Help! I can't delete a file off of my desktop!

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uncle w0p

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My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7
OS
Windows 7
Have you tried refreshing your Desktop to see if they go away? By that picture, Windows is telling you those files are gone, and don't exist.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Win 7 Pro x64/Win 10 Pro x64 dual bootAMD FX 8350 Vishera @ 420016 GB Mushkin Blackline DDR3-2400 @ 1866 (9-1...XFX Radeon R9 280 Double D Black Edition
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Mellon Labs (custom build)
OS
Win 7 Pro x64/Win 10 Pro x64 dual boot
CPU
AMD FX 8350 Vishera @ 4200
Motherboard
ASUS M5A97 R2.0
Memory
16 GB Mushkin Blackline DDR3-2400 @ 1866 (9-10-10-10-31)
Graphics Card(s)
XFX Radeon R9 280 Double D Black Edition
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio on MB. Sounds great.
Monitor(s) Displays
Acer 24", Acer 22"
Screen Resolution
3840 x 1080
Hard Drives
1 x Mushkin Chronos 120 GB SSD (Win 10)
1 x Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB SSD (Win 7)
1 x WD 1TB SATA Blue
1 x WD 1TB SATA Green
PSU
Corsair TX-750
Case
CoolerMaster HAF 912+
Cooling
Coolermaster Seidon 240M Liquid AIO. 6 case fans
Keyboard
Logitech G710+
Mouse
Logitech G500s
Internet Speed
Much better since I got fiber, but still way overpriced.
Antivirus
MSE, Malware Bytes for scanning
Browser
Firefox
Other Info
Corsair VOID USB headphones.

A Mellon Labs X-1 - LCD Smartie driven system status display.

Brought to you by the letter E
Mellon Head said:
Have you tried refreshing your Desktop to see if they go away? By that picture, Windows is telling you those files are gone, and don't exist.
Click to expand...
I have tried refreshing many times. Nothing.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7
OS
Windows 7

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium x64 SP1intel(R)core(TM)2 duo CPU T6600 @ 2.20GHz3 gb ddr3ati radeon hd4570/512mb
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
acer aspire 5935g
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium x64 SP1
CPU
intel(R)core(TM)2 duo CPU T6600 @ 2.20GHz
Motherboard
intel gm45/gm47 revision 07
Memory
3 gb ddr3
Graphics Card(s)
ati radeon hd4570/512mb
Monitor(s) Displays
lop156wh2-tle1 15.3 flat
Screen Resolution
1366x768
Hard Drives
OCZ-Agility3 60gig ssd
320gig external hdd
500gig external hdd
Mouse
Optical
Internet Speed
30Mbps Down/30Mbps Up
You could try going into your Users\%your name%\Desktop folder and making sure the files really aren't there. If they are, select and delete them. Don't drag them to the recycle bin.

After that, reboot, and see if they come back.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Win 7 Pro x64/Win 10 Pro x64 dual bootAMD FX 8350 Vishera @ 420016 GB Mushkin Blackline DDR3-2400 @ 1866 (9-1...XFX Radeon R9 280 Double D Black Edition
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Mellon Labs (custom build)
OS
Win 7 Pro x64/Win 10 Pro x64 dual boot
CPU
AMD FX 8350 Vishera @ 4200
Motherboard
ASUS M5A97 R2.0
Memory
16 GB Mushkin Blackline DDR3-2400 @ 1866 (9-10-10-10-31)
Graphics Card(s)
XFX Radeon R9 280 Double D Black Edition
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio on MB. Sounds great.
Monitor(s) Displays
Acer 24", Acer 22"
Screen Resolution
3840 x 1080
Hard Drives
1 x Mushkin Chronos 120 GB SSD (Win 10)
1 x Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB SSD (Win 7)
1 x WD 1TB SATA Blue
1 x WD 1TB SATA Green
PSU
Corsair TX-750
Case
CoolerMaster HAF 912+
Cooling
Coolermaster Seidon 240M Liquid AIO. 6 case fans
Keyboard
Logitech G710+
Mouse
Logitech G500s
Internet Speed
Much better since I got fiber, but still way overpriced.
Antivirus
MSE, Malware Bytes for scanning
Browser
Firefox
Other Info
Corsair VOID USB headphones.

A Mellon Labs X-1 - LCD Smartie driven system status display.

