Is there a way to unlock Windows files without downloading a utility?
I have a few files on my Windows XP C: drive that are very old and very useless. When I try to delete these files I get the following message:
Cannot delete FILENAME.zip: It is being used by another person or program Close any programs that might be using the file and try again.
No one is accessing this file. No program is using it currently. Windows has screwed up the file locking mechanism.
Is there a way to delete this file without downloading someone's unlocking utility? I find the sites offering these programs to be a tad sketchy.
How could you force the file to unlock from within a program? I'm competent in Java, Perl, and Ruby, but I haven't seen anything among their libraries that would aid me here.
You don't need any utility. Just use Win32 api to unlock them (simply close the handle)
Rebooting to Safe Mode is often a very easy way to do it. When you boot in safe mode, it won't load all the stuff set to run on startup. Press F8 while it's booting to access the boot menu, and choose "safe mode".