jmoore@pc.ecn.purdue.edu (James D Moore) (08/16/88)
I have recently run into a problem I cannot figure out. Off of my root directory I have a directory called "lisp". In trying to make space the other day I decided to remove all of the files and the directory. First I removed all of the files in the directory and then I tried "rmdir lisp" when in the root. When I did this it gave me a message telling me that the file could not be found or that the directory was not empty or that path was incorrect. I tried several combinations to remove the file and none worked. I tried using "XTREE" and it gave me a message that "the disk had been modified". I would like to remove this file but cannot figure out how. Any help would be appreciated. I have access to Norton Utilities if needs be. If someone could mail me the info on how to get the directory out I would be very grateful. Thanks. Jim Moore jmooew@cimlab.ecn.purdue.edu
nts0302@dsacg3.UUCP (Bob Fisher) (08/16/88)
Do you have any hidden files that might be keeping rmdir from working ? -- Bob Fisher (osu-cis!dsacg1!bfisher) 614-238-9071 (Autovon 850-9071) From the Internet: bfisher%dsacg1.uucp@daitc.arpa US Defense Logistics Agency Systems Automation Center DSAC-TSX, Box 1605, Columbus, OH 43216-5002
mlawless@ncrwic.Wichita.NCR.COM (Mike Lawless) (08/16/88)
In article <1027@pc.ecn.purdue.edu> jmoore@pc.ecn.purdue.edu (James D Moore) writes: > >then I tried "rmdir lisp" when in the root. When I did this it gave >me a message telling me that the file could not be found or that >the directory was not empty or that path was incorrect. You probably have a "hidden" file remaining in the directory, due to a copy protection scheme. DEL *.* will not delete such a file. Using Norton, look for any files with the "Hid" attribute set, and clear it. These files can then be deleted, and you will be able to delete the directory.
brown@nicmad.UUCP (Mr. Video) (08/16/88)
In article <1027@pc.ecn.purdue.edu> jmoore@pc.ecn.purdue.edu (James D Moore) writes:
<
<I have recently run into a problem I cannot figure out. Off of my
<root directory I have a directory called "lisp". In trying to make
<space the other day I decided to remove all of the files and the
<directory. First I removed all of the files in the directory and
<then I tried "rmdir lisp" when in the root. When I did this it gave
<me a message telling me that the file could not be found or that
<the directory was not empty or that path was incorrect. I tried
<several combinations to remove the file and none worked. I tried
<using "XTREE" and it gave me a message that "the disk had been
<modified". I would like to remove this file but cannot figure out
<how. Any help would be appreciated. I have access to Norton Utilities
<if needs be.
Sounds like you have a hidden/read-only/system file in that directory,
that you can't see with a DIR. Use Norton's FA command to look for these
files, change them so those bits aren't on and then delete them. Then you
will be able to delete the directory.
--
harvard-\ att--\
Mr. Video ucbvax!uwvax.................!nicmad!brown
rutgers-/ rolls-/ decvax--/johnson@c10sd1.StPaul.NCR.COM (Wayne D. T. Johnson) (08/17/88)
In article <1027@pc.ecn.purdue.edu> jmoore@pc.ecn.purdue.edu (James D Moore) writes: >First I removed all of the files in the directory and >then I tried "rmdir lisp" when in the root. When I did this it gave >me a message telling me that the file could not be found or that >the directory was not empty or that path was incorrect. >jmooew@cimlab.ecn.purdue.edu When I have had this problem before it was due to the fact that there was a hidden file on the directory. Hidden files will not be deleted by the normal del command. I suggest you get a hold of a file manager that can handle hidden files, or a copy of one of the chmod utilities and use this to peer into your lisp directory and then delete whats there. -- Wayne Johnson (Voice) 612-638-7665 NCR Comten, Inc. (E-MAIL) W.Johnson@StPaul.NCR.COM or Roseville MN 55113 johnson@c10sd1.StPaul.NCR.COM These opinions (or spelling) do not necessarily reflect those of NCR Comten.
