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Unable to delete file

Mael -  
brucine Posted messages 24882 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   -

Hello, on my computer desktop I have a PDF file that I can't delete; I can't open it, I can't copy it, cut it, or rename it. When I try to open it, it says that the access path does not exist. I have already restarted my computer several times, but nothing works—the file just won't go away. Thank you for your help.

2 answers

  2.
    georges97 Posted messages 14598 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   2 931
     

    Hello,

    This also happens when a file name is too long (at least that was the case for older versions of Windows).

    But I also encountered this issue with an external backup, a problem that I couldn't solve either by using the Unlocker utility (which had worked well for me before) or by using my DOS commands to delete files in a command prompt.

    I finally managed to get rid of it by formatting the USB drive.

    I understand that this may not be possible for the desktop.

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    1. brucine Posted messages 24882 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   4 175
       

      Hello,

      We can probably bypass the registry limit if that's the case:

      https://forumsospc.fr/forums/Sujet/modifier-le-nom-trop-long-dun-fichier/

      On the desktop, it can't be the directory structure that's too long; aside from using a wildcard in the DOS command as mentioned earlier, I don't know if, in the same spirit, a DOS 8+3 style filename like DEL bidule~1.txt (6 characters) does the job.

      Before any workaround, we both forgot a trivial cause: the file is open in an application for one reason or another, restart and try again.

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