Can't delete files because they are open in COM Surrogate

Question

So I've just started having a problem where sometimes deleting files and folders will result in this dialog appearing, or "the folder cannot be deleted because it is open in another program." Why is this happening?

I hope I don't have a virus looking through my stuff or something.

Answer 1

A preview handler may have locked the file. Please turn off the Preview pane, set the folder view to Details, close Explorer, reopen it and delete the file. Does that workaround help?

Answer 2

I just had this happen to me. It was an image file I was working on in a couple of different Adobe apps. One crashed as it was a large file and I suspect there was some data stuck in the system somewhere. It was still unable to delete even after a restart. What I did was just open the file that wouldn't delete. Make some simple edit. Save the file (not save as) and close the program... Then opened the file location and it deleted as intended. Hopefully you figured it out already, but maybe this will help someone with the same issue in the future. I hate when they suggest some BS app for stuff like this. That's how people get malware and malware causes COM surrogate issues...

Answer 3

You should be able to kill the "COM Surrogate" task in Task Manager.

Answer 4

Hi Aden,

I'm Sumit, here to answer your query at the Microsoft Community.

Apologies for any inconvenience you are experiencing. We are happy to help you.

Let us use the File Locksmith utility to find what is holding the file.

Steps to download PowerToys:

Open your browser and go to https://aka.ms/getpowertoys.

You will be redirected to the Microsoft Store page for PowerToys.

Click on the Get button to download and install PowerToys on your system.

Once installed, open PowerToys from the Start menu.

Steps to use the File Locksmith utility in PowerToys:

Open PowerToys from the Start menu.

In the left sidebar, select File Locksmith.

Enable the utility if it is not already enabled.

To use File Locksmith:

Right-click on the file in File Explorer.

Select What’s using this file? from the context menu.

A window will open showing all processes currently usingg the selected file or folder.

You can view process details and end any processes if necessary.

Hope that helps, and rely on us for any further inquiries. All the best.

Answer 5

Sorry, this was no help. And why do I need this ridiculous app. It wasn't broken, so why try to fix it.

It's definitely broken now.

It now says it's being used by Photo. but nothing is open on my computer.

I've TRYING (unsuccessfully) to clean up my files and backup. MS did something, my machine can't even open File Explorer without choking to death.

Horrible Updates.