back in the XP days, I used a software called “Unlocker” just for this problem. It probably still exists, I don’t know, because since Windows 7, the easiest way to find out what process locks a file is to open Resource Monitor (Start search: resmon) and the bottom list on the CPU tab you can search the file name and you will find the process.

So yeah, Resource Monitor is a useful tool on Windows.

There’s a collection of free little utilities called Microsoft PowerToys, including the file unlocker thing. Why would they not include these into base kit Windows is beyond me.
GitHub - microsoft/PowerToys: Microsoft PowerToys is a collection of utilities that help you customize Windows and streamline everyday tasks

Microsoft PowerToys is a collection of utilities that help you customize Windows and streamline everyday tasks - microsoft/PowerToys

GitHub
not including PowerToys inside basic package is a fucking choice. Win11 is literally unusable without it in many aspects.
I suspect it’s in line with big tech policies to coddle end users instead of educating or trusting them. I assert (particularly since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007) that learned helplessness is built into the game plan.

100%! Like with major setups and upgrades now just being throbbing circles and a pulsing blue light with the creepy “We’re doing stuff on your behalf behind this screen.” messaging.

I say computers (and the Internet) are for anybody, but not everybody. Learning to use a tool will always be a requirement of useful tools.

There used to be a time when most people using a computer implicitly understood how files and folders worked, for instance. But now even such a simple abstraction is considered advanced esoteric lost arcana.

I’m deeply saddened by how the tech industry has deliberately pushed understanding backwards so hard in order to foster more obedient consumers.

It’s actually wild to see how many people who were at the very least, young adults during the computer boom of the late 80’s/early 90’s, can’t handle anything without a touch screen and don’t comprehend email.

Ignorance is sold as the future.