jmoore@pc.ecn.purdue.edu (James D Moore) (08/17/88)
In my note yesterday I forgot to mention that there are no hidden files im my directory. I have already used the "chkdsk /f" to find some unlinked chains. I have checked the attributeson the \lisp directory and all appears to be OK. DO I have a munget FAT ? This is the first time I have ever had this kind of a problem. Jim Moore jmoore@cimlab.ecn.purdue.edu
platt@emory.uucp (Dan Platt) (08/17/88)
In article <980@dsacg3.UUCP> nts0302@dsacg3.UUCP (Bob Fisher) writes: >Do you have any hidden files that might be keeping rmdir from working ? > >-- >Bob Fisher (osu-cis!dsacg1!bfisher) 614-238-9071 (Autovon 850-9071) I've encountered problems in removing directories under certain circumstances. What would happen would be that when I ran rmdir <directory> I'd get a complaint that the directory wasn't valid, or that the directory wasn't empty. A list of the contents of the directory revealed no files. I was able to delete the directory by doing a backup and restore of the disk. What I'd find in the directory would be a set of files called DELETED.xxx where xxx was a number. When I erased these files the directory could be removed. This problem only occured when the disk was almost full. I still don't know what mechanism caused the corruption. Perhaps it was due in part to a great deal of fragmentation of the disk. The painful exercize of backup/restore also produced the pleasant effect of a great deal of access speed up. I understand that there are disk-fixup utilities available which will do the task for you without the backup/restore pain (they are called disk optimizers). I haven't purchased one; I got a bigger disk instead (the old one was too small). You might consider getting one. I hope this is a help. Dan Platt
brown@nicmad.UUCP (Mr. Video) (08/17/88)
In article <1030@pc.ecn.purdue.edu> jmoore@pc.ecn.purdue.edu.UUCP (James D Moore) writes:
<
<In my note yesterday I forgot to mention that there are no hidden
<files im my directory. I have already used the "chkdsk /f" to find
<some unlinked chains. I have checked the attributeson the \lisp
<directory and all appears to be OK. DO I have a munget FAT ? This
<is the first time I have ever had this kind of a problem.
I also forgot to mention to ask if you had any directories in the
directory you are trying to get rid of. If the answer to this is no,
then I suggest that you get out good old Norton's and look at the
directory directly and see if there is anything funny there. If so,
fix it and then delete it. Remember, the directory must be completely
empty, except for the . and .. type entries.
--
harvard-\ att--\
Mr. Video ucbvax!uwvax.................!nicmad!brown
rutgers-/ rolls-/ decvax--/danley@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu (08/17/88)
> then I tried "rmdir lisp" when in the root. When I did this it gave > me a message telling me that the file could not be found or that > the directory was not empty or that path was incorrect. ..... The error message was correct although not obvious. The directory is not empty. You most likely have hidden files in /lisp. DIR will not show you hidden files. I use a PD version of "ls" for DOS and the -a option to list "all" files, including hidden files. Once you know the name of your hidden files and remove them, you will be able to rmdir. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ James Danley II U of IL and US Army Corps of Engineers CERL UUCP: {ihnp4,seismo,pur-ee,uunet}!uiucuxc!osiris!danley ARPA: danley@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu USMail: Box 2640, Sta. A, Champaign, IL 61820 CSNET: danley%osiris@uiuc.csnet Phone: (217) 344-7772 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
mvolo@ecsvax.uncecs.edu (Michael R. Volow) (08/17/88)
When I had this problem, it was not a hidden file but a disturbed root directory (or FAT). I understand that adding a wild card to the baddirectoryname (e.g. RMDIR lisp* or RMDIR lisp*) some- times helps, but it didn't in my case. Using the disk editor in PCTOOLS, I searched for the bad directory name string, which I think put me in the root directory. I then edited the hex numbers corresponding to the bad directory name, to make them the same as blank directory entries. PCTOOLS will cautioned me that I was in the system area of the disk, but I forged ahead, and it worked. I did a CHKDSK afterwards. The same thing can be done with DEBUG, but I am less comfortable with that program. You might practice the operation on a floppy with sub- directories before trying it on you hard disk. Michael R. Volow 919 286 0411, page beeper #550 Dept. of Psychiatry mvolo@ecsvax.UUCP Durham Vet Admin Medical Center Durham, N.C. 27705
feg@clyde.ATT.COM (Forrest Gehrke) (08/17/88)
