How to Delete Undeletable Files in Windows

Many times when trying to remove an unwanted program, especially a piece of adware or spyware, you may run across a file that is undeletable by any normal method. When you try to remove it you'll receive the error message shown below telling you "access denied" and explaining the file may be in use.  You may also receive one of the following messages.

Cannot delete file: Access is denied
There has been a sharing violation.
The source or destination file may be in use.
The file is in use by another program or user.
Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use.




So if the file is in use, how do you delete it?

I'll show you several ways of removing these types of files and even some freeware programs that help you remove these pesky undeletable files.

Windows 95/98/ME

If you are using Windows 95, 98, or Windows ME, the easiest way to remove an undeleteable file is to boot to a DOS prompt and manually delete the file. Before you do this, you'll want to make a note of the location of the file including the entire path to it. Follow the steps below to delete these types of files.

If you already know the path to the file, please skip to Step 7

1. Click on Start, Find, Files and Folders
2. Type the name of the undeletable file in the Named or Search For box 
3. Make sure the Look In box shows the correct drive letter 
4. Click on Find Now or Search Now and let the computer find the file 
5. Once the file is located, right-click on it and choose properties, make a note of the file location. Usually this is something similar to
   
   c:\windows\system32\undeleteablefilesname.exe
6. Close the search box  
7. Locate a boot disk for your version of Windows, if you do not have a boot disk, follow the steps on the link below to create an emergency boot disk.
   
   How to Create an Emergency Boot Disk for Windows
8. Shut down and restart your computer with the boot disk in your floppy drive. 
9. The computer will boot to a DOS prompt that will look similar to
   
   c:\
10. Type the following command and press Enter to delete the filer, substituting the phrase with the actual path and file name you discovered in Step 5 above.
    
    del
    
    Example: del c:\windows\undeleteablefile.exe
11. Remove the boot disk in the floppy drive and restart your computer 
12. The file should now be deleted.

Windows XP

In Windows XP, there are a couple ways to remove an undeleteable file, a manual way, and a couple automated ways using some freeware programs. First, I'll show you the manual way.

Manual Method

If you already know the path to the file, please skip to Step 7

1. Click on Start, Search, All Files and Folders
2. Type the name of the undeletable file in the box shown 
3. Make sure the Look In box shows the correct drive letter 
4. Click Search and let the computer find the file 
5. Once the file is located, right-click on it and choose properties, make a note of the file location. Usually this is something similar to
   
   c:\windows\system32\undeleteablefilesname.exe
6. Close the search box  
7. Click on Start, Run, and type CMD and Press Enter to open a Command Prompt window 
8. Leave the Command Prompt window open, but proceed to close all other open programs 
9. Click on Start, Run and type TASKMGR.EXE and press Enter to start Task Manager 
10. Click on the Processes tab, click on the process named Explorer.exe and click on End Process. 
11. Minimize Task Manager but leave it open 
12. Go back to the Command Prompt window and change to the directory where the file is located. To do this, use the CD command. You can follow the example below.
    
    Example: to change to the Windows\System32 directory you would enter the following command and Press Enter
    
    cd \windows\system32
13. Now use the DEL command to delete the offending file. Type DEL where is the file you wish to delete.
    
    Example: del undeletable.exe
14. Use ALT-TAB to go back to Task Manager 
15. In Task Manager, click File, New Task and enter EXPLORER.EXE to restart the Windows shell. 
16. Close Task Manager

Windows Vista/7

Manual Method

1. Click on Start
2. Type CMD in the Search box
3. Right-click on CMD and choose Run as Administrator
4. Leave the Command Prompt window open, but proceed to close all other open programs 
5. Right click on the Task bar and click on Task Manager
6. Click on the Processes tab, click on the process named Explorer.exe and click on End Process. 
7. Minimize Task Manager but leave it open 
8. Go back to the Command Prompt window and change to the directory where the file is located. To do this, use the CD command. You can follow the example below.
   
