Member Avatar for kylethedarkn

A while ago I made and ISO copy of a Dvd so that I could keep a version on my computer, but unfortunetly it failed and now I have a worthless 8.6gig ISO image in my documents. I have tried deleting it normally and with pocket killbox and neither has worked. Does anybodyhave any suggesstions as to how I can delete this?

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A short, practical checklist for a stubborn ISO: the file is almost always held open by some process (mounted image, AV scanner, background app), or it’s a permissions/ownership or path-length problem. eventually fixed their copy with an unlocker and ’s attribute/CMD checks are sensible first steps, but a diagnostic-first approach avoids killing the wrong service. (learn.microsoft.com)

Find who’s holding the file: run Process Explorer (GUI) and use “Find Handle or DLL…” or use the Sysinternals CLI handle from an elevated prompt to search for the ISO name. Example:

handle "C:\Users\You\Documents\movie.iso"

If a process owns the handle, stop that program normally. Closing handles forcibly with handle -c can crash apps or destabilize the system, so use the close-handle option only as a last resort. (learn.microsoft.com)

If it’s a permission/ownership issue (common when files were created by another account or backup tool), take ownership and grant yourself full control, then delete:

takeown /f "C:\path\file.iso"
icacls "C:\path\file.iso" /grant %USERNAME%:F
del /f /q "C:\path\file.iso"

On older Windows builds where takeown/icacls aren’t available, legacy cacls/xcacls variants exist—adjust commands for your OS. (learn.microsoft.com)

Other reliable fallbacks: boot into Safe Mode and delete, unmount any virtual drives (Daemon Tools/VirtualClone/Windows mount), or delete offline by booting a Linux live USB. Long, deep paths can also block deletions — map a temporary drive to a deep folder with subst and delete from the short drive letter, or use extended-path techniques if supported. Always back up important data before forcing deletes or terminating system processes. (learn.microsoft.com)

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Member Avatar for Suspishio

Presumably you've checked that the read only property is unser.

You could try deleting it from the CMD windows, putting double quotes around the path name if it contains spaces.

Otherwise there are file unlock programs available - google that.

commented: Answer was quick and effective. Thanks +3
Member Avatar for kylethedarkn

Checked read-only
tried cmd prompt already

Unlocker worked like a charm thanks.

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