Windows 10: Unable to delete thumbs.db

I'm on the newest Win10 and am looking for a way to delete folders which only contain one file, the thumbs.db, and nothing else.I've read several things in this thread which is now closed where some didn't help and others were too painful to be even tried why should i have to boot in safe mode?.Is there a easy way to delete those folders?I'm often succeeding with restarting explorer.exe from the taskmanager's app tab wondering why explorer.exe is the only process offering "restart" in its context menu and then being quick enough to delete such folders before explorer grabs em again. But

:)

 

Unable to delete a folder - Invalid folder name


Suggestion:

1. Run chkdsk x: /r to make sure that there's no HD corruption.
   x: is the drive containing the folder you want to delete.
2. Try to delete the folder again. If still does not work, go to step 3.
3. Download: Download - Linux Mint and create a bootable USB using: Rufus - Create bootable USB
4. Boot up with Linux Mint and try to delete the folder again.
   NOTE: Unlike WinPE. Linux does not have any Windows permission imposed to it so it is easier to delete.

 

DB files

Hi Diarmid,





A .db file is a database file format for Windows. It stores data information in a series of tables, table files, and field data values. To best address your concern, we need to answer the following questions:

• Which application are you using to open the .db file?
• Are you getting an error message when trying to open the file? If yes, kindly provide us a screenshot.

We will be waiting for your response.

 

deleting the IconCache.db file

To restore desktop icons in Windows 10, you need to rebuild the Icon Cache. In order to rebuild the Icon Cache, you need to delete the IconCache.db file.

Here's how:

• Open File Explorer and navigate to the following folder:
  
  C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer
• In the Explorer folder, you will see a lot of files with the
  iconcache name. Delete all of them.

Once you have deleted all the iconcache files, a folder names IconCacheToDelete
will appear. Simply restart your PC and this folder will disappear.

In the event that you are unable to delete some of the files, see the steps below:

• Open elevated Command Prompt. (Win+X > Command Prompt (Admin))
• Type the following command, and then press Enter:
  
  cd /d %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer attrib –h iconcache_*.db del iconcache_*.db start explorer

Should you encounter further issues, let us know.