Deleting An "in Use" File In Windows 7

[philg]

I have a file on a network attached storage device that I can't delete because Win 7 thinks it's in use

It isn't (I know - I killed the task that was writing to it) - but obviously Windows missed that

I've tried del /f from a command prompt - that doesn't work either

In Win NT I would have started in safe mode and deleted from there, but what can I do in Win7?

Thanks

Phil G

[Buenchico]

I'm confused. Pressing F8 at bootup should still allow you to access Safe Mode (including Safe Mode with Networking):
http://www.pcworld.com/article/240802/how_to_enable_safe_mode_in_windows_7.html

[chrisgel]

If all else fails try this. It worked for me.
http://www.filehippo.com/download_unlocker/

[rojash]

use Chrisgel's suggestion. It will either unlock it so that you can delete it or (failing that) will allow you to schedule it to be deleted during the next restart. A lot less hassle than going into safe mode.

[ttfn]

.

[philg]

In the end I "cheated" - I could access the NAS from my iPad and used the FileBrowser app to delete the file (which apparently couldn't care less whether the file was "in use" :)