortoiseSVN, Thumbs.db will cause “changed” icon overlays to appear when you’ve not modified any files.
• They often get uploaded to live servers where they’re pointless.
• Unless you’ve got a slow PC, you probably won’t notice any speed improvement.
• I don’t want auto-generated files cluttering my system, thank you!

Fortunately, there’s an easy way to prevent further Thumbs.db hassle:

1. Ensure you’re logged in using an administrator account.
2. Hit Win+R, type gpedit.msc in the Run window and click OK. The Local Group Policy Editor will be launched.
3. Navigate through the tree to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > then either Windows Explorer (Windows Vista/7) or File Explorer (Windows 8). 
4. In the right-hand pane, double-click “Turn off the caching of thumbnails in hidden thumbs.db files”.
5. Select Enabled (don’t make my mistake of choosing “Disabled” — you’re enabling the switching off of Thumbs.db. Not particularly intuitive, Microsoft!) 

OK your way out and it’s job done — you’ll never be troubled by Thumbs.db files ever again!

from:

http://www.sitepoint.com/switch-off-thumbs-db-in-windows/

Hi,

From your issue description, I understand that You are not able to delete thumbs.db. Please let me know if you are not facing this issue.

Thumbs.db is created when using thumbnail preview. I would suggest you to try the following steps.

a. Press Windows + C and Type Control Panel

b. Click "Appearance and Personalization"

c. Click "Folder Options"

d. Open the "View" tab

e. Uncheck "Display file icon on thumbnails"

f. Click OK, and exit control panel. You should now be able to delete the folder and the thumbs.db file.

Hope this information is helpful and do let us know if you need further assistance with Windows in future. We will be glad to assist.

This process does not work on my machine running Windows 8.1. This is a new error that never occured when I ran Windows 7. If I press Windows and C, I get the Charms bar only. If I open Control Panel directly, I do not have a section for Appearance and Personalisation. Personalisation does not contain these Folder options.

In any case, this is a workaround, not a fix.

I have solved this problem for myself. I went to Explorer and opened This PC clicked on the View tab went to Options and "Change Folder and Search Options", clicked on View tab, went to "Hidden Files and Folders" and clicked on "Don't show hidden files folders or drives" and then scrolled down to "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)" and clicked on that.  Clicked on Apply, clicked on OK. Result!!! So far the wretched Thumbs.db has not re-appeared all over the place.

Unchecked "show thumbnails" - the error persists.  What now?  Is there a tool that will force the delete function to work properly or do I have to boot off a live linux CD to do this.