Vista - Folder on desktop can't be deleted

There's a folder on my desktop that used to contain a few files I was
working with. They're gone now ... the folder is completely empty ... but I
cannot delete the folder itself. When I try, I get that annoying error
message, "The action can't be completed because the folder is open in
another program. Close the folder and try again." Clearly, this folder is
NOT actually open in another program ... not that I'm aware of.

AND!! When I check the PROPERTIES of this folder, it shows that it's set to
READ ONLY. I uncheck that box ... click APPLY, then OK ... and it still
won't delete. Then I check the Properties again, and the READ ONLY box
appears to have, uh, re-checked itself! (I can go through this cycle
multiple times ... same thing, every time.)

Anybody have any suggestions?

Thanks....

bilglas

This happened in Vista?



"bilglas" <Bill@AlphaBaseInc.com> wrote in message
news:eUicHQ9iHHA.3452@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> There's a folder on my desktop that used to contain a few files I was
> working with. They're gone now ... the folder is completely empty ... but
> I cannot delete the folder itself. When I try, I get that annoying error
> message, "The action can't be completed because the folder is open in
> another program. Close the folder and try again." Clearly, this folder is
> NOT actually open in another program ... not that I'm aware of.
>
> AND!! When I check the PROPERTIES of this folder, it shows that it's set
> to READ ONLY. I uncheck that box ... click APPLY, then OK ... and it still
> won't delete. Then I check the Properties again, and the READ ONLY box
> appears to have, uh, re-checked itself! (I can go through this cycle
> multiple times ... same thing, every time.)
>
> Anybody have any suggestions?
>
> Thanks....
>
> bilglas
>

Hi bilglas,

A) Ignore the Read Only indicator, as it is only applicable to files, not
the folders. This same issue occurs in XP as well. Read Only, even if it was
applicable, wouldn't prevent the folder from being deleted.

B) Open an elevated command prompt by typing CMD into the start/search box,
then right click the entry in the start menu and choose 'run as
administrator'. Now, from the prompt run:

CD %userprofile%\desktop
del /y <folder>

This should remove the folder. If it does not, then keep the command prompt
open and:

C) Hit ctrl+shift+escape to open task manager. On the processes tab, pick
the explorer.exe process and end it to halt the desktop. Switch to the
command prompt window and retry the del command. Afterward, go to the
application tab of task manager and pick 'new task'. Enter Explorer.exe and
click 'ok' to restart the desktop.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

"bilglas" <Bill@AlphaBaseInc.com> wrote in message
news:eUicHQ9iHHA.3452@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> There's a folder on my desktop that used to contain a few files I was
> working with. They're gone now ... the folder is completely empty ... but
> I cannot delete the folder itself. When I try, I get that annoying error
> message, "The action can't be completed because the folder is open in
> another program. Close the folder and try again." Clearly, this folder is
> NOT actually open in another program ... not that I'm aware of.
>
> AND!! When I check the PROPERTIES of this folder, it shows that it's set
> to READ ONLY. I uncheck that box ... click APPLY, then OK ... and it still
> won't delete. Then I check the Properties again, and the READ ONLY box
> appears to have, uh, re-checked itself! (I can go through this cycle
> multiple times ... same thing, every time.)
>
> Anybody have any suggestions?
>
> Thanks....
>
> bilglas
>

Grateful for the suggestions, "Nutcase" ... but neither effort was
successful. (Also tried RD command instead of CD ... I'm an old DOS
aficionado, myself...)

But I rebooted in Safe Mode, and it deleted instantly... no problems.
Ta-daaaa!

Sure would still LOVE to find out WHY it was happening, and how to prevent
it, in the future. Nice pipe-dream, eh?

b

===========================

"Rick Rogers" <rick@mvps.org> wrote in message
news:uD3$Kw9iHHA.3700@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Hi bilglas,
>
> A) Ignore the Read Only indicator, as it is only applicable to files, not
> the folders. This same issue occurs in XP as well. Read Only, even if it
> was applicable, wouldn't prevent the folder from being deleted.
>
> B) Open an elevated command prompt by typing CMD into the start/search
> box, then right click the entry in the start menu and choose 'run as
> administrator'. Now, from the prompt run:
>
> CD %userprofile%\desktop
> del /y <folder>
>
> This should remove the folder. If it does not, then keep the command
> prompt open and:
>
> C) Hit ctrl+shift+escape to open task manager. On the processes tab, pick
> the explorer.exe process and end it to halt the desktop. Switch to the
> command prompt window and retry the del command. Afterward, go to the
> application tab of task manager and pick 'new task'. Enter Explorer.exe
> and click 'ok' to restart the desktop.
>
> --
> Best of Luck,
>
> Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
> Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
> My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com
>
> "bilglas" <Bill@AlphaBaseInc.com> wrote in message
> news:eUicHQ9iHHA.3452@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>> There's a folder on my desktop that used to contain a few files I was
>> working with. They're gone now ... the folder is completely empty ... but
>> I cannot delete the folder itself. When I try, I get that annoying error
>> message, "The action can't be completed because the folder is open in
>> another program. Close the folder and try again." Clearly, this folder is
>> NOT actually open in another program ... not that I'm aware of.
>>
>> AND!! When I check the PROPERTIES of this folder, it shows that it's set
>> to READ ONLY. I uncheck that box ... click APPLY, then OK ... and it
>> still won't delete. Then I check the Properties again, and the READ ONLY
>> box appears to have, uh, re-checked itself! (I can go through this cycle
>> multiple times ... same thing, every time.)
>>
>> Anybody have any suggestions?
>>
>> Thanks....
>>
>> bilglas
>>
>

