CLSII

I started an evening course yesterday and was given a CD which contains numerous files. One of these is for homework the idea being that you open a word document type in the work and then send it via e-mail.

No problems yet then.

I saved the file to the desktop and did the work at which point I got a blue screen of death. Needless to say all my work has gone into cyberspace never to be seen again. :O

But now I can't erase the word document from the desktop. It tells me the file is a read only file and asks if I want to send it to the recycle bin.

When I respond with a yes and error box comes up saying Error deleting file, Cannot delete file acces is denied.

It then advises that I make sure disk is not write protected or full or that the file is not currently in use.

I've tried to remove this word icon from the desktop but It just won't budge.

Someone out there Please Help a Computer illiterate!

scooby24

If you havent tried already, start in safe mode and see if you can delete it. if not then a trick i found which works eveytime, open nero and select to make a data disk, when you go to select the files to burn you navigate to the stubborn word doc as if you were goin to add it and right click ..delete..there it goes, hopefully.

greasemonkey

What operating system are you running? Difficult to comment without knowing.

You could try right-clicking the file concerned and selecting Properties. In the dialog box that pops up, look at the bottom and see if the "Read Only" box is checked. If it is uncheck it, close the Properties box and have another go at deleting.

If that doesn't work, the next thing to try would be to restart the OS in Safe, or Command Line modes, and delete the file before restarting.

lightning101

If it is 98 or me - just boot with dos disk and go to windows\desktop\ and delete the file - this way windows can't protect it. If its windows XP - just go back a couple of days to your system restore. As long as you haven't installed any apps then this should resolve the problem.

greasemonkey

Lightning, rolling back with XP's System Restore won't delete document files, it'll only delete files that are put there when applications are installed.

lightning101

I didn't say it would.


The fact that the file can't be deleted is a protection error and probably a restored registry will sort the problem.

mj

check MS office is not in your startup folder. word might be hanging onto it as its been "recovered"


maybe,maye not

lightning101

Also greasemonkey I checked this on expert exchange and some can't delete in either dos or safe mode hence the fact I suggested something like restore - or scanreg restore to possibly allow the delete after the restoration of registry.

Also might be worth trying this:

just run standard dos prompt and delete - has worked for several people on expert exchange

lightning101

You Cannot Delete a File or a Folder :
------------------------------------------
Cause 2: The File Is Being Used
You may not be able to delete a file if the file is being used. To resolve this issue, determine the process that has the open handle, and then close that process.

Depending on how the file is opened (for example, it is open for exclusive access as opposed to shared access), you may not be able to delete a file that is in use. You can use a variety of tools to help you determine the processes that have open handles to files at any time.

For additional information about tools to help the processes that have open handles to files, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

242131 How to: Display a List of Processes That Have Files Open : http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;242131

CLSII

Thanks for all the advice...started in safe mode and deleted the offending file

Thank you all...this is why I just love Scoobynet!