Windows – How to one delete recursive directories in Windows

windows 7

I'm using Windows 7 Professional 64-bit, and I somehow managed to create a system of recursive directories. For example, I have directories A, B, and C, which are nested like so: A/B/C. However, when I open directory C, I see directory A. The final directory structure looks something like A/B/C/A/B/C/… If I try deleting this with Windows (both using and bypassing the Recycle Bin) I get an error stating that "The source file name(s) are longer than the system supports." Using RMDIR /s does not work either, as it complains that the folders are not empty (even with the /s parameter specified). How can I delete these directories permanently?

Best Answer

Give these a shot. Good luck!

Use some Robocopy tricks, quote:

  1. Create a dummy folder on the drive (D: in this example) where the elongated path lives:

    md AnyFolderName

  2. Copy the dummy folder to the mutant folder using the /MIR (mirror) command line switch:

    robocopy D:\AnyFolder D:\BackupFolder /MIR

  3. Let RoboCopy clean up the fouled folder. This could take a few minutes depending on the size of the folder.

  4. Remove the fixed folder and the dummy folder:

    rd /s D:\BackupFolder rd /s D:\AnyFolder

That’s it. You are good to go.

OR

Renaming...

I had one folder with multiple folders inside like that, and the way i used is to rename the folder (main folder first then the next ones) and i finally was able to delete the main folder without any tools...

OR

[Quote:][4]

I found out make a drive mapping about halfway into the folder structure you should be able to delete the latter half of the file heirarcy.

For example if you are getting the error trying to delete:

\\NAS.Device.Company.com\a\b\c\d\e\f\g\h\i\j\k\l\m\n\o\p\q\r\s\t\u\v\w\x\y\z

Then map a network drive Z: to

\\NAS.Device.Company.com\a\b\c\d\e\f\g\h\i\j\k\

This will reduce the file herarch down to a smaller path. Open explorer and view the Z: drive. It should contain a folder called L (in this example).

You should now be able to delete the L and its subfolders without an issue, thereby deleting half the folder hierarchy. After that, disconnect the z: drive and try to delete whatever is left normally. Problem solved!

OR

Use the Unlocker utility.

[4]: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_vista-files/the-source-file-names-are-larger-than-is-supported/438a20a7-a964-4325-b755-8b5d75ddd15benter preformatted text here

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