I downloaded some notes from my professor, but I ended up saving the PDF with a really long file name in a hurry. Now, I'm having issues deleting it – moving it to the recycle bin doesn't work, and I can't even rename it or delete it through File Explorer. I also tried using the command prompt as an admin, but it says it can't find the file. Restarting my computer didn't help either. Does anyone have a solution for removing this stubborn file?
5 Answers
Booting into safe mode might help. It can sometimes allow you to delete files that are being too stubborn in normal mode. Give that a shot!
I’ve found that just restarting my computer usually helps with deleting stubborn files. Might be worth trying if you haven't already!
You could try using a tool like an unlocker. I personally use one that works pretty well, [this one here](https://unlocker-portable.en.softonic.com). It might help you get past the issue easily!
Have you tried renaming the file? Windows has a character limit for file names, so maybe changing it to something shorter, like "deleteme.pdf", could help you then delete it.
It sounds like there might be a null character in the file name. This can happen if the file was hidden this way. You can try using the command prompt to rename it by inserting the null character (alt_255) when renaming or deleting. I usually put it at the start of the name, but it might be differently placed in your case.
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