Delete all files command dos

Also, I'll use the terms directory and folder interchangeably for the rest of the tutorial. Note: Any directories deleted with the rmdir command cannot be recovered. In this case I want to remove a directory named Subfolder, so I'll use the command rmdir Subfolder :. You could cd into the Subfolder directory and remove the file, then come back with cd.. And just imagine if there were a bunch of other nested files and directories! Like with the del command, there's a helpful flag we can use to make things much faster and easier.

There will probably be a prompt asking if you want to remove that directory. If so, just type "y" and hit enter. And that's it! That should be everything you need to know to remove files and folders in the Windows Command Prompt. So two commands are needed:. You can create a script to delete whatever you want folder or file like this mydel. By default, robocopy does not copy security, so the ACLs in your root folder should remain intact. I had an index folder with 33 folders that needed all the files and subfolders removed in them.

I opened a command line in the index folder and then used these commands:. I separated them into two lines hit enter after first line, and when asked for more add second line because if entered on a single line this may not work.

This command will erase each directory and then create a new one which is empty, thus removing all files and subflolders in the original directory. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Collectives on Stack Overflow. Learn more. How to delete all files and folders in a folder by cmd call Ask Question. Asked 12 years, 3 months ago.

Active 1 year, 2 months ago. Viewed k times. I use Windows. I want to delete all files and folders in a folder by system call. Possible duplicate of What ever happened to deltree, and what's its replacement? You still have the chance to get lost data back. To recover files from the computer, you can have tried the file recovery tool.

Generally rated 4. Follow this guide to delete files using command direction on Windows and Mac. Download Win Download Mac. Amy Dennis. Part 1. Deleting a Directory as well as Files in it Part 5. Tips and Tricks for Using cmd delete file.

On the left side of the screen, click This PC. On the right side of the screen, locate and double-click the local disk usually C: or D:. Double-click the folder containing the file you want to delete.

Select the file or folder you want to delete, click File in the top menu bar, and select Delete. On the right side of the screen, locate and double-click the drive, which is labeled as USB, flash drive, external hard drive, or the manufacturer's name.

Locate and select the file or folder you want to delete, click File in the top menu bar, and select Delete. If the File menu is not visible in My Computer or Windows Explorer, press the Alt key to make the menu bar visible, including the file menu. Some documents and folders may be protected from deletion through encryption or password protection. In this case, you may be asked for a password to decrypt or remove the password protection.

A file may be set as read-only , meaning the user can only open it for viewing and not modify or delete it. When trying to delete a read-only file, you get a message stating the file is write-protected and cannot be deleted. You need to modify or write permissions to delete the file. Some files may only be deleted with administrator permissions.

To delete these files, you would need to have administrator rights on the computer. If you are using a work computer, the technical support staff often are the only users with administrator rights on the computer. Another possible cause of problems with deleting a file or folder is a virus or malware infection.

Viruses and malware can prevent files or folders from being modified or deleted. If this is the case, you need to remove the virus or malware infection to delete the affected file or folder.

See our uninstalling a program steps for help with uninstalling deleting software programs from the computer. If you've deleted a file by mistake, you can see our page on how to restore a deleted file for further information on recovering a deleted file. If you are new to the command line, you may also want to read through the following pages first.

MS-DOS users can delete files using the del command. See this page to get additional information and help with this command. Below is an example of how to use this command. As seen in the example above, when deleting a file, you need to enter the full file name , including the file extension.

You can also use wildcards to delete multiple files or a group of files, as shown in the example below. In the example above, this command would delete all text files that end with a.