I can't delete this local svn working directory on windows

Question

I want to delete just my local working copy (no server changes) and I am getting the following error:

Cannot delete dir-prop-base: access is denied

Make sure the disk is not full or write protected and that the file is not currently in use.

I have tried using Unlocker but it says that no process has a handle to this and when I select the "Delete" action from unlocker, nothing happens.

Any suggestions?

Solution 1

If you're using tortoise svn, there's a process called TSVNCache.exe - kill it. There's a way to permanently disable it too, but I forget where.

Solution 2

• Download and install Process Explorer: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx
• Find > File Handle or DLL...
• Search for dir-prop-base
• Kill the process that has a handle to it

Solution 3

i found windows explorer seems to hold onto some svn folders even if it's not open on it. try killing explorer.exe (dont worry, you can bring it back without restarting by just running: explorer.exe)

Solution 4

I ended up just closing all window explorer instances and reopening then for some reason I was able to delete. Hope this helps someone :P

View more solutions

Comments

[john poal]

Another problem I've seen with tortoise is that sometimes you can't (for whatever reason) delete the entire source tree at once. What worked for me was to delete the source tree a bit at a time.

[leora]

i tried that but still same issue . . by the way, what is the logic behind deleting a few things at once??

[user982201]

Process Explorer may have the same behavior as Unlocker but it is worth a shot.

[Vinay Sajip]

Can you call up the security information for that filter (e.g. Security tab of the Properties dialog for the folder) to see whether you have the rights to that folder which you might be expecting.

[Lex Li]

Thanks for the tips. After killing this process I can remove the folder here on my machine.

[emilie zawadzki]

It Worked for me after having deleted other SVN process. Made a clean up and it was OK :)

[Steve Chambers]

I also needed to kill two processes called TortoiseProc.exe in order to delete a directory with this error message.