Error 0x80070091: The directory is not empty.

venkatmaddila

New Member
Messages
6
Hello,

So, I did a refresh of Windows 8 which created Windows.old. I could later delete all the folders in it but for a few. Although I deleted all the files, I ended up with a few folders in Windows.old. I am unable to delete it now and it shows "Error 0x80070091: The directory is not empty."

I have tried 10's of solution available on internet and on your website. Nothing works :(

Please help.

Note: I am able to change the location, name of the folder and the sub folders. The only exception is happening when I cut and paste it in an external drive, it just copies whereas if I paste it back in any other folder, it cuts and pastes!

I appreciate your help.

Thank you.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
Hi David, I tried the ownership, did not work.

Hi torre, I tried all options but nothing worked.

I was tweaking around some more yesterday and I was able to delete some more folders in windows.old. It is actually 2 sub-folders which are showing this error. I cut them out of windows.old and was able to delete window.old folder now.

But now the problem is still with these 2 folders which were in windows.old and show the mentioned error.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Another option may be to do a Refresh or System Restore and then delete the Windows.old folder as outlined in above link.

With a Refresh you may lose some of your apps.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 64bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba
    CPU
    Intel i3, 2348
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD3000

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
Thank you David! but it resulted in just another failed attempt!

I did not try with the software in the firstlink as it is a virus.

I tried with link 2 but that failed to resolve the problem :(
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Thank you David! but it resulted in just another failed attempt!

I did not try with the software in the firstlink as it is a virus.

I tried with link 2 but that failed to resolve the problem :(

I downloaded the first link program & scanned it.
According to the scan it is not a virus:

Untitled.png

Untitled.png
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
@David, Thank you. I tried installing it but it not a freeware and I am not confident to purchase it ($30) cos I am not sure if it would solve it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Returning your computer to factory settings would fix it. :)

Thanks in advance for the rep.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
Thank you David but I recently refreshed and also updated to 8.1 I am tired of updating all apps and software :(

I wish there is another solution.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
chkdsk /f

hi venkatmaddila,

this is probably a bit too late, but have you tried running:

chkdsk /f ?:

where ? is the drive in question, from cmd.exe run as administrator?

I had a similarly corrupt folder I had trouble getting rid of, and this solved my (Win7) problem.

ciao ... erik
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    amd
    Browser
    FireFox
    Antivirus
    AVG
Ok, so I'm not sure whether this will help you but it somehow worked for me - and I didn't down load any new apps or programs and I didn't up date my system. I even didn't have to change my settings.

I kept getting the error message when I tried to delete the folder. When I opened the folder I couldn't see any files etc.; the folders were empty. Does this sound like your problem?

I renamed the folders thinking this may work but I still couldn't delete them. I didn't want this folder sitting in my Libraries so I took my mouse, clicked on the folder and dragged it on to the desktop. I then went back into the offending folder and suddenly it was full of the stuff that was stopping me from deleting it.

Not sure how that happened but ................ I then went through the folder, shortening the docs and images names. It was the size of name that was stopping the delete process. I then closed the folder and pressed delete and Whoa, it deleted.

Hopefully this will work for you
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
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