Solved Cannot Rename or Delete Folders that have Subfolders

[BuckSkin]

For the last several weeks, my Windows 7 has had a most annoying problem; it will not allow me to rename or delete any folder that contains sub-folders, even when the sub-folders are empty.

It will insist that "a folder or file is open in another program" ; no it is NOT.

I have had to resort to some creative time-consuming workarounds to accomplish what were before simple tasks.

Is there a switch that I have inadvertently turned on or off that could be causing this problem ?

How do I fix this ?

Thanks.


Edit>>Forgot to add>> I can move the sub-folders out of the problem folder and then immediately rename or delete with no problem.

If I need to rename a folder that contains sub-folders, I must create a folder with the new name, then move the sub-folders into this new folder, and then delete the old folder.

If I need to delete a folder that has sub-folders, I must delete "from the inside out"


Update>More Info>> I used Command Line as Administrator and was still unable to rename = "Access Denied"
I was able to successfully use Command Line to rename folders that had no sub-folders, so I know I was doing it correctly.

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I tried restarting Explorer and that did not help.

 

[Megahertz07]

Do you own the folder (some folders belongs to system)?

Is Explorer set to show hidden and system files?
Try to get ownership of the folder.
Take Ownership Shortcut

 

[BuckSkin]

Do you own the folder (some folders belongs to system)?
I thought I did as I created them.

Is Explorer set to show hidden and system files?
It is set to show hidden files and folders but not system files.
Try to get ownership of the folder.
Take Ownership Shortcut

Thanks for responding.

I will add that the Operating System C: Drive is isolated on a SSD; everything else is stored on separate internal HDDs, five of them currently.

I can completely restart the machine (a huge annoyance) and everything will work as it should for a few changes and then revert back to not allowing them.

Restarting Explorer only will not make the problem go away even for the first few changes.

I will investigate this ownership business; I would have assumed that if I created the folders in the first place that I "Owned" them, but maybe not.

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I just now checked and I am the owner of the folders.

More Info: Now it gets a bit weird and hard to explain.

These are photo folders that I am working on.

I have a set of premade folder "trees" that I have been using for years, with the year at the top, containing sub-folders for each month, and each month containing a group of sub-folders A, B, C, etc., that I rename to suit whatever event or subject they will contain.
Each of these A, B, C, etc., folders contain premade folders where I store the various versions and types of photo files such as RAW, PSD, jpegs in progress, finished jpegs, and resized jpegs.

It is currently September; I cannot alter any folder that contains sub-folders in any month prior to and including September, REGARDLESS of whether said folder contains photos or is just empty folders.

However, I can do anything I want to any of the folders in October, November, and December with immediate response and no refusals.
Whether it has anything to do with it, these folders do not contain any photo files yet.

I did not have this problem a few weeks ago.

 

[Megahertz07]

If any folder on the tree has a system file attribute you won't be able to delete it.
I suggest you set Explorer to view Hidden and System files and see if there is any of them.
It also maybe that a program prevents it to be deleted.

If you did not have this problem a few weeks ago, did you install any app or program since? Open Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Programs and Features to see what has been installed.

 

[BuckSkin]

I set system files visible and the only place I am seeing any system files are directly underneath the drive letter itself at the top of the tree; $recyclebin and System Volume somesuchorother; these two appear to be folders and, although I am administrator, it won't allow me to look inside them.

Just to see if one of my programs has decided to start putting a lock on things, when I get time and opportunity, I am going to restart the machine so that all programs will be closed; then, I will see if I have regained control with no programs open; then, open programs one by one, until maybe I find one that, when open, prevents me having control.

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The only recent addition to Programs and Features is 16-Sep-2022 Microsoft Office 365.

I have no idea as to why or where it came from; I didn't install it; I have had Microsoft Office for years and have never used it; I have no idea what it even does.

 

[Megahertz07]

When was the last time you deleted temporary files and folders?
Run Disk clean up or use CCleaner

 

[BuckSkin]

When was the last time you deleted temporary files and folders?

Probably never.
Will they all be in the same place ?

 

[Megahertz07]

Probably never.
Will they all be in the same place ?

