Can't delete copy of game/data files

@Embutter  Do you get an error when trying to delete the files?  If you see something along the lines of "the folder is open in another app," make sure the EA App is closed and the EABackgroundService isn't running in the Task Manager (check the background processes list).  If you get a different error, please post a screenshot.

Please also let me know what happens if you right-click the folder and select Delete, rather than dragging the folder to the recycle bin.

Oh, I get an error when trying to delete the file. The file just wasn't responding when I press delete, it just stays there instead. I only got errors when I was trying to install Sims 4 while it was still in the download folder. I still tried what you said though and closed both the EA App and EABackgroundService but the file still doesn't respond to me clicking delete on it.

@Embutter  Can you rename this Sims 4 folder?  Can you delete the subfolders inside?  Please try each one, and whichever ones don't delete, try to clean out their contents.  Let me know which file(s) can't be removed.

Please also let me know if it would be too much of a burden to wipe the external drive entirely.  The fastest way to fix this would be to format the drive, ideally to something else and then back to NTFS.  But it's not so fast if reinstalling Sims 4 would take all day.  And it's not helpful if you don't have anywhere to store the drive's other data during the process.

Alright, I just renamed the Sims 4 file to Sims 4 Corrupted. I've managed to delete everything in there except two files:

Client, found in the Data folder.

GP03, found in the Delta folder.

Both of them say that they aren't accessible and are corrupted and unreadable.

@Embutter  You can try running chkdsk on this drive:

• Hit Windows key-X
• Choose either “PowerShell (Administrator)” or “Windows Terminal (Administrator),” whichever option is offered
• Inside the window that appears, copy and paste "chkdsk /f /r d:" without quotes, and enter
• If you're asked to allow a restart, say yes
• When the scan is done, use this guide to find the results

The scan alone may fix the issue.  But if not, one other thing you can try is giving the drive a different letter.  You can do that through Windows or just by unplugging the drive, restarting your computer, and plugging in a different device that would receive a drive letter first, for example another external drive or a USB stick.  That device would become D, and this external would be E once it's plugged in too.

Otherwise, I still think formatting the drive might be the best solution.