Are you getting the “Folder In Use – The action can’t be completed because the folder or a file in it is open in another program” error while deleting a folder in Windows? It means you are unable to delete the folder because it is in use by another program. So, how to find the program that is using the file or folder, and how to fix this issue? Well, keep reading to find the answer.

There can be several programs or background tasks preventing you from deleting or renaming a folder. When you try to rename or delete such a folder, you get the “Folder In Use” error. Sometimes, insufficient NTFS permissions can also prevent you from deleting or renaming a folder. There are several third-party tools that can help you with finding the culprit process. However, in this tutorial, we will share a native method to fix this issue.

Folder in Use by Another Program – Here is How to Delete it

First of all, make sure that you have sufficient permissions to delete the folder. You can try taking ownership of the folder. However, you may still be unable to delete a folder that is in use by another program.

Unable to Delete or Rename the Folder in Use

Now, the next step would be to find the application or process that is using the folder in question. You can use the Process Explorer from Sysinternals to do it. However, the Windows native Resource Monitor utility can also help you find the process occupying your folder or file.

Let’s check the process in detail. We have used Windows 11 in this tutorial, however, you can use the same steps for Windows 7, 8, 10, Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, 2019, and 2022 as well.

Step 1: Open Resource Monitor on your Windows PC

So, when you are unable to delete a folder that is in use, you must first kill the process that is using the folder. To find that process, we will use the Resource Monitor utility in Windows.

To open Resource Monitor, search for “resource monitor” on the Start menu and run it as administrator from the search results.