Cant delete this file I downloaded....

[lektrix]

It was a partial download that I killed before completion.. now everytime I try to delete, rename, or recycle the file, it says it's in use...Im starting to suspect it's a virus or something cause lately my virus scanner's been showing 7 trojans in the past 2 days... I also noticed that if i copy the file and delete it, the same thing happens... it was a torrent file.... what can I do? and how can I tell what process it is using?

ps: safe mode doesnt help

 

[SlitheryDee]

I've had this happen a couple of times (not with a torrent file though). Never did figure out exactly what caused it as virus and adware scans showed no infections. In one instance ending EVERY unnecessary process from the task manager allowed me to delete the file.

Hope that helps.

 

[unmerited]

You could try booting from the XP CD and selecting repair. Might be able to delete from there.


unmerited

 

[dryKill]

I've had this problem before. I used a program called MoveOnBoot to delete the file.

Here's a link to the freeware version of it.
MoveOnBoot


Also, you can try some of these methods if you don't want to install anything.

 

[Slammy1]

I've had this happen a few times. Safe mode with command prompt allowed me to remove it everytime.

 

[tynopik]

sometimes i find that simply viewing the file in explorer is enough to lock it for the rest of the session

the trick is to restart and navigate to it with command line and delete it there before viewing it in explorer

 

[mechBgon]

To delete the file,

1) click Start > Run, and run the command cmd to open up a command-line window. Navigate the command-line window to your Desktop using the command cd C:\Documents and settings\YourUsername\Desktop.

2) Now use Task Manager to stop explorer.exe. The Taskbar and Start Button vanish.

3) use the command-line window to delete the file. For example, if it's named test.wmv, use the command del test.wmv.

4) start Explorer.exe with the command explorer.exe.


To run a secondary virus check using a very good scanner, try this procedure: http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/scan.txt. This runs a one-pass McAfee command-line scanner with all its goodies turned on. No installation/uninstallation required.

 

[acole1]

Try this FREE program Unlocker 1.8.1.

Works every time, and it's so much simpler than command line. Just right click the file, and unlock.

 

[lektrix]

thanks guys, worked, also wanted to note that i ran adaware + spybot s&d (i do it once a week but i did it intentionally today) and there's always one thing that pisses me off.. s&d finds something in the command line (registry) and says it has to remove it the next time i restart my computer.. this happens everytime!