No, they aren't.
You have windows/temp, users\Name\appdata\temp and also old and useless updated files.
Run %windir%\system32\cleanmgr.exe to delete the basic. CCleaner to also delete browser cache and other files.

 

[Sunnysky]

Have you run a chkdsk /f on C: or even just a chkdsk? $recyclebin and System Volume Information are normally restricted and used for the Recycling Bin and System Restore respectively. No need to explore that , I think just ignore those. But the September properties seems to be an error. Choose parent Photo folder> properties> Security> Advanced > Permissions|.. |Owner| > [Change Permissions] (select Administrators or User)...v.. [x]Replace all child objects permissions... [OK]

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Microsoft Office 365 can be uninstalled if you do not need it. I prefer to use Revo uninstaller and delete all the advanced search files and registry finds.

---

If you want your system analyzed for efficiency on startups, Scheduled Tasks etc for improving performance, there are built-in tools and 3rd party ones . e.g. built-in > Win+r= run > msinfo32 >[enter] >File>save (yourname.nfo) and remember which folder. Then attach (big file) . No personal info is included.

 

[BuckSkin]

When was the last time you deleted temporary files and folders?

Thanks for the suggestion.

I manually deleted every Temp file or folder that it would allow me to in AppData Local and in Windows Temp; there were tens of thousands of them (some seventy-plus GB); I narrowed them down to around seventy or so files that it just would not let me delete.

I restarted the machine twice.

I don't know how long it will last; but, so far, I have regained control of things and can rename, move, delete, and otherwise manipulate things.

I haven't yet opened all of the programs that are usually open; I shall see how that works out.

I had a bit of a setback earlier today as the durn electricity shut off for a split-second, shutting down the computer and probably losing a bunch of work I had done.

I will know in a few days whether my problem is going to come back or maybe this fixed it.

Since the problem began, a restart would make it go away for a while and the electricity going out has delayed me knowing for that much longer.

Hopefully, deleting all those Temp files has cured the situation.


All of this activity has brought about a couple of questions.

On my machine, I am Administrator, operating with Administrator priveleges; even at that, I had several Temp files/folders that it would say I needed permission from (machine name)_Administrator --- I thought I was Administrator --- I have ran into this before when trying to do other things.

Now, concerning the Temp folders, is there any harm in periodically wiping the slate clean ?

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Have you run a chkdsk /f on C: or even just a chkdsk? $recyclebin and System Volume Information are normally restricted and used for the Recycling Bin and System Restore respectively. No need to explore that , I think just ignore those. But the September properties seems to be an error. Choose parent Photo folder> properties> Security> Advanced > Permissions|.. |Owner| > [Change Permissions] (select Administrators or User)...v.. [x]Replace all child objects permissions... [OK]

---

Microsoft Office 365 can be uninstalled if you do not need it. I prefer to use Revo uninstaller and delete all the advanced search files and registry finds.

---

If you want your system analyzed for efficiency on startups, Scheduled Tasks etc for improving performance, there are built-in tools and 3rd party ones . e.g. built-in > Win+r= run > msinfo32 >[enter] >File>save (yourname.nfo) and remember which folder. Then attach (big file) . No personal info is included.

Thanks for the input.

I am about afraid to run any of the chkdsk as I have had a few bad experiences from doing so.

 

[Sunnysky]

you and Administrator are members of the group "Administrators" yet separate users.

chkdsk alone is harmless

 

[BuckSkin]

you and Administrator are members of the group "Administrators" yet separate users.

Thanks.

So I guess I would need log in as Administrator.

I just now looked under Users; I see myself, Default, and Public; is this Default the Administrator of which they are meaning ?

The machine is Dell Optiplex 780 tower; I have no idea as to user-name, password, and what-have-you should I attempt to log in as Administrator.

 

[Megahertz07]

Some temp files can't be deleted because they are in use. Skip them.
You should use Windows disk cleanup (%windir%\system32\cleanmgr.exe)

You may have the Administrator status as a user but System Administrator has much more power than a Administrator User.
To enable System administrator, open a CMD window as administrator and type:
net user administrator /active:yes (to enable)

net user administrator /active:no (to disable)

Log off.
Now you will have two options to log on, you and Administrator. As it is very powerful it can ruin your system if you do bad things. Use it with caution.

