Files not deleted on Windows 11? 4 ways to force erase them

Many Windows 11 users reported that they were unable to delete certain content from their computers for some reason. This can be annoying because it prevents users from freeing up memory or deleting unwanted files. We will discuss why files cannot be deleted on Windows 11 and how to fix this issue.

Also, you might be interested in our article, What to do if files deleted by File Explorer still show up on your computer.

Why won’t my computer let me delete files?

• This may occur if you are not the file owner or your user account does not have the appropriate access rights.
• The file may be in use by another program or process, preventing it from being deleted.
• The operating system or third-party program may lock the file or folder.
• If your computer's file system is corrupted, it may cause file deletion issues.
• A file or folder can enable the read-only attribute, which restricts modification and deletion.
• Windows protects certain system files and folders from accidental deletion, resulting in restrictions.
• If a filename exceeds the maximum allowed path length, you may encounter problems deleting it.
• Antivirus or security software may interfere with file deletion if it has strict access controls.

What should I do if a file cannot be deleted on Windows 11?

Before proceeding with any advanced troubleshooting steps, we recommend that you adhere to the following preliminary checks:

• Restart your computer to resolve temporary issues affecting file deletion.
• Close the background process using the file and prevent it from being deleted.

1. Close and restart File Explorer

1. Right-click the Windows button and click Task Manager in the list menu .
2. Navigate to the "Processes" tab. Find Windows Explorer, right-click it and select End Task from the drop-down menu.
3. Click to run a new task.
4. Type explorer.exe and press to restart File Explorer. Enter
5. Try deleting the file again and check if the problem persists.

Restarting File Explorer will resolve any locks or glitches that are preventing it from deleting files.

2. Full Control of Files

1. Right-click the file you want to delete and select Properties from the drop-down menu.
2. Go to the Security tab and make sure your user account has the necessary permissions to delete the files.
3. If not, click "Edit" to adjust the permissions.
4. In the new window, grant full control to your account.

If you do not have the required permissions to delete the file, the above steps will help assign sufficient permissions to change the file.

If you can't bypass the above steps, check out our guide on how to reset permissions on Windows 11.

3. Use command prompt to force delete the file

1. Find the file path of the file in File Explorer and copy it.
2. Left-click the "Start" button, type "Command Prompt", and then click the "Run as administrator" option.
3. Click "Yes" on the User Account Control (UAC) prompt.
4. Navigate to the file location using the following command and path: For example, <strong>cd C:\Path\to\file</strong>
5. Enter the correct directory, type the following and press: Enter<strong>del /f filename.extension</strong>
##Replace filename.extension with The actual name of the file to delete.

/f flag forces deletion without prompting for confirmation. It runs file deletion process without any permission or security access.

4. Delete files in safe mode

Press the key to open the
1. "Run command" window. Type cmd and press Enter to open Command Prompt. WinR
Type the following at the command prompt and press:
2. Enterbcedit / set {current} safeboot minimal<strong></strong>
Wait for your PC to reboot and display safe mode.
3. After entering safe mode, navigate to the file location and try to delete it.

Safe Mode starts Windows with a minimum number of drivers and processes, which helps bypass any issues that prevent file deletion.

You can read our guide on what to do if Safe Mode doesn’t work on Windows 11.

Anyway, you can check out our article on How to Fix File Explorer Frozen or Unresponsive Windows 11.

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