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Recommended File/Folder Unlock Software?
Well-known member
Member
VIP
I used to use Unlocker but 1) it has not been in development for many years and 2) it now triggers Windows Defender alarms. Is there a recommended alternative that others use for opening locked folders or deleting stubborn folders/files? Lockhunter and Iobit Unlocker seem to show up regularly in searches. Recommendations?
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Custom
CPU
Intel i7-7700K
Motherboard
Asus Prime Z-270A
Memory
32GB 2666Mhz (Kingston Hyper X Fury)
Graphics Card(s)
Asus Nvidia 1050Ti
Sound Card
N/A
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung C27F390
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080
Hard Drives
1TB Western Digital SN770 (System) and 2TB Western Digital SN770 (Storage)
Antivirus
Windows Security
Operating System
Windows 11 Home
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Dell/XPS 15 9510
CPU
i9-11900H
Motherboard
Unknown
Memory
32GB
Graphics card(s)
Integrated Intel and Nvidia 3050Ti
Sound Card
Integrated (Realtek)
Monitor(s) Displays
None
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1200 (non-Touch)
Hard Drives
2TB SK Hynix P41 Platinum
Antivirus
Windows Security
Well-known member
Guru
VIP
I used to use Unlocker but 1) it has not been in development for many years and 2) it now triggers Windows Defender alarms. Is there a recommended alternative that others use for opening locked folders or deleting stubborn folders/files? Lockhunter and Iobit Unlocker seem to show up regularly in searches. Recommendations?
I use EMCO UnLock IT
OS
Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26100.3624 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦24H2 ♦♦♦non-Insider
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Motherboard
Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 5002)
Memory
G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
Sound Card
Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell U3011 30"
Screen Resolution
2560 x 1600
Hard Drives
2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
PSU
PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
Case
Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
Cooling
CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
Keyboard
Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
Mouse
Logitech Optical M-100
Internet Speed
300/300
Browser
Firefox (latest)
Antivirus
Bitdefender Internet Security
Other Info
Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
Operating System
Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Built by Ghot® (not in use)
CPU
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
Motherboard
ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
Memory
TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
Graphics card(s)
EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
Sound Card
Onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
Screen Resolution
up to 2048 x 1536
Hard Drives
WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
PSU
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
Case
Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
Cooling
ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
Mouse
Logitech Optical M-BT96a
Keyboard
Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
Internet Speed
300/300
Browser
Firefox 3.x ??
Antivirus
Symantec (Norton)
Other Info
Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 15 years?
I use Wise Force Deleter. Ive used a ton of apps in my life, this one so far has gotten rid of any file or folder or leftover junk etc. And its totally free. And I believe I got the recommendation for it from a well known member off this site.
Wise Force Deleter
OS
Windows 11 Pro Version 23H2(OS Build 22631.4890)
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
AMD
CPU
12-Core AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, 4950 MHz (49.5 x 100)
Motherboard
Gigabyte X570 Aorus Master
Memory
4 - G Skill Trident Z Neo F4-3600C16-16GTZNC
Graphics Card(s)
PCI Express 4.0 x16: PowerColor RX 6800
Sound Card
Realtek ALC1220 @ AMD K19.2 - High Definition Audio Controller
Monitor(s) Displays
2 - 27 inch Westinghouse
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080
Hard Drives
2 SSD - 2 TB each
1 SSD - 4TB
1 HDD - 2TB
Keyboard
logitech
Mouse
logitech
Internet Speed
1 GB
Browser
Firefox
Antivirus
Eset Endpoint Security
Well-known member
Member
VIP
Thread Starter
Thanks for the quick response. Are both of these apps specifically for deleting locked files or can you open locked folders (i.e. system/trusted installer, etc) to view contents too...without having to go through all of the "take ownership" steps?
