Windows – How to unlock a folder locked by ‘System’ process on Windows Server 2008

I know you said that you tried deleting the shortname of the file and it didn't work for you, but it does work for some forms of this problem. It worked for me. So for the sake of completeness I am mentioning it here.

Step by step:

1. press windows key + r
2. type cmd.exe, press enter
3. cd \to\the\folder\containing\the\problem\file
4. dir /x
5. Note the short filename of the problem file. It will look for example like BLAH~1.
6. del BLAH~1

You would need DropBox installed on the server, yes. I tend to think of DropBox as a good way to share files between two or more of your own computers, and share some folders with friends. That is, not a client-server sync tool. For that, I use Synkron. There are many products like this (search Pure-Mac) but I've only had experience with Synkron and it works very well for my needs.

You can set it up to automatically grab the newest version from either side of the synchronization. Then, if there are any conflicts, it will alert you and you will be able to choose which of the two files you want to keep. This conflict resolution dialog box also contains information on which of the two files is newer.

All in all, a great program.