It is very important that you do a disk check after a power down. Once started, don't interrupt it.
Open a CMD window as administrator and type:
chkdsk c: /f
It will say your disk is in use and ask if you want to schedule to next start = yes
Restart
Pay attention on the results, specially bad blocks, bad clusters, bad sectors etc

 

[BuckSkin]

Some temp files can't be deleted because they are in use. Skip them.
You should use Windows disk cleanup (%windir%\system32\cleanmgr.exe)

Thanks; that is all very helpful; I will screenshot those instructions and save them where I can find them.

So, I can use this Windows disk cleanup instead of deleting the Temp stuff manually, right ?

Just from what I have already done, it seems like things are a bit quicker.

 

[Megahertz07]

You can set disk cleanup to run once a month automatically.
How to automatically run Disk cleanup on Windows 7, 8.x and 10 - Windows 10 Forums

 

[BuckSkin]

You can set disk cleanup to run once a month automatically.

Thanks for that.

So far so good on my problem; hopefully it doesn't return in a few days.

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UPDATE: Alas, I thought we had a winner; then I attempted to rename a folder and it refused, claiming it was open in another program which it was not.
I moved the subfolders out to a temporary folder, renamed the offending folder with no refusals now that it did not contain subfolders, and moved my subfolders back.

I then attempted to rename a few other folders containing subfolders and they refused me as well.

That has been the way of it; I can get a day, maybe two, after a restart, and then the problem will return.

I paid attention this time and I couldn't find any program that changed things when I opened it.

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UPDATE: I can move the folders that it will not allow me to rename; I don't think I could do that if anything were open in another program.

 

[Megahertz07]

BuckSkin, did you try to log in as built administrator (see post 13 on how to enable administrator) and see if you can rename them?

 

[BuckSkin]

@BuckSkin, did you try to log in as built administrator (see post 13 on how to enable administrator) and see if you can rename them?

No, I have not; but, good idea and I will.

I have just recently restarted the machine and for a bit it will allow me to manipulate the affected folders (any folder that contains subfolders).

When it starts it's trick of refusing me again, then I will try the built administrator and see what happens.

 

[BuckSkin]

I think I may have found the culprit --- maybe.....

UPDATE: I have DEFINITELY found the culprit that has been causing me to pull my hair out.

I almost daily use the program, digiKam; once digiKam is opened after a machine restart, it is seldom closed until the next machine restart, which may be three months if everything is going well.

I used it for years, problem free; but, I now believe a gremlin has moved in on it and started this behavior.

I paid especial close attention after my last machine restart and all was fine until I opened digiKam; and, after that, all the folders under the particular months that are listed in the digiKam database were then locked to where I couldn't do anything to any folder that contains sub-folders; folders that do not contain sub-folders are not affected.

Curiously, the presence or absence of files within the folders has no bearing on the behavior.

After the first half of my hair was pulled out, I had decided Advanced Renamer was the culprit; but, after several sleepless nights it dawned on me, all the affected folders are listed in digiKams database.

I have been using digiKam for years without this problem; but, I had changed the way I was handling some things in digiKam and the changes were affecting the folders that were locking up on me.

What has made this such a nightmare for me to get to the bottom of is that I could start at the deepest sub-folder of a folder that was locked and work my way back up to the root, deleting, moving, renaming, whatever, so long as there were no folders beneath that level, until I worked my right up to the root folder and then I could manipulate it however, even delete it, with no refusals.

None of the problem folders were "Open" in digiKam; they hadn't been selected in digiKam; just the mere fact of digiKam being Open was enough to lock them tight --- so long as they contained even a single sub-folder.

As things now stand, digiKam = Not Open = I have full control of things; digiKam = Open = folders that have sub-folders are locked tight.

Thanks for everyone's help and patience with me as I stumbled through this mystery.

Now I get to figure out how to get digiKam back on track and stop this frustrating behavior.