Unlocking Windows on the Fly!

Ever wished you could delete an obstinate file or program from a folder? Do you want to delete, rename or move a file even though it is being locked by a program? Are you fed up of the "Access is Denied", "File is in Use", or "Cannot Delete File" error messages? Well, Unlocker is the key to unlock those files!

Apart from deleting, Unlocker also offers you the option to move, rename, copy, or do nothing with the file/folder in question!

So next time you get one of these irritating Windows™ dialog boxes telling you that you cannot delete a file because it is being used/locked by another person/program:

OR

you know what to do!

Simply right click on the respective file/folder and select "Unlocker" option for the context menu:

Next, Unlocker would show you the processes that have locked the file in question. Here you can choose what to do with those processes/programs (hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard to select more than one process/program, as shown in the screenshot below). I prefer the "Unlock" or "Unlock All" options since they are harmless. Killing a process, on the other hand, may sometimes result in unexpected damage or crash, so I would refrain from using it unless there is no other way!

And by the way, if you really wish to kill a process, there is no safer way to do it than by using the Process Explorer!

Okay, I am assuming you have selected to unlock the file from selected programs. On the left, you can choose what to do with the file once it is unlocked; you can choose to move, copy, rename or delete it, or do nothing at all! See the screenshot below:

Unlocker is pretty easy to use and free to download; so is Process Explorer! Both are must-have programs for any serious Windows user!

You can download Unlocker from here:

http://download.cnet.com/Unlocker/3000-2248_4-10493998.html

Process Explorer can be downloaded from here:

http://download.cnet.com/Process-Explorer/3000-2094_4-10223605.html

Despite a couple of negative reviews about Unlocker I saw on the CNET website at the time of downloading it, Unlocker has rarely failed me. It manages to delete even the most obstinate file/program from any folder! Oh, and don’t even bother about those moronic reviews that say it is infected with virus; I have version 1.8.7 and it has NO virus or trojan! It is no surprising that most of these "false virus-related" reviews are from Avira users. Avira has given me so much pain that I have stopped using it altogether; heck, it flags several legit programs as "virus" or "trojan", programs I have used for years, but that is the story for another day! 

Another way to achieve your goal is by using Microsoft support, but Unlocker is so good that I have never had to go the Microsoft™ route (and let's face it, every one knows how "useful" those Microsoft support articles are anyway)!

If I remember right, the first time you install Unlocker (I don't think you really need to go through any tedious installation process, except double-clicking on the executable program, but my memory could be hazy), it adds itself to the startup. You don’t need to run it at startup to use it! In fact, I have deleted the program from startup long ago and use it through the Windows context menu as I suggested above! You see, the fewer programs you have in the startup, the faster your machine would be!

Happy Unlocking! ;)

If my article merits it, kindly leave a cool comment here! It certainly helps! :D