Just delete the damn folder…

So I run into a problem where there are folders on my “Storage” drive (like drive “D:” that is way bigger than my boot drive) that for some unknown friggin’ reason I am unable to delete, Windows 7 just gives me some run around and makes me want to take a sledgehammer to the damn thing.

So searching around and I found how to delete it; Change the owner the admin, change the acl’s, then use rmdir from cmd line.

Like so (to whack folder “D:\delete_damnit”);

  • Right-click on folder -> Properties -> Security Tab
  • Click on Advanced button -> Owner tab
  • Edit.. button
  • Select Administrators in ‘Change owner to’, check ‘replace owner on subcontainers and objects’
  • Open cmd.exe as administrator
  • Run ‘cacls D:\delete_damnit /T /e /g Administrators:f’
  • Run ‘rmdir /S D:delete_damnit’

Enjoy!

One thought on “Just delete the damn folder…”

  1. I ran into the same issues a while back, plus some apps having problems controlling their own directory. The solution was to install “Take Ownership” to force the folder to match privileges with the current user, and “Unlocker”, which helps with some tasks, like deleting, removing, or renaming folders or files that have been locked by the system. Tank you for sharing.

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