6 Ways to Delete Files Could Not Find This Item in Windows

 In this post, we will share several ways to delete the file could not find this item on Windows, even though you can be sure that the item/file you deleted is gone.

We all need to delete files and folders from time to time to free up space on our Windows computers. However, there are times when an item refuses to leave the system. You try to delete it several times, and every time you try you get the error message "Could not find this item".

This can be annoying. Because you can see the files or folders that need to be deleted on the screen, but you can't delete them because of an annoying error message. If you are stuck with this message, here are some fixes to get rid of it.

How to delete files that could not find this item

1. Restart Windows Explorer

Restart Windows Explorer

Before you try the more complex troubleshooting steps in this article, you can try something simple first by restarting your Windows Explorer. To do this, follow the steps below:

1. Right-click Start on the Taskbar and select Task Manager.

2. On the Processes tab, select Windows Explorer and click the Restart button in the lower right corner.

3. Try deleting the file or folder and see if the “Could not find this item” error message appears again

2. Zip All Items You Want To Delete

An easy solution to avoid the “Could not find this item” error message is to place the file or folder in a zip archive and then try to delete it. Luckily, Windows has a built-in utility for compressing files and folders into a ZIP file without the need for a third-party tool.

To zip files or folders, right click the item and select Compress to ZIP file if you are using Windows 11.

Zip All Items You Want To Delete Windows 11

If you are using Windows 10, right click the file or folder and select Send to > Compressed (zip) folder in the context menu.

Zip All Items You Want To Delete Windows 10

Now delete the zip archive and, hopefully, it will be gone, along with the files or folders you were originally trying to delete.

3. Delete Files Using PowerShell

Even if you don't know what PowerShell is, you can still use it to solve a number of problems if you know what commands to use. Here's how to delete files or folders using the del command in PowerShell:

Delete Files Using PowerShell

1. Right-click the file or folder that you want to delete and select Copy as path. This will copy the item's file path, which you will need later.

2. Press Win + S to open Windows Search and type powershell in the search box.

3. Right-click on Windows PowerShell in the search results and select Run as administrator.

4. Click Yes on the UAC prompt.

5. In PowerShell, the command you have to type has the structure del [“drive:\path\filename”]. You have to replace the text in square brackets with the file path you copied in the first step by pressing Ctrl + V in PowerShell. The final command will look like the image above.

6. Press the Enter key to run the command and see if PowerShell can delete the file or folder.

4. Try Renaming the File

If deleting an item with PowerShell doesn't work, you should try renaming it first before deleting it. Here's how to rename files using the REN command in PowerShell:

Rename File

1. Right-click the file or folder that you want to delete and select Copy as path.

2. Press Win + S to open Windows Search and type powershell in the search box.

3. Right-click on Windows PowerShell in the search results and select Run as administrator.

4. Click Yes on the UAC prompt.

5. The command to rename files in PowerShell must have the REN structure drive:\path\OldName NewName. In the above command structure, you have to replace drive:\path\OldName with the file path you copied in the first step by pressing Ctrl + V in PowerShell. Then, replace NewName with the name you want to rename the file or folder. It should look like the image above.

6. Press Enter to run the command, and PowerShell will rename the item.

7. Now try deleting the file in the normal way and see if it works. If the “Could not find this item” error appears again, try the steps outlined in the previous section to remove it with PowerShell.

5. Try Deleting Items In Safe Mode

If none of the options above have worked so far, you should try deleting the item in Safe Mode. Follow the instructions below to boot Windows into Safe Mode:

Delete Items In Safe Mode

1. Click Start on the Taskbar, press and hold Shift key, then select Power > Power > Restart.

2. When your computer restarts, the Advanced Startup Options (ASO) menu will appear. From there, click Troubleshoot.

3. Click on Advanced options.

4. Select Startup Settings.

5. Click the Restart button.

6. When the computer restarts, you will see various Startup Settings. Press 4 to boot your computer in Safe Mode.

7. Try deleting the file or folder again and see if that will work.

8. Restart your computer and boot into Windows normally.

6. Use Third Party Applications

After trying to delete files or folders the Windows way without success, you can get help from third-party tools. While there are many applications that you can use for this purpose, we'll be using a lightweight file shredding tool called Eraser in this example. Follow the instructions below to learn how to download and use Eraser:

Use Third Party Applications

1. Go to the Eraser download page and download the latest version of the application.

2. Go to the location where you downloaded the Eraser installer, launch it, and follow the prompts to install it.

3. After Windows has fully installed Eraser, the application will be integrated into the context menu. To delete files or folders using Eraser in Windows 10, right-click on them and choose Eraser > Erase. On Windows 11, right-click an item and select Show more options > Eraser > Erase.

4. Click Yes on the UAC prompt.

5. You will get a message from Eraser asking you to confirm your decision. Click Yes, and the application will delete the file or folder from your system.

Hopefully, it will remove the item from your computer once and for all.

Conclusion

So that's how to remove could not find this item in Windows. Now when a file or folder cannot be deleted in Windows because of the “Could not find this item” error, you know how to fix it. You can use various tools within Windows and even some third parties to get rid of them. Follow the troubleshooting steps mentioned above, and you won't see that annoying error message again.