In article <1405@ncrwic.Wichita.NCR.COM>, mlawless@ncrwic.Wichita.NCR.COM (Mike Lawless) writes: > In article <1027@pc.ecn.purdue.edu> jmoore@pc.ecn.purdue.edu (James D Moore) writes: > > > >then I tried "rmdir lisp" when in the root. When I did this it gave > >me a message telling me that the file could not be found or that > > You probably have a "hidden" file remaining in the directory, due to a copy > protection scheme. DEL *.* will not delete such a file. Using Norton, look There have been a number of identical suggestions for correcting the problem--but mostly requiring access to Norton's Utilities. Some versions of msdos have included a CHMOD utility (and there are also PD versions around) which is specifically intended for the purpose of changing a file's attributes so that the file might be deleted. Most versions will give usage simply by typing chmod without parameters. Forrest Gehrke
swh@hpsmtc1.HP.COM (Steve Harrold) (08/17/88)
Re: Removing a directory If you are absolutely certain that there are no files (hidden or otherwise) remaining in the directory, I would begin to suspect how the NAME of the DIRECTORY itself is formed. It is possible, in an assembler program, to create filenames and directories that contain embedded illegal characters. Once I had a case where the DIR command displayed a file named "ABC" but I couldn't do anything with it; I always got "file not found" even though the DIR was showing it to me. The kicker was that the complete filename was "ABC XYZ". Notice the embedded blank!!! Apparently the DIR command, when it formats a filename for display, stops at the first blank character (which is quite reasonable, since the internal directory entry pads short names with blanks). If I then tried to ERASE ABC XYZ, it would still treat "ABC" as the complete filename and ignore the "XYZ" part. I couldn't win. The solution was rather trivial (after some thought). I simply entered ERASE ABC* and it finally went away. Before I did this, I made sure there were no other files starting with "ABC" that wanted to retain. If the name of the directory has this problem, you'll have to rename it, perhaps via an assembler program. On the other hand, perhaps you STILL have some files alive within it, files whose names begin with a blank. Use Norton to display the directory contents to see if this is the case. Perhaps you still don't have enough information to solve your problem, but maybe this reply will put you on the right track. -- --------------------- Steve Harrold ...hplabs!hpsmtc1!swh HPG200/13 (408) 447-5580 ---------------------
marco@hpmcaa.HP.COM (Marco Dalla-Gasperina) (08/18/88)
Is it possible that you have issued a *subst* command to map the directory into a logical drive like subst h: \lisp ? If a directory is mapped in such a fashion it is marked *in use* and can't be gotten rid of unless you un-substitute the drive with subst h: /D. A long shot, but.... marco
prime@druhi.ATT.COM (Anthony Davis) (08/18/88)
In article <1027@pc.ecn.purdue.edu>, jmoore@pc.ecn.purdue.edu (James D Moore) writes: > I have recently run into a problem I cannot figure out. Off of my > root directory I have a directory called "lisp". In trying to make > space the other day I decided to remove all of the files and the > directory. First I removed all of the files in the directory and > then I tried "rmdir lisp" when in the root. When I did this it gave > me a message telling me that the file could not be found or that > the directory was not empty or that path was incorrect. I tried > ....... > If someone could mail me the info on how to get the directory out > I would be very grateful. Try using a utility package(e.g., PCTOOLS or Norton Utils) to determine if there are any HIDDEN files in the directory. If so, un-hide them and delete them. Then remove your directory called "lisp". Good Luck!!! 8-) Tony Davis AT&T Bell Labs Denver, Co. druhi!prime
leonard@bucket.UUCP (Leonard Erickson) (08/19/88)
In article <1027@pc.ecn.purdue.edu> jmoore@pc.ecn.purdue.edu (James D Moore) writes:
<
<I have recently run into a problem I cannot figure out. Off of my
<root directory I have a directory called "lisp". In trying to make
<space the other day I decided to remove all of the files and the
<directory. First I removed all of the files in the directory and
<then I tried "rmdir lisp" when in the root. When I did this it gave
<me a message telling me that the file could not be found or that
<the directory was not empty or that path was incorrect. I tried
<several combinations to remove the file and none worked. I tried
<using "XTREE" and it gave me a message that "the disk had been
<modified". I would like to remove this file but cannot figure out
<how. Any help would be appreciated. I have access to Norton Utilities
<if needs be.