Brought to you by the letter E

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 7600IIx4 amd athelon 635 processor2x2gbati radeon HD 5450
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Hewlett packard/p6512uk
OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 7600
CPU
IIx4 amd athelon 635 processor
Motherboard
FOXCONN 2AA9
Memory
2x2gb
Graphics Card(s)
ati radeon HD 5450
Sound Card
(1) Realtek High Definition Audio (2) AMD High Definition
Monitor(s) Displays
samsung lcd tv 32"
Screen Resolution
1360x 768
Hard Drives
(1) WDC WD10 01FAES-60Z2A0 SATA Disk Device (2) Maxtor OneTouch USB Device (3) ST310003 33AS USB Device (4) WD My Book 1111 USB Device
PSU
?
Cooling
air!
Keyboard
wireless hp
Mouse
wireless Hp,optical
Internet Speed
1.10mb/s
Antivirus
MSE
Browser
Firefox

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows Seven Ultimate x64 SP1Intel Core i7 x980 @ 3.33GHz12.0 GBNvidia GeForce GTX 260
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP
OS
Windows Seven Ultimate x64 SP1
CPU
Intel Core i7 x980 @ 3.33GHz
Memory
12.0 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia GeForce GTX 260
What are the file names and extensions? Are you viewing system and/or hidden files? In Explorer, Tools menu, Folder options, View tab - check to make sure Hidden files and folders ARE Hidden and Hide protected files is checked. Can you still see the offending files?

The desktop (and all folders I think) usually have one or more INI files that ARE supposed to be there. They are used by the system.

Best Wishes,
Rªnce
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Pro 32bit / Windows 7 ProfessionalIntel Core i7-620M Duel Core 2.66GHz / Intel ...4.0 GB / 8.0 GB1.0 GB NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M / Intel HD Grap...
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell Precision M6500 / Dell Insprion 3847
OS
Windows 7 Pro 32bit / Windows 7 Professional
CPU
Intel Core i7-620M Duel Core 2.66GHz / Intel Core i5-4460
Memory
4.0 GB / 8.0 GB
Graphics Card(s)
1.0 GB NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M / Intel HD Graphics
Screen Resolution
1440x900 / 1920x1080
Solution

I ran into this issue today with one of my co-workers. I found that he had accidentally added a "." to the end of the file extension and it appears that Windows automatically blocks the file. To delete the file, right click on it, select properties from the context menu, and at the bottom right you'll find a button that says "unblock". Click that button, click apply, close the properties window, and you should be able to delete the file.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Enterprise 64 bit
OS
Windows 7 Enterprise 64 bit
deleting iso files

I have a problem deleting an iso file. It says "cannot be deleted because the file is open in System". I'm not sure exactly what that means.

I have tried using Unlocker to free the file but has not allowed me to delete it. I also do not think the file has been mounted as I cannot find any software on my PC used to mount iso files.

Any ideas?
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

windows 7
OS
windows 7
I had a similar problem. There was a file on my desktop which had 0 in size and could not be deleted nor moved. Not even with command promnt. I even did 2 full virus scans but nothing.

What fixed it was actually quite simple:
I downloaded that file again. It didn't ask me to overwrite or change the fail name, even though there was already one with the same name on the desktop. So I had 2 files with the same name, one with size and the bugged one.[ there was no (1) behind the filename either]
So I moved the new downloaded file into my documents and then back to desktop. When I moved it back to desktop, the 2 files merged whitout any dialog box. After that I was able to delete it.
 
Last edited:

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit SP1
Computer type
PC/Desktop
OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit SP1
I would download process explorer to see if there has been anything running in the background preventing you from deleting the said file. What kind of file is it? text file? folder?

Check the download link and see if there is something in the background process running and kill it, then repeat the process of trying to delete the file.

Process Explorer

Hope that helps.
-Senseless
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Ultimate x86, Windows 7 Professiona...AMD Athlon 7750 Dual-Core 2.70 GHz3GBNvidia
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Build (multiple machines)
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x86, Windows 7 Professional x64, Windows 8 Pro x64
CPU
AMD Athlon 7750 Dual-Core 2.70 GHz
Motherboard
ECS GF8200A
Memory
3GB
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia
Monitor(s) Displays
Asus 24''
Screen Resolution
1680x1050
Antivirus
Microsoft Security Esentials
Browser
IE, Chrome, Firefox (Primary)
Other Info
Will update a full list soon...am planning on upgrading my system later this summer anyways.
If a file can be seen in explorer but cannot be erased then open cmd window, in task manager end explorer.exe, del file in cmd window, restart explorer.exe or reboot!!
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Win 7 Ultimate 64biti74Gb
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom
OS
Win 7 Ultimate 64bit
CPU
i7
Motherboard
Asus
Memory
4Gb
Hard Drives
WD 1Tb
Antivirus
Microsoft Essentials
Browser
Firefox
how?
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Ultimate x64AMD Athlon(tm) X2 Dual Core Processor L310 1....3.00 GB
Computer type
Laptop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Acer
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
AMD Athlon(tm) X2 Dual Core Processor L310 1.2 Ghz
Memory
3.00 GB
Antivirus
None
Browser
Chrome
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