can't delete file - help.

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i got a Dawn of War update file on my desktop, which stopped downloading half way though, however i can't now delete said file.

any help? please :)
 
You need to firstly identify what process has locked access to the file. Presumably it will be your browser, but it could be something else like a virus scanner, I suppose.

You should give the Sysinternal's Process Explorer a run... download it for free from here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

When it's running you can the click Find -> File Handle or DLL, then enter the name of the file you want to delete and click Search. It should come back showing which process has locked the file. Double-click the process and it will take you back to the Process Explorer main window, highlighting the process which you can right-click on and kill.

Alternatively, just try rebooting your PC, that should help ;)
 
C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Owner>del desktop\dow141~1.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Owner\desktop\dow141(2).exe
The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.


:(
 
lol :D

as for the livecd, just google a linux live cd, something like knoppix or ubuntu.

Download, burn to cd, and boot from disk. Bit long winded but its pretty useful to have - at least you'll already have just in case something like this happens again! :)
 
Try running chckdisk & then deleting using PocketKillbox, sounds like you have a minor bit of filesystem corruption :)
Also, remember to select all the options for killing it, sometimes a basic file kill doesn't work.

Cheers

-Leezer-
 
http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Boot-Manager-Disk/MoveOnBoot.shtml

"MoveOnBoot allows you to copy, moves or delete files on the next system boot. This comes in very handy, if you need to replace or delete files which are locked by other applications, loaded into memory or cannot be changed until next system boot.

You could manually enter a line to the wininit files, but using MoveOnBoot is much simpler, since the program can be integrated into shell - it creates the "Copy/Move/Delete on boot" context menu item."

It's what I've used in the past
 
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