the action can't be completed because the folder or a file in it is open in another program

Anonymous
2013-03-21T10:22:13+00:00

this is annoying

the files or folders in question are not open in another program, windows is just refusing to let them be moved or deleted due a recent action ie: photographs moved elsewhere etc

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Files, folders, and storage

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous
2013-03-21T10:43:05+00:00

This may also be helpful:

Open Windows explorer.

Click ‘Organize -> Folder and search options’ (or ‘View -> Folder options’).

Select the ‘View’-tab.

In the ‘Advanced settings’ window, disable ‘Launch folder windows in a separate process’.

You may need to force restart all explorer instances (via task manager) or reboot your computer if the setting is not applied immediately.

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-02-01T07:47:02+00:00

    wow Valma. Sounds like a great idea.

    I tried to apply it, but it appears that "gpedit" is available only in Windows Pro.

    To achieve the same fix without gpedit:

    In Windows Explorer go to

    File/Options/Change folder and search options/

    Check the first entry on the View menu "Always show icons, never thumbnails.".

    http://www.nextofwindows.com/what-is-thumbs-db-files-and-how-to-disable-and-remove-them/

    I'm using Win 8.1... but the instructions should be quasi identical are for all post XP versions. (Problem didn't exist in XP. Ah, good old days.)

    There are some mixed reviews for this technique in various other forums addressing the locked folder headache. Mostly people missing thumbnails. But I'm certainly giving it a try.

    Thanks a million.

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-02-01T03:50:33+00:00

    Thanks.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-02-01T00:55:41+00:00

    *original credit goes to user jahamala who solved it when it was happening in Windows 7. 

    http://goo.gl/728SXL

    Here http://goo.gl/ngcHfv

    you can see that the same "solution" was the most voted by Windows 7 users. The slight adaptation I posted above is for Windows 8. I have tested it intensively (I haven't updated to Windows 8.1 for other reasons, but it shouldn't make any difference) and it works as a charm...

    Anyway Windows should fix this so that we don't have to recur to this. Even calling Microsoft technical support was a total waste of time; after more than one month dealing with the engineers (or so they call themselves at least) who manipulated my PC remotely and escalated it 3 levels (!), they insisted that the problem was not on Windows 8 but that my files were corrupted... (this after making me reinstall the system from scratch, and even though I told them this wouldn't happen on another PC with Windows 7).  I was about to install windows 7 when I found this in my last desperate search. I hope you don't need to lose the incredible amount of time some of us had...

    I have learnt not to upgrade Windows. Maybe to Linux sometime later...

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-01-21T01:31:45+00:00

    thanks for all those thoughtful replies! I restarted yesterday and things went much better for quite a while. It seems it's pretty much the temp files, but what mystifies me is how it can move several then just one at at time. Well, anyway, whatever. I got that part of my project done for now. If this comes up again, I'll have a few options to try thanks to this thread!

    -boc

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