Delete Stubborn File

I have tried every un -locker that I could find. Cannot delete this file. It is empty. I cannot move it to my desktop to delete either. Any help appreciated. Thanks.

I use a small linux distro, Porteus. I have it burned to a CD and also "written" to a USB stick.
I boot into that, send the file in Windows that I'm unable to delete/move/erase/rename and delete it.

Several times I've had 0 byte files that I could see but no program would remove them. Porteus has saved me from having to restore an image just to get rid of something.

If you want the ISO, send me a PM with an email address. I have the file on gdrive and I will email you the link to download it.

The first thing to try is to simply press F5 to Refresh, if you are unable to remove the file using Explorer, you might have better luck using the command prompt.
press windows key + r
type cmd.exe, press enter
cd \to\the\folder\containing\the\problem\file
dir /x
Note the short filename of the problem file. It will look for example like BLAH~1.
del BLAH~1

chuckhig,
Perhaps you have already done this - but before you delete the problematic folder, I would spend some time attempting to make sure that there is no problem with the file system (e.g. run a check of the file system with chkdsk).

Was one of the un-locker apps that you tried named Unlocker? If not, you can read a bit more about it in this old post. It would be interesting to know if any apps are locking the folder.

Yes unlocker tells me it cannot find file. All I tried cannot delete a file it cannot see. The folder is empty. Thanks..I will keep trying.

Did chkdsk come back clean?

(It can takes hours to run.)

Disk Check

Check Disk (chkdsk) - Read Event Viewer Log

I found this MS thread that sounds like the same issue.
Renaming folders causes "Item Not Found" error in Windows 7 - Microsoft Community

I would create a system backup image before deleting registry keys, or attempting any fixes.

Where "unlocker" applications couldn't detect a handle, deleting stubborn files using either the 8.3 short path naming convention or the long path naming convention have proven quite successful strategies in the past...

Chuckhig, create the below batch file and drag your problem file onto this script.

Code:

if "%~1"=="" exit /b
del /a /f \\?\%1
tskill explorer
goto 2>NUL & del %0

Or if your problem item is actually a folder (as per what your attached image suggests), then create the below instead.

Code:

if "%~1"=="" exit /b
rd /s /q \\?\%1
tskill explorer
goto 2>NUL & del %0

Sure. But be aware that Porteus is a build-it-yourself distro.
You have to pick and choose items to get the distro.

Have fun building: Porteus Wizard