Large Collection of Fonts, Can't move or delete any of them

rgdaniel · 06 Jul 2016

I have a huge collection of mostly legacy, currently unused fonts in a folder called MyFonts on my D drive (non-system HD). I noticed that one of these old files had a wonky way-future date, and therefore was getting backed up every day for no good reason. I have had success editing the Modified Date with Attribute Changer, but that failed in this case.

So I thought I would just delete the font file and get on with my life. But noooo...

"The action can't be completed because the file is open in System"

So I can't change the attributes, I can't delete it, I can't move it. So I ran something I had lying around called deletelockedfolder (dot bat) which successfully changed the ownership of all 8000+ files in MyFonts folder to me, the admin, which has worked in the past for other issues, but still no change here.

Most interestingly, ALL FONTS in the MyFonts folder have the same problem, I can't move or delete them. I first just tested one or two as an experiment, thinking they would be fine, since they don't have the date problem, but they also are "open in System" when I try to delete them. JUST FONT FILES, other non-font files in the same folder are fine.

None of these fonts are among my actual system Fonts, or at least I can't see them in the Fonts control panel. Since I got this new Win7-64 desktop, which does not run Adobe Type Manager, I don't think I have installed ANY fonts in there. And certainly not the dozens of random crappy old ttf's I tested and could not delete.

Sorry to go on, this is a puzzler, any ideas appreciated, thanks.

UPDATE: I have solved the date problem with the one file, by using Unblocker to create a copy on the desktop, change the date, and move it back in to MyFonts folder. The situation remains, though, that presumably all 8000+ font files (.ttf and others) in MyFonts are unable to be moved or deleted. Thanks for any ideas.

Bob

Anak · 06 Jul 2016

Hi Bob, welcome to 7F! :)

Couple of ideas:

Is there a name to this font, can you upload a screenshot of its properties window? and,

Since the font has shown possession because

"The action can't be completed because the file is open in System"

have you thought of running a virus/malware scan on all the drives in your system?

One more item; Could you please fill in your system specs? I know its a pain, but if you use IE [step #5] the tutorial and SevenForums can do it automatically: System Info - See Your System Specs

Anak...aka...Steve

Lance1 · 06 Jul 2016

Here's an option you may want to try. Can’t Delete a File? Use the Command Prompt [How To]

rgdaniel · 07 Jul 2016

Thanks for the suggestions. Malware and Virus scans are always up to date. The individual font with the date problem has been fixed (the date at least) but ALL 8000+ fonts remain impervious to deleting or moving. The idea of doing anything to them individually is a non-starter.

Latest update, I went back to my original zip archive of the whole MyFonts folder, dragged a small subfolder of fonts at random out of the archive to another location on the HD. Tried to delete a couple of the fonts, same error message. I can, however, delete that folder... and, I see now, I can also delete folders within MyFonts, including any font files I was unable to delete individually. So that's weird...

rgdaniel · 07 Jul 2016

Okay, more information:

I think this may be just how fonts behave on Win 7. On a hunch, I downloaded a couple of random ttf fonts from a free fonts web site. They came in zip files. I places those zip files on a third disk, not yet involved in this discussion. I unzipped them. I tried to delete the individual font files. Error message as above, "in use by System". But I was able to delete the folder they came in. So I guess it's a non-problem? Anyway calling it SOLVED I guess. Thanks for the suggestions, cheers.

Anak · 07 Jul 2016

You're welcome, glad to hear you have it sorted out.