How do I solve the 'Thumbs.db in use' when trying to delete folders?

bro67 said:

Windows locks it, because it holds the folder settings and file settings in that file.

Thumbs.db does NOT hold folder settings. It's an image database, containing thumbnails of any image files in the folder.

Reading the OPs request ... it seems he wants to delete the folder. In that case, skipping the delete of Thumbs.db doesn't meet his needs. The file must be unlocked.

If the picture files get deleted, then the lock will (eventually) be released. You can wait for it, and then delete Thumbs.db (and the folder).

Not sure you can release the lock. Lock Hunter shows that it's being locked by System! So you're stuck with the lock, I think. Just wait a while and the lock will go away.

there is an option to attempt to delete it after a computer restart. that should do the trick

margrave55 said:

Reading the OPs request ... it seems he wants to delete the folder.

This is all I want to do. I just want to delete my folders without experiencing this annoying Thumbs.db issue.

Thanks for all the replies. I have tried and I still have this problem. In the meantime, I have found a few other suggestions which I will try.
(Fix Deletion Errors On Network Drives by Disabling Windows Thumbnail Generation)
(Cant delete a folder because of the Thumbs.db, use Disk Cleanup)

My suggestion will fix your problem. But it is your choice if you want to do it this easy way.

pepanee said:

My suggestion will fix your problem. But it is your choice if you want to do it this easy way.

I tried LockHunter and even Unlocker, but it doesn't work. There is an option so delete the item, but it doesn't delete the folder(s).

Did you look at my suggestion? Use an administrator level CMD prompt to delete them. They are flagged as system files and cannot be deleted unless you use the system attribute as part of the "del" command. I have used this a number of times and it works. Once you delete the Thumbs.db files, you will be able to delete the folders.

JohnD

johnpd said:

Did you look at my suggestion? Use an administrator level CMD prompt to delete them. They are flagged as system files and cannot be deleted unless you use the system attribute as part of the "del" command. I have used this a number of times and it works. Once you delete the Thumbs.db files, you will be able to delete the folders.

JohnD

Yup, but I encountered this: Could Not Find C:\WINDOWS\system32\thumbs.db

pepanee said:

there is an option to attempt to delete it after a computer restart. that should do the trick

I have had this problem many times and restarting and then immediately deleting the file has always worked for me.

Diwedd said:

Yup, but I encountered this: Could Not Find C:\WINDOWS\system32\thumbs.db

You need to go to the folder that you want to remove and issue the command there. When you open a CMD prompt with "Run as admin", you are defaulted to the \Windows\System32 folder. Issue a "cd foldername" command where foldername is the name of the folder you wish to delete. For instance, I you want to remove a folder named "C:\My_Temp_Pictures" and any subfolders under it, do this:

1. Start the CMD prompt with "Run as administrator". This defaults you to the C:\Windows\System32 folder.
2. Issue a change directory (CD) command to get to the folder you want to remove: cd C:\My_Temp_Pictures
[NOTE: (a) If the folder is on another drive (lets say "E:") instead of "C:", issue the command as cd /d E:\My_Temp_Pictures
(b) If the folder name contains spaces ("My Temp Pictures"), it is best to surround the folder name with quotes. "C:\My Temp Pictures".
3. Now if you are in the correct folder, issue the "del /s /a:s thumbs.db" command. This will remove all thumbs.db files from the current folder or any of its subfolders.
4. Close the CMD prompt window. You can then remove the folder.

JohnD