   Example: to change to the Windows\System32 directory you would enter the following command and Press Enter
   
   cd \windows\system32
9. Now use the DEL command to delete the offending file. Type DEL where is the file you wish to delete.
   
   Example: del undeletable.exe
10. Use ALT-TAB to go back to Task Manager 
11. In Task Manager, click File, New Task and enter EXPLORER.EXE to restart the Windows shell. 
12. Close Task Manager

Programs to automatically delete a file

Remove on Reboot Shell Extension

This is a nice extension that loads into the right click menu. All you have to do is right-click on a file and choose "Remove on Next Reboot" and the file will be deleted the next time the computer restarts. Although it probably should only be used by more advanced computer users since it may be TOO easy to delete files using this program.

Pocket Killbox

A simple .exe file that you can use to delete undeleteable files, although the program will also delete temporary files, edit the HOSTS file, and more. A definite must have program when you are fighting an annoying spyware or adware program that won't remove.

Unlocker

Unlocker is another program that runs from the right click menu. Its simple and very effective. The website even has a side by side comparision of other programs that accomplish this task.

Using one of the three tools shown above, you should be able to remove those annoying undeleteable files once and for all.

All My Files and Folders are Hidden after Rogue Virus attack

Lately there has been a constant stream of rogue antivirus software that hides all the files and folders on your hard drive, including everything in the users directory like documents, pictures, etc. as well as all the shortcuts on the Start Menu and more. The virus adds the hidden attribute to every file and folder on your system, so it appears as if everything has been deleted from your hard drive. If you've been hit by one of these viruses, follow the instructions below to unhide your files and regain control of your computer again.

If your system is still infected with a rogue antivirus, please follow the instructions on how to remove these rogue malware programs. After the malware has been removed, follow these steps to unhide your files and folders.



First, let's unhide your files by changing the system settings of Windows.

For Windows XP

1) Open My Computer
2) Click on Tools
3) Click on Folder Options
4) Click on the View Tab
5) Place a dot on the option "Show Hidden Files and Folders"
6) Click Ok

For Windows Vista

1) Click on the Windows Orb (Start button)
2) Click on Computer
3) Click on Tools
4) Click on Folder Options
5) Click on View
6) Click the option for "Show Hidden Files and Folders"
7) Click Ok

For Windows 7

1) Click on the Windows Orb (Start button)
2) Click on Computer
3) Click on Organize
4) Click on Folder and Search Options
5) Click on View
6) Click the option for "Show Hidden Files and Folders"
7) Click Ok

Now you should be able to see all of your files and folders. However, they still have the hidden file attibute set. When we remove the hidden attribute on the files and folders, all of your files should reappear normally.

To Unhide files and folders that Windows Diagnostic, Windows XP Restore and other malware hide

For Windows XP

1) Click on Start, Run
2) Type CMD and press Enter
3) At the command prompt type the following and press Enter

CD \

4) Now the command prompt should show the root folder of the hard drive. Most likely C:\
5) At the command prompt type the following and press Enter

ATTRIB -H *.* /S /D

This command will unhide the files that are currently hidden. Because the important system files have a system attribute attached to them as well, the above command will not work for them and they will be skipped and kept hidden from prying eyes.

This command will take some time, so dont be afraid if it takes anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour to finish. What the command does is simple. It removes the hidden attribute from all files on the hard drive. The /S parameter tells it to search the current folder and all subfolders, while the /D parameter processes tthe folders as well.

6) Type Exit and press Enter when the procedure is complete. Then reboot your computer

For Windows Vista/7

1) Click on Start, All Programs
2) Click Accessories and Find Command Prompt
3) Right click on the Command Prompt option and choose Run as Administrator
4) At the command prompt type the following and press Enter

CD \

5) Now the command prompt should show the root folder of the hard drive. Most likely C:\
6) At the command prompt type the following and press Enter

ATTRIB -H *.* /S /D

This command will unhide the files that are currently hidden. Because the important system files have a system attribute attached to them as well, the above command will not work for them and they will be skipped and kept hidden from prying eyes.

