How frustrating it an experience
is when you come across an error message on your computer. You might have seen
the Error Code OX80070091 when trying to delete a folder. The message further
says, “An unexpected error is keeping you from deleting the folder. Error
0x80070091: The directory is not empty”. This sounds creepy to you. If you are
the administrator of the computer, why can’t you delete the folders? What’s
worse! Because of this error you may not be able to install new apps / app
updates and therefore it becomes important to troubleshoot this error asap.
Let’s have a look at some of
the probable causes because of which this issue can happen:
·
Check if you have logged in as an administrator. It is important
to check this because as a secondary user, you can not delete some files /
folders.
·
The hard drive has bad sectors
·
The drivers have become corrupt
·
The temporary folder is flooded with junk files
Below are some methods which will
help you in resolving this issue.
·
Method 1: Use your existing antivirus.
o Login
with your administrative access and scan your computer with the existing
antivirus / Microsoft Defender. See if the problem still exists.
o Restart
your computer and try deleting the intended file / folder to see if the issue
is resolved.
·
Method 2: You should remove the
junk files on a regular basis which doesn’t just occupy unnecessary space in
your computer but can also make your system unstable.
o Hold Win,
Press X
o Click
“Command Prompt (Admin)”
o Click
“Yes”
o Type
“cleanmgr” and press Enter
o Select the
drive which you want to check (we recommend doing this for all drives one by
one)
o The
process will start and you will be notified the space you can claim on the
respective hard disks.
o Review
and Check all the Radio Buttons to remove unnecessary files
o Click
‘Ok” for the process to start
o Check if
you are still able to delete the intended folder (the Error Code OX80070091 is
resolved or not)
·
Method 3: Check the folder’s
properties to confirm if you actually have full administrative rights
o Open
Windows Explorer app
o Right
click on the folder and click on Properties
o Click on
Security > Advanced > Owner
o Change
the ownership to “New Owner”
o Select
“Replace Owner” in both “Sub-container and Objects”
o Once the
changes have been saved, try deleting the intended file / folder
·
Method 4: You can take help of the
File Checker Tool to resolve this.
o Click Win
logo
o Type cmd
o Hold Ctrl
& Shift simultaneously and press Enter
o Type
chkdsk/f/r and press Enter and press Y
o The Disk
Check will start working once the computer restarts. Give it some time before
trying to delete the intended file / folder.
·
Method 5: An alternative way to
run the File Checker Tool is below. The difference is, this one focuses more on
repairing bad sectors:
o Hold Win,
Press X
o Click
“Command Prompt (Admin)”
o Click
“Yes”
o Type
chkdsk C/f/r/x
o Press
Enter to let it scan your computer. Once this is done, restart your computer
and try deleting the intended file / folder.
·
Method 6: Sometimes, the drivers
are not updated resulting in Error Code OX80070091 and other errors. You need
to update drivers to check if this issue gets resolved.
o Open the
path Control Panel\System and Security\System in Windows Explorer
o Click
Device Manager
o Expand
all the options and check for a yellow exclamation before any device
o If you
find one, right click on it and click on Update Driver Software...
o Restart
your computer and try deleting the intended file / folder to see if the issue
is resolved.
·
Method 7: Use System Restore as
one of the last options. ‘System Restore’ restores the settings for a specific
past date but it doesn’t affect your files. This options comes in handy if you
had created a Restore Point at that point of time when the error was not
there
o Click Win
logo, type and click on Settings
o Click
Update & Security
o Click
Recovery
o Select
‘Go back to an earlier build’
o Choose
the date when this issue was not there
o Run the
tool and restart the computer
o Either
the intended file / folder got deleted or you should be able to delete it
manually now.
·
Method 8: If even after using the
System Restore option, the file / folder is there / you are unable to delete
the file / folder, the last option is to erase everything from the computer and
take it back to Factory Settings.
o Take a
backup of your important files offline or online
o Click Win
logo, type and click on Settings
o Click
Update & Security
o Click
Recovery > Reset this PC
o Click Get
Started > Remove Everything
o Further
there will be two options ‘Just remove my files’ and ‘Remove files and clean
the drive’. We suggest you to go with the second option.
o The
computer will restart and take a considerable time to go to Factory Settings.
o This
option will start your computer afresh and all the old folders (including the
folder with the error) will get deleted resolving your issue.
The last step will make your
computer in the state when you bought it. You need to move the old files
manually to the computer and install programs / apps from scratch. Your issue
should be resolved and you should be able to delete that creepy file / folder
using the steps mentioned above.
