How to Force Delete a Folder – Windows 10 & 11

Do you need help removing a folder from your Windows 10 or Windows 11 computer? If so, it could be a system folder or a folder utilized by another software. We’ll show you how to remove “undeletable” folders from your PC.

Why you can’t delete your folder?

The most common cause for being unable to delete a folder is that it is a Windows system folder. In this scenario, the system blocks you from eliminating the folder since doing so may cause your PC to become unstable.

If you’re certain it’s not a system folder, your “undeletable” folder may be in use by your installed apps. Windows restricts you from making changes to a folder when an app is using it. In this situation, you might try to delete the folder after closing the app using your folder.

If nothing of the aforementioned scenarios applies to your situation, you could choose to use one of the following:

Method 1: Use Command Prompt

Using Command Prompt is a quick way to delete a folder. You can use this tool to run a command that deletes the folder you’ve chosen.

To begin, open your “Start” menu and look for “Command Prompt.” Then, on the right, select “Run as Administrator.”

A “User Account Control” prompt will appear. Choose “Yes.”

When the Command Prompt window appears, enter the following command and press Enter.

rmdir /s /q PATH

Replace PATH with the path to the folder you want to delete in this command.

If your path contains spaces, enclose it with double quotes.

For example, in the Documents folder on your C drive, you’d delete a folder called Unwanted.
rmdir /s /q C:\Documents\Unwanted

Method 2: Boot in Windows Safe Mode

If you are unsure which app has hijacked your folder and prevented you from deleting it, restart your PC in safe mode and then attempt to delete the folder. In safe mode, your PC only loads the necessary Windows files, preventing any third-party apps from launching automatically.

To begin, use our guide to boot your Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC into safe mode.

Once in safe mode, open File Explorer and navigate to the folder you want to delete. Then, right-click on the folder and select “Delete”.

Your folder has been deleted.

You may also want to remove the folder from the Recycle Bin, which you can do by opening it, right-clicking your folder, and selecting “Delete”.

Method 3: Use WinRAR to Force Remove Folders

This may sound strange, but you can delete stubborn folders using WinRAR (a file compression app). This works by creating an archive from your “undeletable” folder and then asking the app to delete the original folder after the archive is created.

When WinRAR creates an archive from your folder, it automatically deletes the original folder. The newly created archive can then be deleted as well.

To begin, download and install the free version of WinRAR on your computer. Then restart your Windows 10 or Windows 11 computer so that WinRAR is integrated into the context menu.

When your computer restarts, launch File Explorer and navigate to the folder you want to delete. Then, right-click on this folder and select “Add to Archive”

On the “Archive Name and Parameters” window, in the “Archiving Options” section, enable the “Delete Files After Archiving” option. Then, at the bottom of the window, select “OK.”

Allow WinRAR to create an archive from the folder you’ve chosen. After that, WinRAR will delete the original folder. You may now delete your recently created archive.

That’s how you get rid of any unwanted or stubborn folders on your Windows PC.