If you’re on Windows, then I bet you encounter Cannot Delete Folder/File the Source File May Be in Use error from time to time.

Sometimes the error goes away after you close all running applications, sometimes you need to reboot to actually delete that file or folder, and sometimes you are stuck. Why does this happen? Well, you get those errors when the file you are eager to delete is used by an application or a process, which doesn’t let you  delete the file.  Or you might be getting Access Is Denied error – that usually means that you are not logged in as administrator and don’t have enough privileges to access that particular file or folder.

But what if you are logged in as admin and are still getting all those errors? There are some great programs to help you.

LockHunter is a small Windows shell extension that integrates itself into Explorer right-click menu. All you need to do is right-click on a file or a folder you wish to delete and select What is locking this file? Then you can unlock it or delete it.

Lockhunter is especially handy if the file you are trying to delete is locked by some sort of malware, because it has an option to either close or delete the locking process. To do that click on Other and choose one of the options. Be careful and don’t delete any processes unless you are absolutely sure it’s malware and not a system process. Otherwise you can seriously harm your system. To check out which is which, go to Fileinspect.com and do a search. LockHunter works with Windows 2000, XP, 2003, and Vista. It supports both  32-bit and 64-bit. LockHunter is still in Beta, so there might be bugs.

Auslogics Task Manager is part of Auslogics BoostSpeed. It’s a great standard Windows Task Manager replacement with lots of extra options, including unlocking files and processes.

So, if you already have Auslogics BoostSpeed, you don’t need to wory about locked files. For those who would like to replace Windows Task Manager for free, I have good news – Auslogics Task Manager is available as a separate FREE tool. There are two versions available – an ordinary one that requires installation and a portable one.

Another good tool to unlock files and folders is Unlocker. Just like LockHunter, it’s a Windows Explorer extension. Unlocker removes file access restrictions that pervent a user from deleting, renaming, or moving a file. When you are trying to delete a locked file, simply right-click on it and select Unlocker from the context menu.

It will give you file info – Path Locked, PID, Handle, and Process Path. You can select Copy, Move, Rename, or Delete from the drop-down menu on the left. In addition to that you can terminate the process that is locking the file by selecting it and clicking Kill Process.

Unlocker works with Windows 2000, XP, 2003, and Vista.