Re: Error 0x80070091: The directory is not empty

Chris2842460 Wrote:

> I am receiving the error message in the subject line when I try to

> clear

> the Adobe Reader 8.0 folder. I was having problems with Adobe

> starting

> correctly and attempted to delete the folder. I decided to run the

> chkdsk

> and Vista said it would schedule to run it at the next reboot. This

> did not

> occur so I started Vista at the command line and ran chkdsk. It said

> there

> was an error but would not fix it stating my hard drive was read-only.

> The

> message said it would run it at the next reboot and again it did not

> occur.

> I need to get this problem resolved and would like to know why Vista

> will not

> allow me to run chkdsk.

I have had this error as well, exactly the same, only it wasn't just

with Adobe folders (there was this one recursive Adobe-related directory

that just kept going "application data\application data\application

data\...") a Cookies folder as well as my My Pictures, My Music, and My

Videos folders (generated inside my "Documents" folder for some reason,

not the default ones in "C:\Users\[whatever]\") also would not delete.

Actually, I was not trying to delete these originals I had written a

batch script utilizing ROBOCOPY that copied huge but specific categories

of files, and I wanted to delete those copies. (If you don't know what

all that is, just ignore that last sentence, it's not apparently

relevant.) Anyways, my first reaction was to run CHKDSK, and of course

it can't run on the mounted (active Windows) primary partition while

Windows is running. But, as thousands of people have reported, it simply

never ran on startup, despite the registry keys that govern it being

correct, and the AUTOCHK.EXE file being intact. I had to use Vista's

Startup Repair option (not available on some OEM versions / factory

installed machines) by holding F8 during the first boot stages and run

the command line from there, where I was able to unmount the C: drive

and finally scan my hard disk. Alas, that did NOT repair my corrupt

files, even after multiple runs, and I was left using the RD command

(Remove Directory) with /s to delete everything that I could but

abandoning the corrupt files.

So, I recommend running CHKDSK by pressing/holding F8 during startup,

selecting the Startup Repair option, allowing that to load, and choosing

the command prompt option at the menu. You'll first have to navigate to

the C: partition (instead of the virtual X: drive) by simply typing C:

at the prompt. Type "chkdsk /r" (without quotes) and press "Y" when it

asks you if you want to dismount the C: drive, and let it run to

completion. Sometimes, it takes multiple iterations in order to fix some

things, so feel free to run it again once more.

Finally, you may not be able to delete those pesky corrupted files for

now without a more hard-core utility (I have yet to find one that

fixes/deletes folders, only ones that rewrite or zero files and then

delete them), but you might be able to rename them (for me, directories

were the problem, not individual files, so it wouldn't work). To get rid

of entire directory trees, but unfortunately leave the corrupt parts,

type RD "folder name you want to get rid of" /S and wait for a bit.

It'll list the files/folders that weren't able to be deleted as it comes

across them.

If anybody knows of a good way to force the deletion of entire

directories, let me know. I can write my own code to forcibly fill a

file's memory ranges with zeros and then tell the OS that they no longer

exist (file allocation tables and the like) but folders I don't know how

to do. Any ideas would be great.

--

EinsteinBB

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