# File wont delete

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/file-wont-delete/165185>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 30, 2003, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/file-wont-delete/165185 "2003-03-30T06:49:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Qwertyasdfg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ecc23a/32.png) [@Qwertyasdfg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwertyasdfg)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/file-wont-delete/165185/1 "2003-03-30T06:49:02Z")

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A file I downloaded (which doesn’t work) refuses to be deleted. When I hit delete on it, it says that it’s in use or write-protected. I ran norton 2003 on it found no infections. What can I do to delete it? (I’m using windows XP)

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**Author:** ![Qwertyasdfg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ecc23a/32.png) [@Qwertyasdfg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwertyasdfg)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/file-wont-delete/165185/2 "2003-03-30T06:52:09Z")

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I’m sorry, but almost immediately after posting this someone pointed out how to fix this (I had to ctl alt del it and turn off the actual process before deleting it.) SO there’s no need to respond to this thread.

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**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/file-wont-delete/165185/3 "2003-03-30T07:22:37Z")

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Well, my work here is done.

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**Author:** ![MetalDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@MetalDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MetalDog)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/file-wont-delete/165185/4 "2003-03-30T12:19:58Z")

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For future ref:

Sometimes files flag as non-deletable even when a process doesn’t appear to be running. In that situation a reboot will usually clear the problem up. If a reboot doesn’t work, right click the file and look at the flags at the bottom. Untick them all, including ‘Archive’ and the file should now be fully deletable.

If you’re dealing with a server where a reboot is going to cause some widespread distress, try the second option first =)

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**Author:** ![firagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/13edae/32.png) [@firagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/firagon)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/file-wont-delete/165185/5 "2003-03-30T21:24:34Z")

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Sometimes I have to resort to my Windows98 to delete some file created by WindowsXP. It’s really handy to dual-boot, so that one operating system can sometimes troubleshoot the other, and for compatibility purposes too.