QuickTip: Close file/folder held active by a program

You may came across this situation already: You’re trying to update a program, closed it and maybe all of it’s sub-processes but something is still holding a file or folder active and won’t allow you to update or remove it. Or maybe you want to delete a file or folder but Windows won’t let you.

There are lots of programs trying to help you here but most of those are either dubious looking or have some ad-ware installer. But there’s a far better and still free way, directly from Microsoft!

1. Download “Process Explorer“, an official Microsoft Tool
2. Extract the ZIP file
3. Open “procexp.exe” or “procexp64.exe” as Administrator (if in doubt use first one)
4. Press “Ctrl” + “F”
5. Type the file or folders name in the search bar
6. Click on the result at the bottom
7. The main window will come to front with the according file selected
8. Right-Click it and choose “Close Handle”
9. Done!

It’s as simple as that! Now you know how to close files being held open by any program without using a dubious looking 3rd party program!