Have you ever experienced an error like the one below while trying to delete a file or folder?
Such errors usually show up when a file or folder has been locked by another program. In this case all read, write and execute access to the file or folder is blocked and you are not able to perform any operations such a copy/page or delete.
This error has many other forms such as:
- Cannot delete file: Access is denied.
- There has been a sharing violation.
- The source or destination file may be in use.
- The file is in use by another program or user.
- Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use
One way to get rid of these errors is to perform a Windows reboot which will kill all processes but in case if the program is a virus that is blocking access to a file or folder, even a Windows reboot won’t help so in such times we make use of a utility called Unlocker.
Unlocker was designed to be a very useful Windows Explorer extension allowing users with a simple right-click on a file or folder to easily get rid of error message such as error deleting file or folder, cannot delete folder: it’s being used by another person or program.
The application is very easy to use. Here is how to use it:
- Simply right click the folder or file and select Unlocker
- If the folder or file is locked, a window listing of lockers will appear
- Simply click Unlock All and you are done!
