Batch delete: Access is denied

Question

I'm having issues with the del command in a batch file. When it gets to the delete step I get the message "Access is denied". My batch command looks something like this.

set destPath=\\Public01\Appl\CompOps\Jobs\

robocopy . "%destPath%" *.dtsx *.dev *.prod *.ppro /IS

pushd "%destPath%"
del *.dtsConfig
ren *.dev .
popd

I can browse to the directory and delete the files without any problem in Windows Explorer.

I tried running as administrator, but still the same issue.

Solution 1

To force a del command to delete read-only files, add the /F flag.

Apparently, a read-only file cannot normally be deleted by a batch file, although it can still be deleted through Windows Explorer. To check if your file is read-only, you can right click on the file and select properties, or enter attrib <filename> at the command prompt. This will show a series of letters corresponding to different file attributes.

R = Read-only file
A = Archive file
S = System file
H = Hidden file

You can remove the read-only tag by unchecking the box in the properties window or running the command attrib <filename> -R.

Solution 2

After experimenting with the options available to the "del" command I discovered that the files I was attempting to delete were read-only. To resolve the problem I could either edit the files to remove the read-only attribute, or specify the /F option.

Final script is

set destPath=\\Public01\Appl\CompOps\Jobs\

robocopy . "%destPath%" *.dtsx *.dev *.prod *.ppro /IS

pushd "%destPath%"
del /F *.dtsConfig
ren *.dev .
popd

Simple solution, but a misleading error message. Hopefully this helps someone else.

Solution 3

What worked for my Windows 8.1 PC:

First of all close Windows Explorer by:

Press Ctrl + Alt + Del for opening Task Manager, go to processes, find Windows Explorer, right click, and end task. Don't worry if start bar is gone and something else. Use Alt + Tab for traversing between files. Then in Task Manager click File and Run new task, and type cmd. This will open you a Command Line.

Inside the Terminal:

If your version is 32 bit, and it is in my case, it's located in Program Files (x86), so you should type:

cd "C:\Program Files (x86)\Git\git-cheetah"
regsvr32 /u git_shell_ext64.dll

This was for unregistering.

You can traverse between directories using cd directoryname and you can get back one directory by cd ... For viewing what is in a directory you can type dir in when you are in that directory. For deleting the file type:

del /F filename

After that again open the Task Manager, go to File, then run explorer . This way you will get to usual display. Go to the Git folder which we wanted to get rid of and delete it simply.

I hope this works for other people who are using Windows 8.1.

Comments

[SaintWacko]

Try putting pause before the del command, and then try deleting it through Windows Explorer while it's paused.

[saraherceg]

I found the solution, however if you wish to edit your answer to include some suggestions in addition to my solution I'd be happy to mark it as the answer

[SaintWacko]

Alright, is that information retroactively helpful? :)

[saraherceg]

I'm sure it will be helpful when I forget about this problem months from now :)

[surfasb]

If you can only read it, an access denied sounds about right to me.

[Peter Mortensen]

attrib works, but it also works using the "/A" option for del. E.g. adding /A:H for successfully deleting *.suo files that (often) have the "hidden" file attribute. See del