Unable to Delete a Folder In Windows 10

Problem

Unable to Delete a Folder In Windows 10

I have been getting an error message and I am unable to delete a folder in Windows 10. This error might also appear if you try to rename or move the file/folder. Unable to Delete Folder In Windows 10

This is the error:

Item Not Found. 

Could not find this item. 

This is no longer located in… (Folder path). Verify the item’s location and try again.

Obviously, the folder is here; I can view, locate, and access the folder from the Windows File Explorer. This error doesn’t make any sense; it should say another message. Anyways, this strange message keeps showing up, and it is frustrating when there seems to be nothing to do about it. 

There could be many reasons for this error, according to the Internet. However, I have noticed that in my case, it is happening with some folders downloaded from Mega; and later, I move some of its files to another folder. It seems the error tends to occur in Windows with files or folders created by third-party applications. And probably, because the extension of the file is not defined correctly in Windows OS.

Solution

There are some approaches for you to solve this problem. But first, you check for Windows updates or restart your PC. These two options will help you solve problems quickly (most of the time ), without the need to dig down for more technical solutions.

Note: I took some of these solutions from the internet to give you more options to solve this issue. The one I used was option two.

Option 1: Restart Windows File Explorer

File Explorer is the file manager application for Windows. It provides a graphical user interface for accessing the file system. It has been used since Windows 95.

Your problem could be solved as easily as restarting the Windows File Explorer, as it is the application that controls your file system. 

To restart the File Explorer, you need to access Windows Task Manager. 

Step 1: Hit Ctrl + Alt + Del, and click Task Manager. Additionally, you can rick-click on your Windows Taskbar, then, click on Task Manager. 

Step 2: Once you are in the Task Manager, right-click on Windows Explorer, and click Restart. Verify if the issue was solved; if not, try restarting your computer again after this procedure.

Option 2: Remove the folder using Windows Command-line

More often than not, this is the option that will help you to get rid of this problem.

Step 1: Open Command Prompt as Administrator. You can tryp cmd in the search bar, then right-click on it, and select Run as administrator.

Step 2: Type the following command line: rd /s “\\?\[Drive letter]:\[Folder Path / Folder or File Name]”

Example: rd /s “\\?\D:\mulcas folder”

In this example, the folder I want to delete is located in the drive “D”, and the folder name is “mulcas folder”. You need to use the full path in case you want to delete a subfolder.

Step 3: Once you enter the command line for the folder’s path, hit Enter, then type “y”, to delete the folder.

Option 3: Rename the folder using Windows Command-line

Honestly, with option two, you should have this problem solved at this point. But you can still try this option. 

Step 1: Open Command Prompt as Administrator. You can type cmd in the search bar, then right-click on it, and select Run as administrator.

Step 2: If your folder is located in the letter “C”, omit this step. Access to the drive letter where your folder is located. For this, type the drive’s letter, followed by a colon “:”. For example, I want to change to the letter “D”, I type “D:” and hit Enter. 

Step 3: Type “cd [Folder Path]”. Stop in the main folder containing your folder or file to be deleted. 

Example: cd main folder. 

In this example, the folder is located in the drive “D” in the folder name “main folder”.

Note: If your folder is located in the rood of the drive, omit this step. This is my case.

Step 4: Rename the folder using “ren”. When you are located in the path of the folder/file you want to delete, type: ren folder_name new_folder_name.

Example: ren “mulcas folder” “mulcas folder 2”

In this example, I want to rename the folder “mulcas folder” to “mulcas folder 2”. Notice the use of quotes, which you should use in your folder name has spaces. 

Step 5: After renaming the folder, you should delete the folder from Windows File Explorer in the usual way.

Option 4: Delete the folder with a data compression utility

Even though the options above are relatively straightforward, you might not feel comfortable using the Windows command-line. Then, you can use this option. 

You need WinRar or another data compression utility. For instance, I am using 7zip. 

Step 1: Right-click on the folder.

Step 2: Select the Add to archive option.

Step 3: Tick Delete files after compression. A similar option must be available depending on the utility you use. Leave all other settings as default, and click OK. 

Step 4: A compressed (.7z, .rar, or other) folder/file will be created, and your folder will be now deleted.

Step 5: Now, you can also delete the compressed folder.

Final Thoughts

In this article, we took a look at the “Could not find this item” error and the possible solutions when you are attempting to delete a folder. With one of the options above, you should be able to get rid of any folder or file in windows 10.