Removing files Windows 10 Home not responding

Question

I have several files I wish to remove from my File explorer. My current version is Windows 10 Home. But I have files from something like Windows 8. I'm still using microsoft works spreadsheets and that type stuff. Yes I know way out of date and ancient. But I have photos and such that were saved under zip files from the previous PC. I click to delete them and get the following action bar. It does nothing and then eventually the file explorer goes into "not responding"

I probably should just get the whole thing updated, but then I'll likely lose stuff and not be able to recover it. Literally just had a spreadsheet file I use regularly revert itself back 8 months and lost data and I have no clue how that happened. But that's a whole other story where I'd have to figure out what I want to keep and how to move it into a more upgraded program like Excel spreadsheet or whatever they have now for regular works documents.

Answer 1

I added more storage so that issue is gone. As for deleting I think in a roundabout way figured out how to get rid of stuff. I unzipped files and that made them easier to work with.

Answer 2

Did I understand correctly that the problem is solved?

Answer 3

Hi MWS,

Thank you for sharing the details and screenshot.

The behavior you’re seeing, where File Explorer stays at 0% and then becomes unresponsive, can occur when older or compressed files contain legacy metadata that prevents the delete process from completing normally. This does not indicate data loss or a system failure.

Here are some possible effective ways that you can try:

1, Delete using Command Prompt - This avoids File Explorer and removes the files directly.

• Press Windows key, type cmd
• Right‑click Command Prompt > Run as administrator
• Navigate to the folder with this command: cd "C:\Path\To\Folder"
• Delete it with this command: rmdir /s /q "FolderName"

2, Disable previews, then delete - This prevents File Explorer from trying to read ZIP contents.

• Open File Explorer
• Select View > Options
• Open the View tab
• Enable Always show icons, never thumbnails
• Select OK
• Reopen File Explorer and delete the files

3, Remove files in small groups if deleting everything at once stalls:

• Switch to Details view
• Sort by Type
• Delete ZIP files first, then other file types in small batches

These steps are intended to help you clean up the affected files while keeping your existing data intact.

Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

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Answer 4

Hi,

Please try to delete files from safe mode. https://support.microsoft.com/windows/start-your-pc-in-safe-mode-in-windows-10-92c27cff-db89-8644-1ce4-b3e5e56fe234

Run command prompt as administrator, run

chkdsk c:

command and show the result.

Answer 5

On Windows 10 Home, deleting many or old files should still work normally. When File Explorer hangs while deleting, use these steps to both free space and repair possible file/folder issues.

1. Try deleting with File Explorer in smaller batches
   • Open File Explorer (Windows key + E).
   • Go to the folder with the old files.
   • Select a smaller group of files (for example 10–20 at a time) and press Delete.
   • If that works, repeat until all unwanted files are gone.
   • Remember that on a hard disk, deleted files go to the Recycle Bin first.
2. Empty the Recycle Bin to actually free space
   • On the desktop, right‑click Recycle Bin and select Empty Recycle Bin.
   • Confirm. This permanently removes the files and frees drive space.
3. Use Disk Cleanup to remove leftover system files
   • On the taskbar, type disk cleanup and select Disk Cleanup.
   • Choose the drive (usually C:), then select OK.
   • Select the check boxes for file types to remove (for example, temporary files). Make sure there’s nothing important in the Recycle Bin before emptying it.
   • Select OK to delete the selected items.
4. Move large personal files instead of deleting (if unsure about losing data)
   • Connect an external USB drive or SD card.
   • In File Explorer, under This PC, open folders like Videos, Music, Pictures, or Downloads to find large files.
   • On the View tab, choose Details, then right‑click in empty space and select Sort by > Size to see the largest files first.
   • Select files you want to keep but don’t need on the PC, go to the Home tab, select Move to > Choose location, pick the external drive, then select Move.
5. Run the File and Folder troubleshooter if delete/copy/move keeps failing
   • Download and run the File and Folder Troubleshooter using the Download button described in the article.
   • In the File Download dialog, choose Run or Open, then follow the steps. This tool can automatically diagnose and repair problems that prevent deleting, copying, moving, or renaming files and folders.

If File Explorer still becomes unresponsive after these steps, there may be deeper system issues; in that case, backing up important personal files (documents, photos, spreadsheets) to an external drive before considering repair or reset options is recommended.

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References:

• Delete a file
• Free up drive space in Windows
• Fix File Explorer if it won't open or start
• Automatically diagnose and repair Windows file and folder problems