If that dir is really named "lisp" and not "LISP" then you'll need
to use Norton to go in and change the name! DOS automaticatically
converts things like fiile and directory names to uppercase. So
you type "rmdir lisp" and DOS tries to execute "rmdir LISP"...
--
Leonard Erickson ...!tektronix!reed!percival!bucket!leonard
CIS: [70465,203]
"I used to be a hacker. Now I'm a 'microcomputer specialist'.
You know... I'd rather be a hacker."eric@dad.UUCP (Eric Schilling) (08/19/88)
in article <11470036@hpsmtc1.HP.COM>, swh@hpsmtc1.HP.COM (Steve Harrold) says: > > Re: Removing a directory > > some files alive within it, files whose names begin with a blank. Use > Norton to display the directory contents to see if this is the case. > Personally, I would suggest using the Norton Utilities for the renaming of an "offending" files/directories. You can use the NU program to edit the directory entry for each file in question. Quite handy. Eric Schilling dad!eric (for now) m-net!gandalf (after 1 September)
brown@nicmad.UUCP (Mr. Video) (08/21/88)
In article <3515@dad.UUCP> eric@dad.UUCP (Eric Schilling) writes:
<in article <11470036@hpsmtc1.HP.COM>, swh@hpsmtc1.HP.COM (Steve Harrold) says:
<>
<> Re: Removing a directory
<>
<> some files alive within it, files whose names begin with a blank. Use
<> Norton to display the directory contents to see if this is the case.
<>
<Personally, I would suggest using the Norton Utilities for the renaming of
<an "offending" files/directories. You can use the NU program to edit
<the directory entry for each file in question. Quite handy.
Why not do what I do in this case, use the DOS/UNIX wildcard character: ?
Put this in the appropriate spots and you can do whatever you want with the
file name, including RENAMEing it.
--
harvard-\ att--\
Mr. Video ucbvax!uwvax.................!nicmad!brown
rutgers-/ rolls-/ decvax--/omahony@cs.tcd.ie (Donal O'Mahony - OMAHONY@cs.tcd.ie) (08/23/88)
I suggest that you do the following: First fix any damage: chkdsk/f Then find out what is in the directory using: chkdsk/v | find "LISP" If it turns out to be a hidden file, you will need Norton (or similar) to remove it. _______________________________________________________________________ Donal O'Mahony omahony@cs.tcd.ie Computer Science Dept., Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland _______________________________________________________________________
derek@achel.UUCP (derek) (08/24/88)
I recently had a similar problem, which might be of interest. Somehow, a 'formatted' sector full of 0xF6's got attached to a subdirectory. On a normal DIR this didn't show up, and I has unable to delete the subdirectory. On examining the offending subdirectory with some tool - I think it was vtree or one of the Norton utilities, it showed lots of division symbols as _subdirectories_. I was surprised they looked like subdirectories, but I guess the subdirectory bit was set. (that's 0x10 isn't it?). I solved the problem using pctools directory maintenance, which allowed me to remove all spurious subdirectories and eventually remove the offending subdirectory. I hope this is useful. Derek Carr.
campbell@hpbsla.HP.COM (gary campbell) (09/14/88)
When this happened to me it was because there was a hidden file (or system, I don't remember which), the left-overs of a pipe from an aborted program or something. If you have Norton utilities, it should be easy to change the attributes I would think. On that particular Sunday night, I had to do it by writing a program in debug! -- Gary Campbell