How do you override "file in use"?

[Timenn]

Argh! it's annoys me everytime I get this error.

I want to delete a file, but apparently some kind of program is using it, and so I can't delete it. Instead, an error message appears saying: The file is in use.

But now the question, how can you delete the file, even though it is used? I mean I want to override the process which claims that it needs the file, and prevents me from deleting it.

I am the ultimate master over my computer, so that means that some program is not allowed to prevent a delete which I want to be done.

In other words: How can I remove a file, which is in use? I know I will likely kill the process using it, but that doesn't matter...

(This is in Windows XP)

[Gobalopper]

You could try rebooting that usually fixes those sort of problems for me. Sometimes I get them even after I've closed the program which doesn't make much sense.

[Atomic Mitten]

Just hit ctrl,alt,delete and close processers until you find the one stopping it, or in safe mode.

Then it will delete.

[gryphon]

the ultimate way to errase something

[Timenn]

Thanks, but I already know that rebooting helps to fix the problem. I meant that I want to delete such a file in the same session, without rebooting. Sometimes I want a file removed, but I can't reboot (I'm downloading for example) and I forget to do it once I have rebooted the computer at a later time...

[Kiyouta]

Well, generally if a file is locked, it is locked for a reason. I know that it is annoying sometimes, but thats computers for you.

There are utilities out there that force delete, but I do not recommend them, because of what I said above. I don't think there are any ways of closing locked file handles, except by closing the program that has locked it.

Sometimes when I try to delete avi files they won't, because as soon as I click on them Windows reads information from them and makes the little preview image. You could always try deleting files using the command prompt instead and see if that works.

[Timenn]

But it looks like it isn't a build-in feature of Windows (there are quite a few features in Windows which are hidden for common users)

Thanks, I'll try the command prompt the next time the error occurs.

And don't worry, it is not a winsock32.dll or something like that I try to delete :)

[Cyborg]

When I saw your problem, I remembered that I sometimes have these programs too. Especially some annoying applications are restarting themselves the second you stop them from running.

This terminates them and deletes the file.

It doesn't work on running DLLs, though.

*EDIT*

The program didn't work as it should, and I will take a look at it tomorrow.