Delete directory is not empty. Delete succeeds in deleting all files but when Directory.

Delete directory is not empty It is a useful utility compared to the standard rm utility because rm can delete directories even if they are not empty. Navigate to the parent directory of the non-empty directory using the cd command. If you attempt to do so, the following message appears: The directory is not empty Use the dir /a command to list all files (including hidden and system files). Nov 16, 2012 · Nevertheless, you do not use sudo to delete a non-empty directory, you use it to delete a file that is not owned by you. However, I occasionally get this: Feb 8, 2023 · The error message says, “The directory is not empty," and you can't delete the folder that throws the error. Jan 13, 2014 · Go into the directory in question and try typing "ls -a" to see if there are any hidden files or folders (ls -a <directory-name>" would also work). Jul 14, 2025 · The directory is not empty. You can follow a few easy methods to fix this problem and delete your folder successfully. Other applications may be using files within the folder. For practice purposes, you can either Dec 23, 2017 · If you're encountering an issue while trying to remove a directory using rm , it might be due to permissions or the presence of files within the directory. My workaround is to del everything in the directory before deleting the directory itself: del /f /s /q mydir 1>nul rmdir /s /q mydir (The 1>nul hides the standard output of del Directory. -or- The directory is being used by another process. However, when trying to speculate on the issue, we noticed that the When you call Directory. Without the /S option, RD will only delete an empty directory and RD /Q will silently fail to delete any Tackling the task of deleting a non-empty directory in Linux can feel like trying to solve a riddle wrapped in an enigma. A file with the same name and location specified by path exists. May 30, 2012 · 22 Do a recursive delete: Directory. Delete succeeds in deleting all files but when Directory. . Execute the following command to remove the non-empty directory: find directory_name -delete. , which historically (before Windows 10 20H2) happened when no files were in use, but the asynchronous nature of the DeleteFile WinAPI function caused intermittent failures. May 14, 2023 · Does Microsoft Windows display a “The Directory Is Not Empty” error when you try to delete a folder? Your folder may be locked, or you may not have the required permission to remove the folder. Then use the attrib command with -h to remove hidden file attributes, -s to remove system file attributes, or -h -s to remove both hidden and system Aug 5, 2025 · 'Error 0x80070091: The directory is not empty' prevents your computer from deleting folders. Deleting a Single Non-empty Directory To begin with, we can use the find -delete command to delete a single directory no matter how many files or subdirectories it contains by following its general syntax: $ find <Directory_Path> -delete Here, we provide the path of the directory to be deleted using the find command along with the -delete flag. 4. Jul 1, 2016 · The directory is not empty. Getting The directory is not empty 0x80070091 error when deleting a file or folder? Here's how to fix it and delete the folder. This guide will explain how to delete non-empty directories from the Windows command prompt using the del command. These steps often let you delete folder entries without deeper repair. Close all running applications and try again. Sep 24, 2025 · Restart Windows Explorer from Task Manager, try renaming the target folder, or remove synced items via the OneDrive web interface. Jul 21, 2024 · When trying to delete a folder, you may encounter an error message that implies that the directory is not empty. I experienced the same issues as Harry Johnston has mentioned. RD Remove (or Delete) a Directory. /Q : Quiet - do not display Y/N confirmation Place any long pathnames in double quotes. Jun 12, 2025 · In the Linux operating system, managing directories is a fundamental task. This blog post will delve into the core concepts, usage methods, common The “rm -rf” command is a blunt way to delete a non-empty directory because it will not ask you for any confirmation, and it’s what you need for “ linux remove directory not empty without prompt “. Use this to remove an entire folder tree. It is helpful in cases where you only want to delete non-empty directories I've tried deleting a directory using "rm -rf" and I'm getting the message "Directory not empty": Bens-MacBook-Pro:please benjaminhocking$ ls -lart empty_directory/ total 16 drwxr-xr-x 5 Jul 26, 2021 · Quick Navigation : The Directory Is Not Empty Substitute: Delete File or Folder via Command Prompt Solution 1: Rename the Folder Solution 2: Check and Fix Bad Sectors Solution 3: Restart Windows Explorer Solution 4: Change the File or Folder’s Permissions Solution 5: Scan Your Computer for Viruses We Want Your Voice The Directory Is Not Empty FAQ The Directory Is Not Empty Windows 7 to May 24, 2017 · How do I delete a non-empty directory in bash terminal running on Linux operating system? Yes, you can use any one of the following command to delete all the files in the directory and remove