SOLVED!! Problem Moving & Deleting LOCKED Movie (.avi) files in XP

Lion7718 · 11-11-2002, 08:57 AM

Lets see if I can explain this right.
If I download a Movie, my computer will not let me move it to another folder or delete it. It says it is being used by another program...this is not true.
If I copy & paste the movie I can put it in another folder.
But I get the same problem there...I cannot delete the damn movie...I have to delete the whole folder to get rid of it.
Than I just create a new folder with the same name and start over again. This is a pain in the ass for sure.
It only happens with DivX type movies....that work, if I don't get a video, just sound, I can delete it.
Also, when I click on one of these movies, not even to play, just highlite it....
my CPU shoots up to 100% untill I close the folder, sometimes it makes me reboot because it will stay at 100%.
I use XP Home if this helps.

monkee · 11-11-2002, 03:03 PM

i sometimes gte the exact same problem when im trying to deleat 1.. "this program is being used by xxxxxxx rubbish" but it doesnot do it with all the film files just the odd one most annoying

anyway i find the best time to deleat them is as soon as my PC boots up go straight to the folder and deleat it.. hopfuly this will work for u

Lion7718 · 11-11-2002, 03:13 PM

Reboot does nothing for me, but like I said above...
I do have to delete the whole folder to get rid if it.
Someone has to have an answer........

Nick99EXB · 11-18-2002, 11:27 AM

I know that when I had the same problem in windows Xp it had something to do with reading the file properties for avi files. Theres a way to stop this by changeing a line in the registry but I dont remember which entry to delete. If I find it again I'll post it

Lion7718 · 11-18-2002, 11:29 AM

Cool.....Thanks

rastagard · 11-18-2002, 12:50 PM

I have had this exact same problem.

Mouse over the file and resources locked up. Try to rename, delete, cut, copy just result in the "being used" message.

I Tried "Safe Mode" but the same problem exists there too. Had to go into DOS to delete the file as I had too much stuff in the folder to move it all out.

DOS is the only sure way to do it, but if you have NTFS I guess you may just be stuck. (I have seen some command line switches that might work)

I don't know if this is an XP problem but I used to have a similar problem with 98SE with too long file names.

:computer:

LPDad · 11-18-2002, 01:26 PM

Well, What the hell!!! I have been working on EXACTLY the same damn problem (I have been using much choicer words though) for the last hour!!!

It seems to only be my .avi files. I can copy them, but if I try to delete, rename, etc--Used by another prog.
Until I can figure this one out (safe mode does not work as prev stated) I have been using windows washer and adding the specific files to the custom wash setting.

I am looking at file associations, etc. This is a strange one, and lots of people are all of a sudden having the same problem. ???
Whats up with that???

LPDad · 11-18-2002, 01:35 PM

Are you all using XP??
Nimo codec Pack?? any other codecs??
WinDVD??
is it only .avi files that are locked for you???
anyone done a recent "restore" in winXP ???

Changed any of your file associations???

This really is a strange one.

(I am hoping MusicPirate might have a solution)

LPDad · 11-18-2002, 01:55 PM

sometimes computers just plain SUCK!!

OK, I STILL do not know Why this is happening--> and we really need to figure out what is causing this, but for now here is a temporary solution:

How to delete an "undeletable" file:

Open a Command Prompt window and leave it open.

Close all open programs.

Click Start, Run and enter TASKMGR.EXE (Or you can right click on the taskbar and choose Taskmanager to open it )

Go to the Processes tab and End Process on Explorer.exe. Leave Task Manager open.

Go back to the Command Prompt window and change to the directory the AVI (or other undeletable file) is located in.

At the command prompt type DEL <filename> where <filename> is the file you wish to delete.

Go back to Task Manager, click File, New Task and enter EXPLORER.EXE to restart the GUI shell.

Close Task Manager.

:computer:

gbread49 · 11-18-2002, 02:37 PM

Ok....what is going on??????? I have started to run into this SAME problem! Started last night (using WinMX) AVI files are the problem, even partially d/l'd AVI's. Just placing the cursur over them causes Explorer to lock.... if I leave it alone, Explorer will bounce back after about a minute, but I still have to reboot because I lose all my icons in the system tray??????

