Can't delete a file in WinXP

[Unforgiven{BGF}]

Ok, if "Show hidden..." didn't work, the the file(s) must be "system" type. If you want to see them...in the same view, untick "Hide files protected by...(recommended)". This will allow to see system files.
But use it with caution, don't delete some file maybe needs XP.

[vfoong]

I've had that problem too... What I'd usally do is create an empty file called named the same as the file folder that you want to delete and then cut and paste it, and then after that delete the blank file...

And I find the other alternative possible too... If your file resides on your C: drive for example, you can open up cmd and then type this chkdsk c: /x

This will dismount the volume and all existing references to the volume will be disconected. That way you should be able to delete it after that. See if that works.

[PrairieDawg]

Have had that problem with multimedia files before but it has been awhile. Seems to me that what was happening in that instance was that the offending file was still loaded into the mediaplayer (as most recently used). Once I used my player to view another movie then my offending file was deletable.

[augie10]

Try deleting this registry key. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Cl
asses\CLSID\{87D62D94-71B3-4b9a-9489-5FE6850DC73E}\InProcServer32
This stops explorer from loading shmedia.dll. Worked for me in moving Kazaa avi's from my shared folder. It's seems random, This Kazaa prob some I can move/delete and other's I can't :confused:

As always, backup your registry..Post back as I'm curious to see if it will fix your prob

augie

[asklepios]

it could be the most stupid reply compared to all the above ones...but did you try a simple restart?
i would like to point you to PI's point once again regarding msconfig.

[Gammit]

Ok, if "Show hidden..." didn't work, the the file(s) must be "system" type. If you want to see them...in the same view, untick "Hide files protected by...(recommended)". This will allow to see system files.
But use it with caution, don't delete some file maybe needs XP.

I tried this, and now I can see two folders:
Recycler
System Volume Information



Regarding other responses: tried msconfig and removed anything that might reference it, removed all references to it in my win media player, and tried restarting. Nada.

now what? Thanks so far, everybody...

[Beefy]

What file system is the drive? If it's FAT32, then you can simply use an old boot disk and delete it that way.

[vfoong]

If your file system is NTFS, you could boot into the drive in DOS with NTFSPro and delete the file from there. Did you try the dismounting? Or replacing the file with a blank one but with exactly the same filename?

Do keep us updated on this, I know a sizeable amount of people this happens to, and really want to know how to fix that.

:cheers:

[Gammit]

It's NTFS. Will try the next suggestions.

[Beefy]

If your file system is NTFS, you could boot into the drive in DOS with NTFSPro and delete the file from there. Did you try the dismounting? Or replacing the file with a blank one but with exactly the same filename?

Do keep us updated on this, I know a sizeable amount of people this happens to, and really want to know how to fix that.

:cheers:

Not many people have NTFS Pro, and it has occasional issues when you try change / delete files on an NTFS mounted partition. Worth a try though, if available.