For the past 5 years, I’ve always been in front of the computer because of work and, yes, Facebook :D. Since majority of my jobs now are online or done on my laptop, I wanted to make sure I maximize my time and that I’m as productive as can be. So, to increase my efficiency, I searched high and low for programs that can help me perform tasks more quickly. One of those applications is Unlocker. I seriously can’t live without this file management app.

I know almost all Windows users out there have encountered any or all of these error messages:

When moving a file or folder that I recently accessed, I get this error, especially when I’ve got too many applications running in the background. Unlocker makes it easy for me to get rid of this error without having to restart or close Explorer.

I get this error when I’m using “Safely Remove” feature on my external hard drive with multiple programs running. Again, Unlocker helps me rid of this error.

Unlocker is a light file management software. Best of all, you can download and use this for FREE.

It’s very powerful and completely useful for Windows users like me. It can help you deal with other errors like the following:

• “The source or destination file may be in use.”
• “Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use.”
• “Cannot delete file: Access is denied.”

Once installed, you can right-click on a file or folder, or even the whole drive, to unlock it.

The program runs in the background. And you can even hide the icon or prevent the Unlocker Assistant from starting automatically by right-clicking on its icon on your taskbar.

Simply uncheck “Autostart”. Or you can simply hide the icon.

Here’s a screenshot of Unlocker on my menu when I right-click on a folder:

The main reason why I can’t live with Unlocker is because I work too fast on my computer. I tend to do multiple things at once that certain programs can’t keep up with my pace.

For instance, I was sending a file on Yahoo! Messenger to a friend which I was planning to delete right after. But, the file is still being recognized by Windows to be in use because I still have my chat window open. So, what I do at times like this is right-click on the file and click on Unlocker.

Then, it’ll give me a list of programs that are currently using the file or folder – why it’s locked. I simply select on the application / program that’s preventing me to do what I wanted and then click on the lower left menu and choose Delete.

But, you can also just select Unlock or Unlock All if you just want to free the file or folder. You can even kill the program without going through Task Manager.

If there’s no program using the item or folder, you should see this dialog box instead:

Unlocker is a freeware and can be downloaded from Empty Loop’s website. It’s available for Windows operating systems only, up to Windows 7.

Stay tuned for more of my recommended software applications that should boost your productivity and efficiency at work or even at home. 🙂