Fix “Cannot delete file because it’s being used by another person or program.” Error in Windows
Very often you’ll run into the above annoying error when trying to move or delete a file. However, it is often difficult to find out exactly which program that is locking your file. There are several ways to fix this issue. Follow the advices below.
milly 7:22 pm on February 8, 2010
I recommend using solution #1. It is very effective and works in almost all Windows environments including Windows server.
1. Use a wonderful monitoring freeware called Process Explorer. You can download it from here.
After downloading the zip file, extract and run procexp.exe. Select “Find” -> “Find Handle or DLL” from menu. Type in the file that is being locked. You will be able to see the process/program that is locking the file. Select the process, and you will see the process that is being highlighted on the main program. Right click on the highlighted process on the main program and select “Kill process”.
2. Try using Unlocker, it is also a freeware, but it doesn’t seem to work on Windows Server.
3. Wait a few seconds. You probably need to wait for a program to terminate and release the locking.
4. Reboot the computer.
5. If rebooting does not help, try booting into Safe Mode first and delete. Note: If you need to do this, your computer “might” be infected with spyware, virus or malware.