Hi,

I'm going to assume you meant "RD instead of DEL" (not CD), but glad to hear
it is resolved.

Why? Well if that hadn't worked, my follow up would be to use something like
Process Explorer (from the former Sysinternals) to find out what had a
handle on it:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sys...sExplorer.mspx

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

"bilglas" <Bill@AlphaBaseInc.com> wrote in message
news:%23wvIXIBjHHA.1240@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> Grateful for the suggestions, "Nutcase" ... but neither effort was
> successful. (Also tried RD command instead of CD ... I'm an old DOS
> aficionado, myself...)
>
> But I rebooted in Safe Mode, and it deleted instantly... no problems.
> Ta-daaaa!
>
> Sure would still LOVE to find out WHY it was happening, and how to prevent
> it, in the future. Nice pipe-dream, eh?
>
> b
>
> ===========================
>
> "Rick Rogers" <rick@mvps.org> wrote in message
> news:uD3$Kw9iHHA.3700@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>> Hi bilglas,
>>
>> A) Ignore the Read Only indicator, as it is only applicable to files, not
>> the folders. This same issue occurs in XP as well. Read Only, even if it
>> was applicable, wouldn't prevent the folder from being deleted.
>>
>> B) Open an elevated command prompt by typing CMD into the start/search
>> box, then right click the entry in the start menu and choose 'run as
>> administrator'. Now, from the prompt run:
>>
>> CD %userprofile%\desktop
>> del /y <folder>
>>
>> This should remove the folder. If it does not, then keep the command
>> prompt open and:
>>
>> C) Hit ctrl+shift+escape to open task manager. On the processes tab, pick
>> the explorer.exe process and end it to halt the desktop. Switch to the
>> command prompt window and retry the del command. Afterward, go to the
>> application tab of task manager and pick 'new task'. Enter Explorer.exe
>> and click 'ok' to restart the desktop.
>>
>> --
>> Best of Luck,
>>
>> Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
>> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
>> Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
>> My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com
>>
>> "bilglas" <Bill@AlphaBaseInc.com> wrote in message
>> news:eUicHQ9iHHA.3452@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>>> There's a folder on my desktop that used to contain a few files I was
>>> working with. They're gone now ... the folder is completely empty ...
>>> but I cannot delete the folder itself. When I try, I get that annoying
>>> error message, "The action can't be completed because the folder is open
>>> in another program. Close the folder and try again." Clearly, this
>>> folder is NOT actually open in another program ... not that I'm aware
>>> of.
>>>
>>> AND!! When I check the PROPERTIES of this folder, it shows that it's set
>>> to READ ONLY. I uncheck that box ... click APPLY, then OK ... and it
>>> still won't delete. Then I check the Properties again, and the READ ONLY
>>> box appears to have, uh, re-checked itself! (I can go through this cycle
>>> multiple times ... same thing, every time.)
>>>
>>> Anybody have any suggestions?
>>>
>>> Thanks....
>>>
>>> bilglas
>>>
>>
>

Download Unlocker.


"bilglas" <Bill@AlphaBaseInc.com> wrote in message
news:eUicHQ9iHHA.3452@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> There's a folder on my desktop that used to contain a few files I was
> working with. They're gone now ... the folder is completely empty ... but
> I cannot delete the folder itself. When I try, I get that annoying error
> message, "The action can't be completed because the folder is open in
> another program. Close the folder and try again." Clearly, this folder is
> NOT actually open in another program ... not that I'm aware of.
>
> AND!! When I check the PROPERTIES of this folder, it shows that it's set
> to READ ONLY. I uncheck that box ... click APPLY, then OK ... and it still
> won't delete. Then I check the Properties again, and the READ ONLY box
> appears to have, uh, re-checked itself! (I can go through this cycle
> multiple times ... same thing, every time.)
>
> Anybody have any suggestions?
>
> Thanks....
>
> bilglas
>

Rick Rogers, thank you for the Process Explorer link! I searched high and low for a way to remove this annoying folder on my desktop and the Process Explorer found the virtually anonymous process holding the file hostage instantly. Also, thank you to all of you that post and respond to these types of issues, without you I would be lost