This command will take some time, so dont be afraid if it takes anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour to finish. What the command does is simple. It removes the hidden attribute from all files on the hard drive. The /S parameter tells it to search the current folder and all subfolders, while the /D parameter processes tthe folders as well.

7) Type Exit and press Enter when the procedure is complete. Then reboot your computer

Alternative to CMD Prompt Commands

As as alternative, there is a program that was created by the folks at Bleeping Computer that unhides these files as well. They have their own tutorial on how to use unhide.exe You can download unhide.exe to your desktop and run it to do the same thing as the above procedure.

Fix Problems with Hidden Start Menu icons and Taskbar/Quick Launch Icons

Many times after removing these new rogue programs and unhiding files, I find that the Windows XP/Vista Quick Launch icons, and the Windows 7 taskbar icons are not working. Also, icons in the Start Menu are either completely gone or not working. These new rogue malware programs take these files and move them to a temporary directory, so when the computer is restored to working order these shortcuts still don't work.

Follow the steps below to fix these shortcuts on the Taskbar and Quick Launch toolbar

For Windows XP

1) Open My Computer
2) Double click on

• Drive C
• Documents and Settings
• Your User Name (this is replaced with the actual user name)
• Local Settings
• Temp
• SNTMP or SMTMP

3) You'll find several folders here labeled with numbers (1, 2, 3, 4).
4) Open Folder 1
5) Folder 1 contains the All Users Start Menu shortcuts. Click on Edit, Select All, and Copy the files in this directory
6) Leave this folder open and Reopen My Computer again
7) Go to the following location

• Drive C
• Documents and Settings
• All Users
• Start Menu

8) Click on Edit and Paste in this folder to copy the Programs folder and other shortcuts back to their appropriate location
9) Go back to Step 3 and open Folder 2. Folder 2 contains the Quick Launch shortcuts
10) Copy these files by selecting all and choosing Copy again (see step 5 for more info)
11) Open the following location

• Drive C
• Documents and Settings
• Username
• Application Data
• Microsoft
• Internet Explorer
• Quick Launch

12) Paste the files from Folder 2 to this location

13) Folder 3 appears to contain Windows 7 Taskbar icons (not needed in Windows XP)

14) Folder 4 does have Desktop  icons that you could copy and paste as well. Using the procedure outlined above, copy the contents of Folder 4 to the location

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop

For Windows Vista

1) Open Computer
2) Double click on

• Drive C
• Users
• Your User Name (this is replaced with the actual user name)
• AppData
• Local
• Temp
• SNTMP or SMTMP

3) You'll find several folders here labeled with numbers (1, 2, 3, 4).
4) Open Folder 1
5) Folder 1 contains the All Users Start Menu shortcuts. Click on Edit, Select All, and Copy the files in this directory
6) Leave this folder open and Reopen My Computer again
7) Go to the following location

• Drive C
• Program Data
• Microsoft
• Windows
• Start Menu

8) Click on Edit and Paste in this folder to copy the Programs folder and other shortcuts back to their appropriate location
9) Go back to Step 3 and open Folder 2. Folder 2 contains the Quick Launch shortcuts
10) Copy these files by selecting all and choosing Copy again (see step 5 for more info)
11) Open the following location

• Drive C
• Users
• Username
• AppData
• Roaming
• Microsoft
• Internet Explorer
• Quick Launch

12) Paste the files from Folder 2 to this location

13) Folder 3 contains Used Pinned Task Bar icon. So you'll want to copy those files to the following location:

C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar

14) Folder 4 contains Desktop icons for all users. Copy these icons to the following location:

C:\Users\Public\Public Desktop

For Windows 7

1) Open Computer
2) Double click on

• Drive C
• Users
• Your User Name (this is replaced with the actual user name)
• AppData
• Local
• Temp
• SNTMP or SMTMP

