Error message when you try to delete a file in Windows XP: "Access is denied"

When you try to delete a file, you may receive the following error message: However, the disk is neither full nor write-protected, and no one else is using the file.

This behavior can occur if you do not have the permissions that are required to delete the file under the NTFS file system.

To resolve this behavior, select from the following methods.

Method 1: Make sure that you are using an administrator account to perform this task

For information about how to add an administrator account and to give administrator access to non-administrator accounts at a stand-alone computer, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

Method 2: Ask the administrator to grant the necessary permissions

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Note If the problem persists, you might want to ask someone for help or contact support. For information about how to contact support, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

For more information about system attributes, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: If the articles listed here do not help you resolve the problem or if you experience symptoms that differ from those that are described in this article, search the Microsoft Knowledge Base for more information. To search the Microsoft Knowledge Base, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Then, type the text of the error message that you receive, or type a description of the problem in the Search Support (KB) field.