Music Pirate · 11-18-2002, 02:47 PM

Now I will be thinking about this problem all day..but what programs are you running in the be more specific? Are you using Windows Media Player or whatever to access the file? Need for info please? But like LP said that you may be having a program in the background that is "using" the file. I would do excatly for like LP said except a few things different.

1.Close all the programs by righting click the task bar and select task manager.
2.Under the processes then sort by username then I would end process on everything that is under your Name except the program iexplore.exe.
3.But I would try to delete the file normal first just to see the program happened again.

But I am basically guessing on what you guys told me...I will have to research or look up this problem just to get a clear cut answer

11-18-2002, 03:02 PM

OK GUYS I had the same problem and this is what I found out! I run both WinMX and imesh! I was trying to delet an .avi file that was no good and I kepy getting the same message. Here is what my problem was(may not be the same for you)
turns out that someone was qued for the file.I had to cancel the que, put all the people who were qued for it on my ignored list, find the file delete it and then go back and remove the people from my ignored list! If the person has a partial file from you and they have it set to automaticly finish or find sorces every 5 mins you will never be able to get them out of you que.they reque almost immidiatly!as far as rebooting it never worked for me either. Not sure if it has to do with being qued or not. you wouldn't think so but who knows. Anyway thats how I fixed my problem.
P.S. I run Windows XP home.

gbread49 · 11-18-2002, 03:19 PM

A little more info...I'm running WinXP Pro...all updates and SP1. No system changes in awhile. Also, did a complete virus scan. Nimo 5.8, build 8, and DivX 5.02 Pro installed.......

This is the first time I've run into this and so far it has only happened in my WinMX Received folder. (Received folder is not shared, I check all files before putting them in my Shared folder)

One file so far (actually two) my son made a copy of an incomplete AVI file to check before completing the d/l. That was last night. WinMX was not running at the time. I just checked the incomplete file and had the exact same problem again with it. There are other incomplete AVI's in the folder and no problem with them, so I don't know what is causing this.

I was able to delete the file though..Couldn't do anything with it in Explorer. So opened WinMX, set my "Received" folder to being shared, and was able to delete the file using the WinMX drop down prompt.......

Is anyone having this problem OUTSIDE of their p2p client? In another folder on your HD???????

Music Pirate · 11-18-2002, 03:31 PM

gbread you posted while I was posting mine and I didn't see yours..Ok I tested out exactly what you did and I got the same problem I ran WinMX and then closed and tried to rename a video (Divx/AVI) file and it said I couldn't...another program was using it. So I came out of the folder...just went up one level went back into another, then back into my video folder again and tried to rename the same video file got it to work. But when I tried to rename the file back to the way it was, then I got the same error again. So I did excactly what I did before went up one level, came back into another folder, then back into the video folder again and renamed the file no problem weird. It most be some type of glitch in WinMX that is doing this...

gbread49 · 11-18-2002, 03:52 PM

Thats a possibility MP....Any others experiencing this with WinMX???? BTW: I didn't receive any error or file in use messages, just the lock up. Explorer just died for a couple minutes, like it was trying to access the file. After a minute or two, Explorer refreshed and I could use it again. But, my HD kept grinding away, forcing a reboot.

11-11-2002, 08:57 AM	#1 (permalink)
Lion7718 Staff Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Florida Posts: 2,317	Problem Moving & Deleting Movies Lets see if I can explain this right. If I download a Movie, my computer will not let me move it to another folder or delete it. It says it is being used by another program...this is not true. If I copy & paste the movie I can put it in another folder. But I get the same problem there...I cannot delete the damn movie...I have to delete the whole folder to get rid of it. Than I just create a new folder with the same name and start over again. This is a pain in the ass for sure. It only happens with DivX type movies....that work, if I don't get a video, just sound, I can delete it. Also, when I click on one of these movies, not even to play, just highlite it.... my CPU shoots up to 100% untill I close the folder, sometimes it makes me reboot because it will stay at 100%. I use XP Home if this helps. __________________ "Protect me from my friends, I can take care of my enemies" You better not be touching my mannequin

