Those pesky files you can't delete

I am disturbed by the increasing number of uninstalls that finish unsuccessfully because a file is locked or in use. Part of the uninstall process should anticipate and deal with those issues. There are options, however, so don't fret. Here they are, in no preferred order:

• Stop explorer.exe, go to the command line to delete your file, then restart explorer.
• Boot from the Windows cd and go into recovery mode. Then go to the command line to delete the file.
• Use the program Unlocker. It's freeware and it's easy.
• Use the program Process Explorer from sysinternals. Use the search tool (ctrl F) to find the file, then close the handle of that file. Now you can go to the command line or File Explorer and delete it.

There is a handy article from the folks at Geeks Are Sexy which provides more details for each of these strategies.