3) You'll find several folders here labeled with numbers (1, 2, 3, 4).
4) Open Folder 1
5) Folder 1 contains the All Users Start Menu shortcuts. Click on Edit, Select All, and Copy the files in this directory
6) Leave this folder open and Reopen My Computer again
7) Go to the following location

• Drive C
• Program Data
• Microsoft
• Windows
• Start Menu

8) Click on Edit and Paste in this folder to copy the Programs folder and other shortcuts back to their appropriate location
9) Go back to Step 3 and open Folder 3. Folder 3 contains the Windows 7 Taskbar shortcuts
10) Copy these files by selecting all and choosing Copy again (see step 5 for more info)
11) Open the following location

• Drive C
• Users
• Username
• AppData
• Roaming
• Microsoft
• Internet Explorer
• Quick Launch
• User Pinned
• Taskbar

12) Paste the files from Folder 3 to this location

13) Folder 3 contains Used Pinned Task Bar icon. So you'll want to copy those files to the following location:

C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar

14) Folder 4 contains Desktop icons for all users. Copy these icons to the following location:

C:\Users\Public\Public Desktop

Final Step: Set Files and Folders to Hidden Again

Now that we have reset the hidden attribute, you'll want to follow the instructions at the top of this page to hide the hidden and system files again. The purpose of doing this is to protect the system files from being shown and possibly being deleted from the system by someone.
Now reboot your computer and double check the Start Menu shortcuts and Quick Launch and Taskbar icons to make sure they all work again.

Remove Recent Programs From Start Menu

 Windows save list of recently opened files and show them in start menu. Its very convinient to find files. But if you wanna some privacy, if you don;t want others to see which files and programs you opened than you can hide recent files.

  

To remove recent items from start menu just follow these steps:

1). Right click on taskbar and click on Properties.

 


2). Click on start menu tab.

3). Uncheck the check boxes under privacy.

4). Click ok.

Its done.
Click on start menu and check recent items and recent programs, they must not be in start menu. Start menu will look like this figure.

Get Your Old Pc Back After Attack Of Viruses

In today's world, most of the antiviruses are able to remove the viruses but what about tha changes caused by them to the system...


here im posting some changes which anti-viruses do not undo and we have to do them manually...


These are not discovered by me...but i collected them one-by-one and can be applied using diff methods possible...These r practically useful by most of the users and easily applicable...


PS: gpedit.msc is not available in windows xp home


Command Prompt Disabled
SOLUTION 1:
----------------------------


Start->Run=>gpedit.msc
OR
C:/windows/system32/
find gpedit.msc double click on that


goto user Configuration
select Administrative Templates
select System
on the right pane double click on "prevent access to the command prompt"
in the popup select "disabled" click on apply
then ok......


SOLUTION 2:
---------------------------------------------------




Open Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) and navigate to:


[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System]


In the right-pane, double-click DisableCMD and set it's data to 0


SOLUTION 3:
--------------------------------------






Click on Start >> Run and in the Open box type:


REG add HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System /v DisableCMD /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f


Type it in correctly. It is better to copy and paste. Then click OK.


Folder Options Disabled
go to run
type "control folders"
if it doesnt work, try:


-----------------------------------------------------
Solution 1:


->Run -> Type gpedit.msc
Then:
->User Configuration ->Administrative Templates --> Windows Components --> Windows Explorer-> Removes the Folder Options menu item from the Tools menu.
Right click:
-> Properties -> Disable ->Apply -> Again set it to not configured




Solution 2:
------------------------------------


Go to Startmenu->Run and enter regedit there and press ok to execute regedit (registry editor). There you’ll see a tree like structure of folders like stuff in left. There navigate to registry entry HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
and on right side you’ll see many values.


Out of these values in right see a value (key) named “NoFolderOptions” .Double click after highlighting it, if there under value box it’s written 1 then change it to 0 and press enter. Exit the registry editor and close any folder and open again to see the settings.If you want to disable Folder Options then set the value of “NoFolderOptions” to 1 (and to retrieve it back change it to 0).