11-11-2002, 03:03 PM	#2 (permalink)
monkee Registered User Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 270	i sometimes gte the exact same problem when im trying to deleat 1.. "this program is being used by xxxxxxx rubbish" but it doesnot do it with all the film files just the odd one most annoying anyway i find the best time to deleat them is as soon as my PC boots up go straight to the folder and deleat it.. hopfuly this will work for u __________________ visit >>spankdonkey<< home of high quality ED2K & sig2dat hash files

11-11-2002, 03:13 PM	#3 (permalink)
Lion7718 Staff Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Florida Posts: 2,317	Reboot does nothing for me, but like I said above... I do have to delete the whole folder to get rid if it. Someone has to have an answer........ __________________ "Protect me from my friends, I can take care of my enemies" You better not be touching my mannequin

11-18-2002, 11:29 AM	#5 (permalink)
Lion7718 Staff Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Florida Posts: 2,317	Cool.....Thanks __________________ "Protect me from my friends, I can take care of my enemies" You better not be touching my mannequin

11-18-2002, 01:26 PM	#7 (permalink)
LPDad Admin & "Fixer" Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Costa Mesa, CA Posts: 2,293	Well, What the hell!!! I have been working on EXACTLY the same damn problem (I have been using much choicer words though) for the last hour!!! It seems to only be my .avi files. I can copy them, but if I try to delete, rename, etc--Used by another prog. Until I can figure this one out (safe mode does not work as prev stated) I have been using windows washer and adding the specific files to the custom wash setting. I am looking at file associations, etc. This is a strange one, and lots of people are all of a sudden having the same problem. ??? Whats up with that??? __________________ We don't need no stink'n TechSupport We ARE TechSupport. *LPDad* Administrator

11-18-2002, 11:27 AM	#4 (permalink)
Nick99EXB Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 8	I know that when I had the same problem in windows Xp it had something to do with reading the file properties for avi files. Theres a way to stop this by changeing a line in the registry but I dont remember which entry to delete. If I find it again I'll post it

11-18-2002, 12:50 PM	#6 (permalink)
rastagard Humble Idiot Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Florida Posts: 2,271	I have had this exact same problem. Mouse over the file and resources locked up. Try to rename, delete, cut, copy just result in the "being used" message. I Tried "Safe Mode" but the same problem exists there too. Had to go into DOS to delete the file as I had too much stuff in the folder to move it all out. DOS is the only sure way to do it, but if you have NTFS I guess you may just be stuck. (I have seen some command line switches that might work) I don't know if this is an XP problem but I used to have a similar problem with 98SE with too long file names. :computer:

11-18-2002, 01:35 PM	#8 (permalink)
LPDad Admin & "Fixer" Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Costa Mesa, CA Posts: 2,293	Are you all using XP?? Nimo codec Pack?? any other codecs?? WinDVD?? is it only .avi files that are locked for you??? anyone done a recent "restore" in winXP ??? Changed any of your file associations??? This really is a strange one. (I am hoping MusicPirate might have a solution) __________________ We don't need no stink'n TechSupport We ARE TechSupport. *LPDad* Administrator

11-18-2002, 01:55 PM	#9 (permalink)
LPDad Admin & "Fixer" Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Costa Mesa, CA Posts: 2,293	sometimes computers just plain SUCK!! OK, I STILL do not know Why this is happening--> and we really need to figure out what is causing this, but for now here is a temporary solution: How to delete an "undeletable" file: Open a Command Prompt window and leave it open. Close all open programs. Click Start, Run and enter TASKMGR.EXE (Or you can right click on the taskbar and choose Taskmanager to open it ) Go to the Processes tab and End Process on Explorer.exe. Leave Task Manager open. Go back to the Command Prompt window and change to the directory the AVI (or other undeletable file) is located in. At the command prompt type DEL <filename> where <filename> is the file you wish to delete. Go back to Task Manager, click File, New Task and enter EXPLORER.EXE to restart the GUI shell. Close Task Manager. :computer: __________________ We don't need no stink'n TechSupport We ARE TechSupport. *LPDad* Administrator