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Custom
CPU
Intel i7-7700K
Motherboard
Asus Prime Z-270A
Memory
32GB 2666Mhz (Kingston Hyper X Fury)
Graphics Card(s)
Asus Nvidia 1050Ti
Sound Card
N/A
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung C27F390
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080
Hard Drives
1TB Western Digital SN770 (System) and 2TB Western Digital SN770 (Storage)
Antivirus
Windows Security
Operating System
Windows 11 Home
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Dell/XPS 15 9510
CPU
i9-11900H
Motherboard
Unknown
Memory
32GB
Graphics card(s)
Integrated Intel and Nvidia 3050Ti
Sound Card
Integrated (Realtek)
Monitor(s) Displays
None
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1200 (non-Touch)
Hard Drives
2TB SK Hynix P41 Platinum
Antivirus
Windows Security
IObitUnlocker, ThisIsMyFile and DeleteOnReboot
OS
Windows 11 23H2 Home Single Language
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
LENOVO IdeaPad 5 15ITL05
CPU
Intel Core i3-1115G4
Motherboard
There is no such a God, I only know mother-Earth
Memory
8GB
Graphics Card(s)
on-board
Sound Card
on-board
Monitor(s) Displays
(s) is too ambitious for me
Screen Resolution
1920*1080
Hard Drives
256GB (SSD)
PSU
I was very young when I last saw a PSU
Case
...
Cooling
My coldness is enough to cool the computer
Keyboard
A broken and very clean keyboard
Mouse
Rat King
Internet Speed
Slowest internet connection in Europe
Browser
ChromePortable / TorBrowser
Antivirus
Biontech
Other Info
I can simply say that I took the red pill and I am not happy with it.
Well-known member
Pro User
VIP
LockHunter is a foolproof file unlocker for 32 and 64 Windows
lockhunter.com
Never had issues with this one
Well-known member
Pro User
VIP
You can always use Microsoft PowerToys File Locksmith
A Windows shell extension for checking which files are in use and by which processes.
learn.microsoft.com
OS
Windows XP/7/8/8.1/10/11, Linux, Android, FreeBSD Unix
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Dell XPS 15 9570
CPU
Intel® Core™ i7-8750H 8th Gen 2.2Ghz up to 4.1Ghz
Motherboard
Dell XPS 15 9570
Memory
64GB using 2x32GB CL16 Mushkin redLine modules
Graphics Card(s)
Intel UHD 630 & NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with 4GB DDR5
Sound Card
Realtek ALC3266-CG
Monitor(s) Displays
15.6" 4K Touch UltraHD 3840x2160 made by Sharp
Screen Resolution
3840x2160
Hard Drives
Toshiba KXG60ZNV1T02 NVMe 1TB SSD
PSU
Dell XPS 15 9570
Case
Dell XPS 15 9570
Cooling
Stock
Keyboard
Stock
Mouse
SwitftPoint ProPoint
Internet Speed
Comcast/XFinity 1.44Gbps/42.5Mbps
Browser
Microsoft EDGE (Chromium based) & Google Chrome
Antivirus
Windows Defender that came with Windows
Well-known member
Pro User
VIP
Thanks for the quick response. Are both of these apps specifically for deleting locked files or can you open locked folders (i.e. system/trusted installer, etc) to view contents too...without having to go through all of the "take ownership" steps?
I don't think any of them will delete the locked files, all they really do is kill the processes that locked the file.
Powertoys has something called File Locksmith that works too. System Informer (formerly Process Hacker) also has a way to do it by searching for the specific filename.
For the opening and stuff, you might want to look at Right Click Tools at
New App: Right-Click Tools which is not for locked files as that is done using of the methods or tools mentioned in this thread.
OS
Windows XP/7/8/8.1/10/11, Linux, Android, FreeBSD Unix
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Dell XPS 15 9570
CPU
Intel® Core™ i7-8750H 8th Gen 2.2Ghz up to 4.1Ghz
Motherboard
Dell XPS 15 9570
Memory
64GB using 2x32GB CL16 Mushkin redLine modules
Graphics Card(s)
Intel UHD 630 & NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with 4GB DDR5
Sound Card
Realtek ALC3266-CG
Monitor(s) Displays
15.6" 4K Touch UltraHD 3840x2160 made by Sharp
Screen Resolution
3840x2160
Hard Drives
Toshiba KXG60ZNV1T02 NVMe 1TB SSD
PSU
Dell XPS 15 9570
Case
Dell XPS 15 9570
Cooling
Stock
Keyboard
Stock
Mouse
SwitftPoint ProPoint
Internet Speed
Comcast/XFinity 1.44Gbps/42.5Mbps
Browser
Microsoft EDGE (Chromium based) & Google Chrome
Antivirus
Windows Defender that came with Windows