When dealing with locked files on Windows Server 2003, it's crucial to understand how the operating system handles file locks. The system maintains an exclusive lock when:

• A process has the file open
• File handles weren't properly closed
• Antivirus software is scanning the file
• Network sharing conflicts exist

Before attempting deletion, identify which process is holding the lock:

@echo off
for /f "tokens=1,2 delims=," %%a in ('handle.exe -a %1 ^| findstr /i "%1"') do (
    echo Process %%a is locking the file
    tasklist /fi "pid eq %%a"
)

Using Handle.exe from Sysinternals:

1. Download Handle.exe from Microsoft's Sysinternals
2. Run as Administrator: handle.exe -a "filename.ext"
3. Note the PID locking the file
4. Terminate the process or close the handle

Command Line Forced Deletion:

del /f /q "C:\path\to\locked file.txt"
takeown /f "C:\path\to\locked file.txt"
icacls "C:\path\to\locked file.txt" /grant administrators:F
del "C:\path\to\locked file.txt"

Using PowerShell (if available):

$file = "C:\path\to\lockedfile.dat"
$fileInfo = New-Object System.IO.FileInfo $file
$fileInfo.Delete()

Scheduled Task Method:

schtasks /create /tn "DeleteLockedFile" /tr "cmd /c del /f /q \"C:\path\to\file\"" /sc once /st 23:59
schtasks /run /tn "DeleteLockedFile"
schtasks /delete /tn "DeleteLockedFile" /f

• Implement proper file handle cleanup in applications
• Use transaction-based file operations
• Regularly audit file locks with monitoring tools
• Consider implementing a file locking timeout policy

For particularly stubborn files, try booting into Safe Mode or using a Linux live CD to access the NTFS partition. In extreme cases, you might need to:

move "C:\problem\file.dat" "C:\temp\file.dat"
del "C:\temp\file.dat"

Remember that Windows Server 2003 has specific limitations compared to newer systems. These techniques should be used with caution on production servers.

When dealing with Windows Server 2003, you might encounter stubborn files that refuse deletion due to locking issues. The operating system uses file locks to prevent data corruption when processes access files, but sometimes these locks aren't properly released.

Several scenarios can lead to locked files:

• Processes holding file handles after crashes
• Antivirus software scanning the file
• Network shares with active connections
• System processes with delayed releases

Before diving into code solutions, try these manual approaches:

1. Close all applications that might be using the file
2. Restart the Windows Explorer process
3. Check for network shares accessing the file
4. Run CHKDSK to repair potential filesystem issues

For developers needing to handle this programmatically, here are several approaches:

Microsoft's Sysinternals suite provides powerful tools for system administration:

handle.exe -a "filename"
taskkill /PID [process_id] /F
del "filename"

Here's a C# implementation using Windows API:

using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

class FileUnlocker {
    [DllImport("kernel32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
    private static extern bool MoveFileEx(
        string lpExistingFileName,
        string lpNewFileName,
        int dwFlags);

    const int MOVEFILE_DELAY_UNTIL_REBOOT = 0x4;

    public static void ScheduleDelete(string filePath) {
        if (!File.Exists(filePath)) return;
        MoveFileEx(filePath, null, MOVEFILE_DELAY_UNTIL_REBOOT);
    }
}

For quick server administration, PowerShell offers flexibility:

function Remove-LockedFile {
    param([string]$filePath)
    
    $file = Get-Item $filePath -Force
    $lockedBy = (handle.exe $file.FullName | select-string "pid") -replace ".*pid: (\d+).*",'$1'
    
    if ($lockedBy) {
        Stop-Process -Id $lockedBy -Force
        Remove-Item $filePath -Force
    }
}

To avoid similar issues in your applications:

• Always properly close file handles in try-finally blocks
• Implement proper error handling for file operations
• Consider using FileStream with proper sharing flags

For extreme cases where the file absolutely must be deleted, you can schedule deletion on reboot:

reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager" /v PendingFileRenameOperations /t REG_MULTI_SZ /d "\??\C:\path\to\lockedfile\0" /f