"Access Denied" When You Delete Folders from a Mounted Drive (243514)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, 64-Bit Datacenter Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, 64-Bit Enterprise Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Premium Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Standard Edition
This article was previously published under Q243514

SYMPTOMS

When you try to delete folders that are stored on a mounted drive and to send them to the Recycle Bin, you may receive the following error message:
Cannot delete Foldername: Access is denied. The source file may be in use.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs because the Recycle Bin does not understand mounted volumes. For example, assume that the following drive layout is in use:

C: -- 1-gigabyte (GB) drive using the NTFS file system
C:\Host-dir -- The mount point for a separate 9-GB drive

When you try to delete a folder with the path C:\Host-dir\Mydir, Windows Explorer interprets the folder as being on drive C and tries unsuccessfully to place it in the Recycle Bin on drive C.

WORKAROUND

To work around this issue, use either of the following methods:
  • When you delete the files or folders by using Windows Explorer, use the SHIFT+DELETE key combination. This bypasses the Recycle Bin.
  • Open a command prompt window and then use the rd /s /q command to delete the files or folders.
Note Both of these methods permanently delete the data. You cannot recover the data unless you have a current backup.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:11/21/2003
Keywords:kberrmsg kbprb kbui KB243514
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.