File Won't Delete

I've got a file that's occupying a significant amount of h/d space that I've been trying for a month to delete. Every time I try I get a message saying "Can't delete because this file is currently being used by another application, etc. "

I haven't the foggiest idea what application it's talking about. How can I find out?

 

did you by any chance download this file with either mirc or bittorrent, or any client that supports resuming? i find that sometimes when i download things, even after they are finished, the program somehow still maintains access over the program, when in reality it isn't. i've also found that deleting it through cmd works fine, as there are no restrictions there...if you don't know how to work the command line here are some sample commands to help you find your way around...

first of, Start and then Run and the CMD will get you the command line prompt. the commands you will need to know are CD, DIR, and DEL. CD is change directory, DIR is list directory contents and DEL is delete. if you type CD and then a directory name, such as CD GAMES it would open up the games directory. if you type CD.. it will go up one directory to the parent directory. If you type DIR it will list every file and folder in the current folder that you are in. If you type DEL and then a filename (including the extension) it will delete that file *WARNING* it doesn't give you any confirmation notice, so once you type that the file is KAPUT, gone.

my command prompt usually starts in the directory

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator

So if my file was called FILE01.exe and was located in

C:\GAMES\GAME1\

then i would type CD.. and then hit enter, and then the prompt would display

C:\Documents and Settings\

then i would do cd.. again and the command prompt will display

C:\

once you are in the root directory of your computer, you can then go on to find your file. in my case i would type CD GAMES and then the command prompt will display

C:\GAMES\

then i would type cd game1 and it will display

C:\GAMES\GAME1

then i would type dir to get the directory listing so that i can find the file i would want to delete...once i've found that file i type DEL FILE01.exe and press enter, and its gone.

hoped this has helped you.

 

Conee:

Who said DOS was dead? Your reply took me back 20 years to my old IBM 8080 machine. Well, enouch nostalgia. The evil file is now gone. Thanks for jogging my memory.

 

Hello,

If this file is installed by a spyware, you
suppose first to install and use Ad-Ware and/or SpyBot (direct download link)

If it's just a very stubborn file and if you have
Win95/98/98SE/ME, you suppose to delete it in DOS
Write down the full path of that file (don't forget that DOS truncates long file name , e.g:
Program Files will be PROGRA~1)
While in DOS, you need to tape at the C:\> prompt

C:\>deltree C:\...\...\stubborn.xyz and hit Enter
(xyz is the file's extension)

Good luck and please keep us informed

Stefan

 

The file was some piece of .avi that I must have downloaded from the web several months ago. But, as I said, it is now gone, thru the magic of good ole DOS.

BTW, Safe Mode couldn't handle the deletion.