maddening XP problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter Axel Foley
  • Start date Start date
A

Axel Foley

winXP explorer:

hello,

often when I am trying to delete an empty folder, I get the error message
that it is in use by another program _ which is not true.

is there any fix for this?

thanks!
 
Hi

Try deleting the folder from a command prompt.

--

Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
Please reply to the News Groups


| winXP explorer:
|
| hello,
|
| often when I am trying to delete an empty folder, I get the error message
| that it is in use by another program _ which is not true.
|
| is there any fix for this?
|
| thanks!
|
|
 
it's too hard to guess the old DOS 8.3 pathname, and far too time-consuming.

i think it might be a bug in one of the latest windows updates.

time to change to linux.
 
I have three folders that won't delete under any conditions; including the
XP command prompt, real-mode DOS in a dual-boot configuration, etc. And they
are empty - I moved the files where I wanted them but?
 
Axel Foley said:
winXP explorer:

hello,

often when I am trying to delete an empty folder, I get the error message
that it is in use by another program _ which is not true.

is there any fix for this?

thanks!
Click to expand...

The other program could be Windows XP. Which specific folders are you
trying to delete? The folders, even though empty, could be system folders.

Don
 
Axel said:
it's too hard to guess the old DOS 8.3 pathname, and far too
time-consuming.

i think it might be a bug in one of the latest windows updates.

time to change to linux.
Click to expand...


It's not too hard.. For example:

I have a directory that is like so --
c:\this is my directory\but\i want to erase this one\
and I want to get rid of the last one.. I type in:

rmdir /s /q "c:\this is my directory\but\i want to erase this one"

And hit enter at any command prompt...
See the quotes? Why guess?

Also, sometimes this problem is related to AVI files, expecially with the
prolification of downloaded movies/series..

First, try this registry hack to help speed things up:
http://www.winguides.com/registry/display.php/1209/

Your choices then are:


(1)
Open Task Manager and kill off all Explorer processors.
Open just one instance to get your desktop back.
Do not use Windows Explorer to get to the file, do it at a command prompt
with CD and such command line things.
Then DEL the file in question.


(2)
Reboot the computer.
Do all of this as soon as you get logged in:
Do not use Windows Explorer to get to the file, do it at a command prompt
with CD and such command line things.
Then DEL the file in question.


(3)
Reboot the computer into SAFE MODE.
Attempt to delete the file there either with the command prompt method or
Windows Explorer.


(Detailed Version of the deletion process above)
Write down the exact path and full filename of the file in question.
Reboot/Kill Explorer and restart it/Reboot into Safe mode.
Without using Windows Explorer or My Computer, open a Command Prompt
(Start -> Run and type in CMD).
Change into the directory in question:
CD "X:\blah directory\blah sub-directory\"
(Quotes good.)
Then type in DIR to make sure you are in the right place..
Then type in:
del "filename you wrote down.ext"


It seems Windows XP is reading the file information of the
movie/mpg/avi/blah blah files all the time.. If anything
is wrong/weird/etc - it may not let go for you to erase it.
Thus, in a command prompt, this does not happen. The
reboot/killing of Explorer processes/etc simply clears things
up first.
 
If you can't figure that out how on earth do you think you will be able to
figure out Linux?

Testy
 
You're having trouble with long 8.3 namepaths and you think linux is a good
idea?

Bwahahahaha!

Here, download to your heart's content, and see how far you go without being
able to use command line paths:

http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/ftp.php3
http://www.redhat.com/download/mirror.html
http://www.ethereal.com/download.html

Incidentally, the usual solution to your issue is to use the RD command from
the command prompt. It's not a bug from a recent update, it's because the
folder, or something in the folder, is in resident memory. It can't be
deleted until the process using it is terminated.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
I thought this was a "newusers" forum!! "Command prompt", "resident memory", "directory", "real-mode DOS in a dual-boot configuration"---where can I (a TRUE newuser!) learn what the heck all this stuff is??
 
Googling (searching at www.google.com) the phrases in turn will often get
you the answers you seek. Many of those terms are leftovers from days of
yore. Some do not apply in the XP environment ("real mode DOS" for instance,
which is actually emulated by the "command prompt" - just start/run "cmd" to
see what I mean).

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

sonni said:
I thought this was a "newusers" forum!! "Command prompt", "resident
Click to expand...
memory", "directory", "real-mode DOS in a dual-boot configuration"---where
can I (a TRUE newuser!) learn what the heck all this stuff is??
 
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