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Solved: Cannot Delete Files from Windows 10 Desktop (Files Blocked)

28/02/2019 By Kris Baker Leave a Comment

OneDrive Blocking Windows File Explorer Delete

I recently had an issue deleting files from my desktop (Windows 10), if I pressed the delete key, clicked delete via the context (right click) menu, or moved the items to the recycle bin, nothing happened; no error message, just nothing. Even after a system restart, no dice.

I searched the web but the solutions I found suggested editing the registry, which I thought rather extreme. So I decided to look at what was open and running on my machine, that’s when I noticed OneDrive was running, but paused.

OneDrive synchronises my desktop to the cloud, but because I was in battery saver mode, OneDrive automatically pauses, and here’s where the issue resided.

It appears that OneDrive locked the files when it was paused. I un-paused OneDrive and voila, the files could be deleted immediately.

I’ve since reported the bug to Microsoft so hopefully this issue will be fixed in a future update.

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Filed Under: Technical Help, Tips & Tricks Tagged With: OneDrive, Windows 10

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