Make yourself a Linux boot floppy (Google!) and let that eat Windows' file protection for breakfast. Takes a few minutes, and then you have unprotected files that you can do whatever you want with.
I had a similar situation two years ago with an old archived PC, was very quick and easy to fix.
I have had the access denied problem on some folders on my Win2k system sometimes. If I reboot, I can then access, but that is a pain. So when it happened the other day, I did some googling.
There is some danger forcing an unlock, but it worked for me. When I looked at my situation, it was windows explorer that had the active lock. I have no explanation why -- I had closed all the explorer windows. I forced the unlock with the utility and then was able to access the folder (which I was only trying to delete anyway.)
Rex, I think what you are referencing is when a program states it is accessing a file or folder and you cannot delete or use the content until it releases it. I think what he is saying is that he has folders that are password protected that he cannot access.