Error cannot delete eclipse.exe when upgrading eclipse

Published: {ts '2014-04-03 00:00:00'}
Author: Steven Neiland
Site Url: http://www.neiland.net/article/error-cannot-delete-eclipse-exe-when-upgrading-eclipse/

Have you ever tried to upgrade eclipse from the updater only to get the error message "Cannot delete eclipse.exe".

Well here's a quick tip to get around this should you encounter this problem.

  1. Begin the eclipse update process as normal (help > check for updates)
  2. Once you get to the point where you have to accept the license agreements stop
  3. With eclipse still open at the review license window open windows explorer
  4. Navigate to the eclipse install directory and locate the eclipse.exe file
  5. Rename eclipse.exe to something else e.g. eclipse_bu.exe
  6. Go back to the open review license window, accept the license and click finish.
  7. Once eclipse has updated and restarted you can go back and delete the eclipse_bu.exe file.