the directory itself including all files on Linux operating system. Make sure you have the necessary permissions to delete the directory and all its contents. -or- The directory specified by path is not empty. Newer versions of Python may also report a "directory not empty" error. This post explains this error code and gives solutions to fix it. Apr 22, 2024 · To remove a non-empty directory in Linux, you can use rm -rf directory_name in your command line. -or- The directory is read-only or contains a read-only file. However, Removing a directory using the Command Line Interface (CLI) is a permanent action. The find command will locate all files and directories within the specified directory and delete them recursively. " This error can occur during various operations such as deleting folders in File Explorer, using command-line tools like Command Prompt or PowerShell, or when the system tries to remove directories during system cleanup or software uninstallation. Jul 31, 2025 · In the above example, find non_empty_dir -mindepth 1 -delete first deletes all files and sub-directories inside non_empty_dir, and then rmdir non_empty_dir is used to remove the now-empty directory. You can also delete the non-empty folder using the Graphical User Interface (GUI). Doing this as a matter of course is dangerous and not very smart, as you should not be blindly deleting files you do not own. These commands will force-delete the directory and all its contents, including files and subfolders. You may need to take ownership of the folder and give yourself full control. Jun 3, 2023 · Rmdir is a command-line utility in Linux and Windows that can be used to delete non-empty directories. Mar 18, 2024 · 2. Delete(myPath, true); My understanding is that this should throw if files are in use or there is a permissions problem, but otherwise it should delete the directory and all of its contents. The 0x80070091 message suggests that the error occurs because a folder isn’t empty. Syntax RD pathname RD /S pathname RD /S /Q pathname Key /S : Delete all files and Subfolders in addition to the folder itself. I am getting an "access is denied" error when I attempt to delete a folder that is not empty. This article will discuss different methods to remove non-empty directory in Linux. If a process locks contents, a reputable unlock tool can show handles and schedule removal at reboot. Feb 3, 2023 · You can't delete a directory that contains files, including hidden or system files. Delete(exportTargetPath, true); specifically says that you will get an IOException if: The directory specified by path is read-only, or recursive is false and path is not an empty directory. Delete calls RemoveDirectory a "directory is not empty" exception is thrown because there is a file marked for deletion but not actually deleted. The most efficient way to do this is Sep 5, 2023 · The Error 0x80070091, Directory is not empty mostly occurs when you are trying to delete a corrupt folder. Dec 15, 2015 · 117 As @Stephen Kitt mentions, this is largely a duplicate of find -delete does not delete non-empty directories which states that you're telling it to delete directories, but the directories aren't empty (just like running rm some_nonempty_directory doesn't work without the -r flag at a minimum). When it comes to deleting directories, things can get a bit tricky if the directory is not empty. Learn how to fix it on Windows PC. Unlike some other operating systems, Linux has specific commands and options to handle the deletion of non-empty directories safely and efficiently. -or- The directory is the application's current working directory. Delete and a file is open in such way, Directory. Dec 15, 2021 · How to force the deletion of a non-empty folder from a Windows command prompt (CMD) using the `rmdir` command (`rm -rf` equivalent). Mar 13, 2023 · Solve the “Cannot Delete folder: The directory is not empty” error in Microsoft Windows 11 and other operating systems following this guide. Oct 1, 2023 · Open the terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T. Jul 29, 2024 · Make sure you have sufficient permissions to access and modify the folder and its contents. Oct 22, 2023 · Deleting a non-empty directory requires using particular commands since the default delete functions of Windows won’t remove populated folders. rmdir /s /q would complain that a directory was not empty even though /s is meant to do the emptying for you! I think it's a bug in Windows, personally. Aug 24, 2025 · To delete a directory that’s not empty using the command line, you can use the rm -rf command in Linux or macOS, or the rmdir /s command in Windows. Aug 21, 2024 · Explains how to remove non empty directory Linux using the rmdir and rm command line options including all files and subdirectories. Best Practices for Removing Non-Empty Directories Use Caution with rm -r Dec 29, 2014 · I have this empty directory, but I keep getting the following error message: Cannot remove test: Directory not empty I know this question has been asked plenty of 5 days ago · Do you want to learn how to fix the Linux rmdir directory not empty error? This article provides comprehensive solutions and expert advice to fix this common issue. f5 3ehp4 7ny 6y8 jw00li vbgvr 7bg 9e 9uskh sp7i7m