Fix Error Cannot Delete Folder: Directory is not Empty 2023 (2023)

FAQs

How do you delete a file that says the directory is not empty? ›

The error “The directory is not empty” may occur when the user tries to delete a directory that is not empty and contains some files or sub-directories. The specified error can be resolved using the “rmdir” command with the option “/s” that will remove the file and folder first, then the main directory.

If a file won't delete, selecting it and pressing Shift + Delete keyboard shortcut is another way to erase the data permanently. This file removal method isn't going to pass the Recycle Bin.

Step 1: Open “Task Manager” on your PC by pressing the keys “Ctrl + Shift + Esc.” This is the best shortcut of running Task manager. Step 2: Navigate and search the application, which is using the file you are trying to delete. Click on the “End Task.”

To remove a directory and all its contents, including any subdirectories and files, use the rm command with the recursive option, -r . Directories that are removed with the rmdir command cannot be recovered, nor can directories and their contents removed with the rm -r command.

Find the corrupted file or folder either on the desktop or in your File Explorer. Then, press the Delete or Shift+Delete keys to delete it.

When you cannot delete a folder, the OS is blocked from responding to your commands. A possible solution for this issue is to restart your system and try deleting the folder again. Another fix for this annoying issue is to use a third-party tool to solve the problem.

Right-click a stubborn file to erase in File Explorer and select Show more options (for viewing the classic context menu). Select the Force Delete option there to erase the file. Alternatively, you can select an Unlock by ForceDelete option to unlock a locked file in use.

This is because system files and folders are owned by the TrustedInstaller. By default, almost all system files, system folders and even registry keys in Windows 10 are owned by a special built-in user account called TrustedInstaller.

Method 2: Boot in Windows Safe Mode

To begin, use our guide to boot your Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC into safe mode. Once in safe mode, open File Explorer and navigate to the folder you want to delete. Then, right-click on the folder and select “Delete”. Your folder has been deleted.

How do I fix a corrupted folder on my computer? ›

In the Start menu search bar, search for command prompt and select Run as administrator. Then, type chkdsk x: /f /r and press Enter. Remember to replace x with your drive letter. Windows will now scan the drive and look for any bad sectors, directory errors, lost clusters, and recover data if necessary.

Force delete folder in Windows 10 with "“RMDIR /S /Q” command: To delete a folder that won't delete in Windows 10, you can type rmdir /s /q E:\test command in Command Prompt window.

Use the mkdir command to create one or more directories specified by the Directory parameter.

The del command displays the following prompt: Are you sure (Y/N)? To delete all of the files in the current directory, press Y and then press ENTER.

Use the rmdir command to remove the directory, specified by the Directory parameter, from the system. The directory must be empty (it can contain only .

4. In the command window, type the DEL /F file name command and press Enter to force delete the file that is in use.

File corruption usually happens when there is an issue during the 'save' process. If your computer crashes the file being saved will likely be corrupted. Another cause might be damaged sections of your hard drive or storage media that might have viruses and malware.

Change permissions to be able to delete the folder. So, here you have to get a little confused. Right-click on the desired folder, go to "Properties", open the "Security" section and open the "Advanced" tab. Open the menu item "Owner" and select yourself from the list "Change owner to" and click OK.

How do I force delete a file in Windows 10? ›

The easiest way to force delete a file in Windows is by deleting it using the del /f command in the Command Prompt with administrator privileges.

Right-click the Command Prompt and choose "Run as administrator". Step 2. Type: sfc /scannow and hit "Enter". This command aims to find and repair corrupt Windows system files.

A corrupted file is always unusable and inoperable. When facing this issue, you can first try to repair them or try to run a virus detection program. However, if they do not work, you can try a third-party file recovery tool - Recoverit Data Recovery program to help recover corrupted files in Windows.

If your computer loses power or crashes as you save a file, there's a good possibility that the file will become corrupted. Bad sectors on your hard drive or other storage media can also cause file corruption, even if the saving process finishes properly. Viruses and other malware can also cause file corruption.

Method 2 – Change Permissions

Go ahead and right-click on the folder and choose Properties. Next you want to click on the Security tab and then click on the Advanced button. Now you want to click on the Change Permissions button at the bottom left. Now is the fun part.

Hover over the desired shared folder and click Sharing. Locate the user and click on the Permissions button. Select the appropriate permission settings for the user.

Pull up the same Security tab in a folder's Properties box as before. At the top, you'll see a list of users and groups on your PC. Select an entry here, and the bottom panel will show what permissions they have for this folder. Hit the Edit button to change the permissions for each user as desired.

rmdir is a command-line utility for deleting empty directories. It is useful when you want to delete a directory only if it is empty, without needing to check whether the directory is empty or not. In this case, you will need to use the rm command or manually remove the directory contents before you can delete it.

To check whether a directory is empty or not os. listdir() method is used.

You make a new directory via mkdir newdirectoryname. You can remove a directory using rmdir directoryname. To remove a directory, you must first remove all the files it contains. To change directories to a directory that is contained in the current directory use cd directoryname.

How do I delete empty folders and subfolders in CMD? ›

First, to force-delete a folder, you can launch the CMD console and navigate to the folder location and use the Del command.

Some files/folders cannot be deleted by you as a user because another user is marked as owner. As administrator you can set yourself as the owner which is called “taking ownership” in IT-lingo. To do this, start by right-clicking on the file or folder and selecting “Properties”.

02:57 And in order to do it, you need to import shutil and then pass to rmtree() the path to the folder that you want to delete. And this is how you can delete a non-empty folder using Python.

In the Start menu search bar, search for command prompt and select Run as administrator. Then, type chkdsk x: /f /r and press Enter. Remember to replace x with your drive letter. Windows will now scan the drive and look for any bad sectors, directory errors, lost clusters, and recover data if necessary.

os. remove() method in Python is used to remove or delete a file path.

The delete() method of the File class is one of the most important methods which is used to delete the files and empty directories represented by the current File object.

How do I give administrator permission to delete a folder? ›

To remove world read permission from a file you would type chmod o-r [filename]. To remove group read and execute permission while adding the same permission to world you would type chmod g-rx,o+rx [filename]. To remove all permissions for group and world you would type chmod go= [filename].