Can not delete a master page "This item cannot be deleted because it is still referenced by other pa

When you try to delete a master page file from the Master Page and Page Layout Gallery on the Site Settings page in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, you receive the following error message:

This item cannot be deleted because it is still referenced by other pages.

This error message occurs even when the master page file is not associated with a SharePoint Server 2007 site.To work around this problem, mark the master file as hidden so that the master file does not appear as a selection when you create a new site. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Use an account that has administrative permissions to log on to the Web application that is hosted on the SharePoint Server 2007 server.
2. Click Site Actions, click Site Settings, and then click Modify All Site Settings.
3. Under Galleries, click Master Page and Page Layout Gallery.
4. Click the list next to the master file that you want to hide, and then click Edit Properties.
5. On the list next to Content Type, click Page Layout.
6. Click to select the check box next to Hidden Page, and then click OK.
7. Click the list next to the master file, and then click Check In.
8. On the Check In page, select the options that you want, and then click OK.
9. Click the list next to the master file, and then click Publish a Major Version.
10. On the Publish a Major Version page, enter a comment, and then click OK.
11. Click the list next to the master file, and then click Approve/reject.
12. Next to Approval Status, click Approved, and then click OK to approve the changes.

if it not working, you can try another solution.

Open the site in SharePoint Designer
Navigate to the master page gallery (it is called 'masterpage' under the '_catalogs' folder)
Create a new folder,
Move the Master Page you are trying to delete into this new folder
Then delete the folder
And there you go, SharePoint is now magically ok with deleting the Master Page afterall!