title: Git won't let me rebase (untracked files would be overwritten). What should I do?
body: <p>I just want to edit/amend the text of an older Git commit.</p>
  
  <p>I ran the following:</p>
  
  <pre><code>$ git rebase -i a41a407d6f53328d49267e6a8429b9492f023629
  error: The following untracked working tree files would be overwritten by checkout:
      admin/roles/allowassign.php
      admin/roles/allowoverride.php
      admin/roles/assign.html
      admin/roles/assign.php
      admin/roles/manage.html
      admin/roles/manage.php
      admin/roles/managetabs.php
      admin/roles/override.html
      admin/roles/override.php    
  Aborting
  could not detach HEAD       
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>However, <code>git status</code> does not list any untracked files:</p>
  
  <pre><code>$ git status
  On branch dev
  nothing to commit, working directory clean
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Note, that admin/roles is a submodule of the repository:</p>
  
  <pre><code>$ git submodule
   77c5addc1b210256da9171e3b286ffa5addd2478 admin/roles (heads/dev)
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>And listing ignored files:</p>
  
  <pre><code>$ git status --ignored
  On branch duf-moodle-dev
  Ignored files:
    (use "git add -f &lt;file&gt;..." to include in what will be committed)
  
          blocks/moodleblock.class.php.bak
          filter/tex/mimetex.exe
          lib/smarty/COPYING.lib
  
  nothing to commit, working directory clean
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Saving GIT stash has no result:</p>
  
  <pre><code>$ git stash save --include-untracked
  No local changes to save
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I was reading, that integrating into Explorer Shell, can have such result.
  Currently Git Extensions, GIT GUI, and SmartGIT are integrated into context shell.
  This may cause problem?</p>
  
  <p>My proposal is, that the problem origin is the use of submodules.
  I keep some changes as submodules.</p>
  
  <p>Any ideas why the rebase interactive gives be the error and how to fix it?</p>
  
  <p>Also, there would be even fine to have a solution to edit/amend an older commit description without using rebase...</p>