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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
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.
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.
HI there. Didn't see your comment till now. In your version I believe you right click the Windows Explorer process in Task Manager and choose "end task".
Then go up to the Task Manager menu bar, choose "File", then "Run new task" and enter "explorer.exe"... Same result, slightly longer method. This is a good fix if your OS isn't clearing temp files. You can use it every time you have the problem.
Somebody recently tried everything, and it seems he'd simply reached the capacity limit of his recycle bin. So you might give that a look if this doesn't help. My best.
I emptied my recycle bin and then tried the "End Task - Run New" Task method. It did not solve problem. The solution was to "unindex" the folder and then delete it.
So glad you got it! As I've understood it, this thread was originally principally addressing a Win 8 and 8.1 problem with temp files. Files and folder that had been properly closed couldn't be moved or killed because the system was still holding on to their temp files... (a problem I'd never had in Win 95, 98, XP or Vista, the only OS's I am familiar with). In that particular case, relaunching explorer.exe cleared them out. This was a really chronic annoyance for ages... and then suddenly (again I can only speak for myself) the problem evaporated. Some update along the way must have finally addressed the glitch. There's a panoply of other factors that can cause similar behavior, and always have... e.g. exceeding bin capacity, programs that generate their own temp files like Copernic, that also indexes files and folders. So the early solutions offered here are possibly losing relevance, except for folks with Win 8.* who aren't receiving updates. So it's great to see solutions added, such as yours, for people who are drawn here for completely different scenarios. My best.
Try this:
Right click on the folder with the "locked" files, choose "properties" and see if the box "read-only" is checked. If it is, uncheck it and that's it! Worked great for me on several occasions.
