All the time I have the problem that I cannot delete - move - rename folders in Windows 7 (also applies to windows 10) on network drives because of the thumbs.db file. It complains: "The action can't be completed because the file is open in Windows Explorer." I found something in a long thread that works for me.
3 Answers
short answer:
windows 7: In explorer: Change file display settings from "details" to "Content"
windows 10: In explorer: View->Layout->List
Now the thumbs.db file can be removed.
Long answer:
I accidentally came across a slightly easier fix for this bug. Instead of setting "Turn off the display of thumbnails and only display icons on network folders" to Enable, I simply changed the Windows Explorer display setting from "Details" to "Content". Then I was able to delete my Thumbs.db files without any complaints from Windows 7, even though I have thumbnails enabled. After deleting the offending file(s), I just restore the display to "Details" again.
thanks my unknown hero robster8192
-
4Same problem on Windows 10, your workaround also works. The only difference is that there is no 'Content', but I used 'List' with the same result.– NZDJul 13, 2020 at 20:32
-
Win10 on network folder: changing view from Details to List worked. However I did have to try twice. It might have been sufficient just to wait another couple seconds before attempting to delete. I 2nd the Kudos to @robster8192, thank you! Nov 8, 2022 at 23:39
-
The only solution that worked for me was in this answer by renaming the file first!– dashesyFeb 15 at 3:28
I had this issue, but the file was on a Windows network share. Changing the view didn't allow me to delete the file. What I was able to do was to cut and paste the folder containing the Thumbs.db file to my local machine. Once I did that the folder and its Thumbs.db deleted without issue.
I had this issue in Windows 11 on a network share, and none of the above solutions worked (changed view / layout, cut/paste on local machine).
However I was able to rename it to _.db, and then I was able to delete the file.
-
1
taskkill
and delete that folder withrd /s
commands.