When using the Windows operating system, you may encounter the problem of trying to delete a file or move it to another location, and you may encounter the following error while not opening the file in other programs: Action Cannot Be Completed Because The File is Open in Another Program. This error occurs for a variety of reasons, and therefore, we are here to teach you a few ways to investigate and fix it. Be with the Wironal.
Note: Third-party programs are designed to block programs from accessing and deleting files, which we will not discuss here, and all the solutions we teach are done through Windows’ own built-in tools without the need for additional software.
1. Restart your computer
Turn off your computer once and turn it on again. This way, Windows will end all the pending tasks that caused the error, and File Explorer will restart all its internal processes, thus helping to fix the error. However, if the problem persists, go to the next step.
2. Find the file in Task Manager.
2. In the Processes tab, look for the file you want. This tab shows all the programs you have just used.
3. Select the file that will not be deleted and click on the End Task option at the bottom of the Manager window to prevent it from being used by the program. Navigate to the file and try deleting it again. If this method does not work, go to the next step.
3. Open File Explorer from the task manager
- Once again, open the Task Manager and go to the Processes tab. In this section, you can find the Windows Explorer program. Select it and click on End Task.
- At the top of the Manager window, go to the File menu and select “Run New Task”.
- In the new window that opens, type “explorer.exe” and press Enter.
4. This will cause the Windows Explorer process to reboot or run to fix any memory or saved file problems that may be causing the problem. Go to your file again and try to delete it. If the problem persists, go to the next step.
Disable the thumbnail cache in the hidden thumbs.db file
In the past, Microsoft has acknowledged that the cache of images related to files and folders can cause File is Open In Another Program error, so disabling the cache of thumbnails can help fix the error.
3. In the new window that opens, go to User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> File Explorer.
4. Navigate to the right side of the page and double-click the Turn off the caching of thumbnails in hidden thumbs.db files option.
5. Select the button next to Enabled and then Apply and then click OK.
All thumbnails are disabled in File Explorer, and you can then apply the changes you want to the file. Of course, do not worry because after deleting the file you want and by performing the above steps and selecting the Not Configured option, you can re-enable the file preview.
5. Delete temporary files
Each time you change a file, temporary files are saved on your computer. These temporary files, in turn, prevent the transfer or deletion of related files. Below, we will teach you how to get rid of temporary files from your computer memory.
3. In the new folder that opens (containing all the temporary files stored in your File Explorer), press Ctrl and A to select all the files and delete them together.
4. Despite deleting the files, the temporary files may have been saved elsewhere. Press the win and R keys again, this time typing temp and pressing Enter.
- Once again, select all the temporary files in the opened folder and delete all of them.
6. Empty the recycling bin
Sometimes, transferring a file to a recycle bin is considered by your computer to cause such an error. Therefore, you can solve the problem by going to the Recycle Bin and selecting and deleting the files. It should be noted that this will permanently delete all the files in the Recycle Bin, so only select files that you will no longer need.
7. Check your file with Antivirus
Finally, if none of the above methods help you, there is likely to be a serious problem with such an error. For example, the file may be infected and thus prevent any changes to it. Check the file with your antivirus software to detect and delete any viruses or malware.
Conclusion
File Is Open in Another Program Error is a problem that any of you as a Windows computer user may encounter. Fortunately, there are always ways to fix similar errors, which we have briefly described in this article. If the cause of this error is a virus in the file, it is better to know that the virus is also present in your computer, so, to remove the malware from your system, it is better to activate the antivirus to fix the problem.