11-18-2002, 02:37 PM	#10 (permalink)
gbread49 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Tennessee Posts: 744	Ok....what is going on??????? I have started to run into this SAME problem! Started last night (using WinMX) AVI files are the problem, even partially d/l'd AVI's. Just placing the cursur over them causes Explorer to lock.... if I leave it alone, Explorer will bounce back after about a minute, but I still have to reboot because I lose all my icons in the system tray?????? __________________

11-18-2002, 02:47 PM	#11 (permalink)
Music Pirate Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 452	Now I will be thinking about this problem all day..but what programs are you running in the be more specific? Are you using Windows Media Player or whatever to access the file? Need for info please? But like LP said that you may be having a program in the background that is "using" the file. I would do excatly for like LP said except a few things different. 1.Close all the programs by righting click the task bar and select task manager. 2.Under the processes then sort by username then I would end process on everything that is under your Name except the program iexplore.exe. 3.But I would try to delete the file normal first just to see the program happened again. But I am basically guessing on what you guys told me...I will have to research or look up this problem just to get a clear cut answer

11-18-2002, 03:02 PM	#12 (permalink)
feenies-wife Guest Posts: n/a	OK GUYS I had the same problem and this is what I found out! I run both WinMX and imesh! I was trying to delet an .avi file that was no good and I kepy getting the same message. Here is what my problem was(may not be the same for you) turns out that someone was qued for the file.I had to cancel the que, put all the people who were qued for it on my ignored list, find the file delete it and then go back and remove the people from my ignored list! If the person has a partial file from you and they have it set to automaticly finish or find sorces every 5 mins you will never be able to get them out of you que.they reque almost immidiatly!as far as rebooting it never worked for me either. Not sure if it has to do with being qued or not. you wouldn't think so but who knows. Anyway thats how I fixed my problem. P.S. I run Windows XP home.

11-18-2002, 03:19 PM	#13 (permalink)
gbread49 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Tennessee Posts: 744	A little more info...I'm running WinXP Pro...all updates and SP1. No system changes in awhile. Also, did a complete virus scan. Nimo 5.8, build 8, and DivX 5.02 Pro installed....... This is the first time I've run into this and so far it has only happened in my WinMX Received folder. (Received folder is not shared, I check all files before putting them in my Shared folder) One file so far (actually two) my son made a copy of an incomplete AVI file to check before completing the d/l. That was last night. WinMX was not running at the time. I just checked the incomplete file and had the exact same problem again with it. There are other incomplete AVI's in the folder and no problem with them, so I don't know what is causing this. I was able to delete the file though..Couldn't do anything with it in Explorer. So opened WinMX, set my "Received" folder to being shared, and was able to delete the file using the WinMX drop down prompt....... Is anyone having this problem OUTSIDE of their p2p client? In another folder on your HD??????? __________________

11-18-2002, 03:31 PM	#14 (permalink)
Music Pirate Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 452	gbread you posted while I was posting mine and I didn't see yours..Ok I tested out exactly what you did and I got the same problem I ran WinMX and then closed and tried to rename a video (Divx/AVI) file and it said I couldn't...another program was using it. So I came out of the folder...just went up one level went back into another, then back into my video folder again and tried to rename the same video file got it to work. But when I tried to rename the file back to the way it was, then I got the same error again. So I did excactly what I did before went up one level, came back into another folder, then back into the video folder again and renamed the file no problem weird. It most be some type of glitch in WinMX that is doing this...

11-18-2002, 03:52 PM	#15 (permalink)
gbread49 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Tennessee Posts: 744	Thats a possibility MP....Any others experiencing this with WinMX???? BTW: I didn't receive any error or file in use messages, just the lock up. Explorer just died for a couple minutes, like it was trying to access the file. After a minute or two, Explorer refreshed and I could use it again. But, my HD kept grinding away, forcing a reboot. __________________

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