Deleting a Locked File or Folder

The main goal of UnLock IT is to provide you with an easy-to-use tool for unlocking files and folders that are in use by the processes, but it also allows you to delete the locked resource immediately after it is unlocked. In this chapter we will show the possible ways of deleting locked file system resources.

To delete a file, you should either choose the Delete File item from the Delete button drop-down or simply press the Delete button. The Delete button is located in the Unlocker Ribbon group on the Home page. The dialog will appear to let you choose the file to delete. The same approach can be used for deleting a folder – just choose the Delete Folder item from the drop-down. In any case, you will reach the Delete dialog to provide a set of resources to delete and confirm the operation.

For the resource to be successfully deleted, all the system resources that are locking it should be closed and all required permissions should be assigned. Sometimes it is also required to close the processes that hold there resources thus locking the file system item. If not only the system resources should be closed but also a locking process itself should be terminated the confirmation message will appear on the screen, asking if you would like UnLock IT to terminate the locking process. Press Yes to let UnLock IT terminate it or No to close the process manually. See the Advanced Unlock Options section of this document for the detailed information on manual processing of the locked resource.

If it is currently impossible to unlock the resource to delete it, it will be scheduled for deletion at boot time and the prompt for immediate reboot will be displayed on the screen. You can either proceed with immediate reboot, or restart the operating system later, for the resource to be deleted at boot time.

The results of the deletion operation as soon as it completes become available in the Log view.