delete File

Deleting unnecessary or duplicate files is a simple, feasible way to release more free space for your PC and other media storage devices. But sometimes Windows can’t delete a file or folder even after system restart, which makes us confused and frustrated. In this article, you will find the reasons and learn how you can force delete the file or folder that cannot be deleted in Windows 10. Furthermore, if you carelessly deleted a file (or folder) and emptied the Recycle Bin, you can recover the data with MiniTool Power Data Recovery software.

“Can’t Delete File/Folder” Issue Can be Cause By these Reasons

  1. You can’t delete the file because it is in use, it is opened by a running program or Windows background process.
  2. “Access Denied” when you attempt to delete a file or folder from a mounted external drive.
  3. You can’t delete the file or folder because the disk is full, corrupted, or write-protected.
  4. The attribute of that file or folder is read-only.
  5. The specific file or folder is corrupted.
  6. Users are not allowed to deleted important computer system files.
  7. Your computer’s Recycle Bin is corrupted or full.
  8. Windows can’t delete files whose long names exceed a certain character limit.
  9. The file or folder contains malware, or it is infected with the virus.

Try These Methods to Force Delete a File or Folder in Windows 10

No matter what reasons caused that you can’t delete the file or folder which you do not need anymore, you could try the following methods to force delete the file or folder.

Force Delete a File or Folder in Windows 10 with CMD (Command Prompt) 

Using CMD, you can easily force delete a file or folder from Windows 10 computer, external hard drive, SD cards, USB flash drive, etc.

1.1 How to use the DEL command to force delete a file in CMD

  • Go to the Start menu, type cmd → right-click Command Prompt app, then click on Run as administrator.
  • In the Command Prompt window, please type the command line: del file path (see the picture below, enter del, followed by the correct path of the file or folder that you want to delete, for example, del C:\Users\bj\Desktop\test01.txt ) and press Enter key to execute the command. This method will quickly delete the TXT file named “test” on my desktop. 
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Pro tip: Please do make sure that the file path in the command is correct and contains the file extension, e.g. .txt, .docx, .xls, .mov etc. If you do not know the correct path of a specific file or folder, right-click that file/folder, choose Properties, then you will find its exact location under “General ” and copy the path. 

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1.2 How to use the RMDIR /S /Q command to easily force delete a folder in CMD

First of all, enter Command Prompt with full permissions, then type rmdir /s /q folder path, for example, rmdir /s /q E:\test, at last press Enter to execute the command. This command will delete the folder named “test” from my E: drive. Remember that you should check the Properties of your target folder, find its actual path and use it to replace “folder path” in the command. (More tutorials on how to use the Windows CMD commands can be found here).

C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\pics\3-force-delete-folder-cmd.png

Press Shift + Delete to force delete a file/ folder

If you cannot delete a certain file or folder because the Recycle Bin is full or corrupted, you can get around that issue by pressing SHIFT+Delete on your keyboard. That shortcut will delete the selected file(s) permanently without moving to the Recycle Bin. Windows 10 asks for confirmation before it goes ahead, so when you are asked “Are you sure you want to permanently delete this file?”, please press Yes.

Run Windows 10 in Safe Mode So As to Delete a File or Folder

If you still can’t delete a file or folder in Windows 10, boot your computer to Safe Mode and see if you could delete it, at last, restart your computer to go back to normal mode. Read this article if you want detailed instructions – How to Start Windows 10 in Safe Mode (While Booting) [6 Ways]. You can use this method when don’t know which process is currently using the file, or when you are not sure if your PC is already compromised with viruses. 

8 Tips to Get Around “Can’t Delete File/Folder” Issue

Aside from the above-mentioned methods for forcing delete file or folder, there are some other actions you can take to successfully delete the file or folder in Windows 10.

Tip 1. Close all open programs that are likely to be using the file or folder.

Tip 2. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc simultaneously to open Task Manager, then click the suspicious programs, at last, click the End task button to terminate them.

Tip 3. Restart your computer to have one more try.

Tip 4. Run a virus scan on a specific file, folder, or your entire computer.

Tip 5. Right-click the selected file or folder and select Properties to ensure sure it is not read-only.

Tip 6. Run CHKDSK command to find disk errors and repair them if possible.

Tip 7. Remove the write protection from your SD card, USB, and external hard drive.

Tip 8. Install a third-party file repair tool to repair the corrupted file(s).

Free File Recovery Tool to Recover Deleted/Lost Files in Windows

After you realize that you mistakenly delete a file or folder, you might want to get it back. The free data recovery program will help you recover it with no hassle. MiniTool Power Data Recovery is a safe and free data recovery tool for Windows users to quickly recover any deleted or lost files from the computer, external hard drive, USB, memory card, SD card, SSD, etc. With only a few simple clicks, you could get back your deleted or lost data.

C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\pics\4-recover-deleted-files.png

Final Thought

When you’re unable to delete a file or folder on the computer or other storage devices, you could refer to the tutorial above to force delete a file or folder with CMD in Windows 10. You will also read the 8 tips to successfully delete the selected file/folder.

By Anurag Rathod

Anurag Rathod is an Editor of Appclonescript.com, who is passionate for app-based startup solutions and on-demand business ideas. He believes in spreading tech trends. He is an avid reader and loves thinking out of the box to promote new technologies.