I recently got a new computer and I'm trying to clean up my old computer's SSD to transfer it over. I've deleted most of the files, but I can't seem to remove RarExt.dll. It appears to be associated with WinRAR and I keep getting a message saying that it's open in Windows Explorer. I'm not very tech-savvy and I'm not sure what my options are. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
5 Answers
Short answer: If you want RarExt.dll gone, just uninstall WinRAR. The long answer is that this file connects to the right-click 'Open with WinRAR' option, so it's in use as long as WinRAR is.
You might want to try booting into safe mode and removing the file from there. That usually helps with locked files.
It's generally not the best idea to just delete files without knowing their purpose. Instead of manually deleting, consider using a program like Bulk Crap Uninstaller to safely remove software, but just ensure it’s okay to remove RarExt.dll first. You could also use WizTree to see what’s taking up your space more effectively.
That DLL file is tied to WinRAR and handles the right-click options. If you want to get rid of it, you’ll need to uninstall WinRAR. Alternatively, you could try booting into Safe Mode and use Command Prompt to delete it directly.
Okay, thanks for the tip!