# How do I delete "phantom files" in Windows 7? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 4, 2015, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-delete-phantom-files-in-windows-7/716809 "2015-04-04T16:11:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jezzaOZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@jezzaOZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jezzaOZ)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-delete-phantom-files-in-windows-7/716809/21 "2015-04-04T22:22:46Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > It’s no big deal, but I like to keep my folders tidy and want to get rid of these files. Google didn’t help; I got a lot of hits for explanations to delete files that are still in use by some programs, but that’s not the problem in my case. So what can I do? Log in as administrator and use command line. There may be a way to fire up an administrator cmd session directly or you can use the procedure at [Enable Administrator](http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/enable-the-hidden-administrator-account-on-windows-vista/) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-delete-phantom-files-in-windows-7/716809/22 "2015-04-04T22:24:59Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > You probably just tried plain “rd Downloads.” Without the /s, directories won’t be removed unless they are empty. > > And, yeah, run a chkdsk /f to check for and repair errors, just in case it’s not just in your Downloads folder. Yeah, that’s probable, my DOS fu is a bit shaky after all these years. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-delete-phantom-files-in-windows-7/716809/23 "2015-04-04T23:11:22Z")
> [@jezzaOZ](#): > > Log in as administrator and use command line. There may be a way to fire up an administrator cmd session directly or you can use the procedure at [Enable Administrator](http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/enable-the-hidden-administrator-account-on-windows-vista/) there is: [https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc947813(v=ws.10).aspx](https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc947813%28v=ws.10%29.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-delete-phantom-files-in-windows-7/716809/24 "2015-04-05T11:53:26Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Yeah, that’s probable, my DOS fu is a bit shaky after all these years. 😉 Well, back in the DOS days, you’d use a different command anyways: deltree. And, before that, you’d need to manually go through and delete all the files and folders before using rd. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-delete-phantom-files-in-windows-7/716809/25 "2015-04-05T12:16:03Z")
FileASSASSIN from Malwarebytes will delete locked files. I’ve used it many times. It used to be an option in Malwarebytes. Now its a separate dl. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-delete-phantom-files-in-windows-7/716809/26 "2015-04-05T13:15:51Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Well, back in the DOS days, you’d use a different command anyways: deltree. And, before that, you’d need to manually go through and delete all the files and folders before using rd. There was a handy utility, inspired by CP/M, written by Gary Berg, called [sweep.com](http://sweep.com), ca. 1984, that would traverse the entire tree from a designated starting point, repeating a command for each. You could do SWEEP DEL _._ to delete all files below the execution level. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-delete-phantom-files-in-windows-7/716809/27 "2015-04-05T15:01:40Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > There was a handy utility, inspired by CP/M, written by Gary Berg, called [sweep.com](http://sweep.com), ca. 1984, that would traverse the entire tree from a designated starting point, repeating a command for each. You could do SWEEP DEL _._ to delete all files below the execution level. As DOS went mainstream there were a metric boatload of similar utilities. And the capability was incorporated into [command.com](http://command.com) / cmd.exe at some point as the \>FOR command. I don’t remember when that happened though. Might have been as early as DOS 4, might not have happened until cmd.exe as released somewhere around Win 95 and NT. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-delete-phantom-files-in-windows-7/716809.md?page=1)