[Solved] Windows 10 File Not Deleting

Although deleting files is the most common option when you wish to remove some unnecessary files to release free space or optimize PC performance, the system may impede you to remove some files or folders in Windows 10. Why doesn't Windows allow you to delete files and how can you force delete a file in Windows 10?

If you have some files that must be removed, keep reading to find proper solutions.

Why Windows 10 files not deleting?

When a file is accessed or utilized by another application or program, Windows 10 will label the file as locked, so you will be unable to delete, edit, or move it. And this tile will be unlocked when you are not using it. The file unlock procedure may not always be effective, resulting in the file deletion operation failing and a notice that the file is being accessed by another software.

In all, the common reasons that make Windows 10 files not delete are:
• A breach of sharing has occurred
• Access is denied
• The same file source or file destination is being used
• Corrupted file directory
• Scan your gadget using an antivirus program
• Malware and virus
• The drive is full or write-protected
• File or folder is read-only
• The selected files are system files that are not allowed to delete

Indeed, there are some system files or preset files that cannot be deleted. However, other files if you insist to remove, there are always solutions. Next, we’ll show you how to force delete a file in Windows systems.

How to delete files that cannot be deleted from Windows 10?

In this part, we’ll show you some methods to remove undeletable files with Windows built-in tools and third-party tools.

Way 1. Deleting a folder/file via SMD

If you’re familiar with CMD, you can try deleting commands to remove those files or folders you don’t want to keep.

Step 1. Click the Start menu, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt app and choose Run as administrator.

Step 2. Then input the command line: del c:\users\pc\desktop\test.txt and hit Enter to force delete the file in Windows 10 with CMD. This command will delete the TXT file named “test” on the desktop. You should replace “file path” with the actual path of the target file.

▶ Note: Please provide the file extension in the command, such as txt, doc, xls, etc. You can view the complete path of a file or folder by right-clicking it and selecting Properties.

To delete a directory tree (the specified directory and all its subdirectories, including all files), there’s another order: rmdir /s /q folder path, for example, rmdir /s /q E:\test

▶ Note: When you run this command, the entire directory tree is deleted without confirmation. Make sure that important files are moved or backed up before using the /q command-line option.

Way 2. Delete files in Safe Mode

If you come across a locked file, you can simply restart your device to unlock it. If it doesn't work, you can boot into Safe Mode to unlock and delete the file.

Step 1. Open "Settings" > Click on "Update & Security" > Click on "Recovery" > Under "Advanced Startup", click the "Restart now" button.

Step 2. Click on "Troubleshoot" > "Advanced options" > "Startup Settings".

Step 3. Click the "Restart" button.

Step 4. On "Startup Settings," press F4 to enable Safe Mode.

In Safe Mode, you can use File Explorer to locate and delete the files that were previously locked, and restart your device as you would normally to exit Safe Mode.

Way 3. Use the file shred tool

Besides Windows built-in tools, you can also try a third-party file shredder especially if you wish those files won’t be recovered by a data recovery tool.

To successfully shred undeletable files, you can try AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard, a free disk and partition manager for Windows 11/10/8/8.1/7/XP systems. The “Shred Files” feature can totally delete the files, including the inaccessible ones, and users can choose to overwrite them with zeros or other ways to prevent any data recovery program from restoring our personal information. Furthermore, this shredding process helps hinder viral file regeneration.

▶ Note: If you want to clear all data on the disk, please choose "Wipe Hard Drive" or "SSD Secure Erase".

Step 1. Install and run AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard. Click “Free up”> “Shred Files”.

Step 2. In the pop-out “Shred Files” window, you can choose the “Add Files” or “Add Folder” option to add the files or folders that need to be deleted.

Step 3. Here, we select “Add Files” to open the files window, and then pick the target files, or you can directly drag the files or folders into this window.

Step 4. After adding all the target files, you can see them in the “Name” list. If you want to remove one or more files from the list, just untick it. You can also put the mouse on the file or folder path and double-click the path to open it.

Step 5. When the files are confirmed correctly, now you have to choose the shredding method: Write Zero.

▶ Note: If you want to unlock other ways to prevent the removed files from being recovered, you can upgrade to the Professional Edition.

Step 6. Then click on the “Shred” button. In the pop-out mini window, click “Yes” to confirm your decision and start to delete files.

Step 7. When all the added files or folders are deleted, you will see the message “All files/folders have been shredded completely” on the top.

Bonus tips: How to deeply clean PC files?

The above three ways are how to delete files Windows not deleting. After you delete those files if you wish to clean your disk and system to release more space on the disk and keep your computer in nice status. We suggest you regularly clean your computer to filter unnecessary data files and get rid of them. The “PC Cleaner” function of AOMEI Partition Standard can help you scan your disk and system to clean common junk files like cache files, temp files, and Thumbnails.

Ending lines

If you confront Windows 10 file not deleting on your PC, then this post will help you a lot. If you’re not familiar with system tools, then AOMEI Partition Assistant is a great choice. Apart from the mentioned feature, you can enjoy OS migration, disk clone, MBR/GPT conversion, App mover, and more practical functions in the Professional Edition.

And if you’re using Windows Server 2022/2019/2016/2012(R2)/2008(R2)/2003 system, you can choose the Server Edition of this tool which is perfectly compatible with Windows Server systems.