Guest ZVR Posted December 26, 2007 Posted December 26, 2007 Re: Need to delete unmanageable Badmail directory > You're addressing the wrong guy. I'm not the OP. That's right, sorry about that. > I have several degrees of "safe and proven": So do I, I really thought I was responding to the OP and just wanted to point out that usually things can be done the fast way or the safe way, and it's up to each to decide what they need most. Again, sorry for the misunderstanding.
Guest Charles Lavin Posted December 27, 2007 Posted December 27, 2007 Re: Need to delete unmanageable Badmail directory Like I mentioned before, the time it was taking a "del *.*" to enumerate the directory was leaving it susceptible to aborts that resulted in nothing actually being deleted. The server finished wiping out the directory, releasing about 7 GB of disk space. At anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand bytes per file, that was a lot of junk in there ... CL "Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com.oz> wrote in message news:OMRihcyRIHA.4752@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... > "del" is an internal program. However, each application of "del" > involves a "seek" process, which takes a lot of time in a large > directory. If you use a wildcard then the seek process happens > just once. > > Here is a quick demonstration. I created a folder with 10,000 > files inside. I then cleared it in two ways: > a) I got a batch file to execute 10,000 individual "del" commands. > b) I used the usual del *.* command. > > Results: > a) 37 seconds > b) 7.4 seconds > > I suggest you try it for yourself. > > "Charles Lavin" <x@x.x> wrote in message > news:0515DCE2-45FA-43BE-9A06-2AEB1AA513C3@microsoft.com... >> What program will be loaded more than a half-million times? I'm using >> del. When did del become an external program? >> >> >> "Rich Matheisen [MVP]" <richnews@rmcons.com.NOSPAM.COM> wrote in message >> news:k340n3pm398p7gba28kdghqv69gihnd830@4ax.com... >>> "Charles Lavin" <x@x.x> wrote: >>> >>>> >>>>"Rich Matheisen [MVP]" <richnews@rmcons.com.NOSPAM.COM> wrote in message >>>>news:909um3l3vfgr21vdm45m6br5ue3m9gtoku@4ax.com... >>>> >>>>> With that many files in the directory you are. >>>> >>>>That's the rub -- I had _no idea_ that there were that many files in >>>>there. >>>>I _still_ don't know how many files there are in there. That folder is >>>>also >>>>apparently the cause of problems we've had with Disk Cleanup and Error >>>>Checking. >>>> >>>>That "dir > \badmail.txt" run I stopped after two-and-some hours and 47 >>>>MB >>>>of .txt file resulted in a list of 632,131 files. And I think that >>>>barely >>>>scratched the surface. I converted that .txt file into a batch file with >>>>632,131 del calls -- that way the system doesn't have to enumerate >>>>anything, >>>>and I can at least verify that it's doing something. I ended it with >>>>another >>>>redirected dir call to see what's left in there. I see that this is >>>>going to >>>>take days to resolve ... >>> >>> I think that batch file will finish around New Year's day! Not only >>> will the program be loaded more than a half-million times, each >>> execution will have to find the file in the mass of file names in that >>> directory before it can delete it. >>> >>> Just do the DEL *.* and let it run. If it takes a couple of days, so >>> what? >>> >>> As an alternative, I suppose you could make a backup of the disk and >>> then fdisk it, format it, and restore everything except that >>> directory. I'd just let the DEL run, though. >>> >>> -- >>> Rich Matheisen >>> MCSE+I, Exchange MVP >>> MS Exchange FAQ at http://www.swinc.com/resource/exch_faq.htm >>> Don't send mail to this address mailto:h.pott@getronics.com >>> Or to these, either: mailto:h.pott@pinkroccade.com >>> mailto:melvin.mcphucknuckle@getronics.com >>> mailto:melvin.mcphucknuckle@pinkroccade.com >> > >
Guest Charles Lavin Posted December 27, 2007 Posted December 27, 2007 Re: Need to delete unmanageable Badmail directory But I wasn't dealing with a folder with 10,000 entries. At last count, there were close to 2 million files in there. "Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com.oz> wrote in message news:%23XutYdyRIHA.536@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl... > BTW, using "rd /s /q" took just 4.2 seconds. > > "Charles Lavin" <x@x.x> wrote in message > news:0515DCE2-45FA-43BE-9A06-2AEB1AA513C3@microsoft.com... >> What program will be loaded more than a half-million times? I'm using >> del. When did del become an external program? >> >> >> "Rich Matheisen [MVP]" <richnews@rmcons.com.NOSPAM.COM> wrote in message >> news:k340n3pm398p7gba28kdghqv69gihnd830@4ax.com... >>> "Charles Lavin" <x@x.x> wrote: >>> >>>> >>>>"Rich Matheisen [MVP]" <richnews@rmcons.com.NOSPAM.COM> wrote in message >>>>news:909um3l3vfgr21vdm45m6br5ue3m9gtoku@4ax.com... >>>> >>>>> With that many files in the directory you are. >>>> >>>>That's the rub -- I had _no idea_ that there were that many files in >>>>there. >>>>I _still_ don't know how many files there are in there. That folder is >>>>also >>>>apparently the cause of problems we've had with Disk Cleanup and Error >>>>Checking. >>>> >>>>That "dir > \badmail.txt" run I stopped after two-and-some hours and 47 >>>>MB >>>>of .txt file resulted in a list of 632,131 files. And I think that >>>>barely >>>>scratched the surface. I converted that .txt file into a batch file with >>>>632,131 del calls -- that way the system doesn't have to enumerate >>>>anything, >>>>and I can at least verify that it's doing something. I ended it with >>>>another >>>>redirected dir call to see what's left in there. I see that this is >>>>going to >>>>take days to resolve ... >>> >>> I think that batch file will finish around New Year's day! Not only >>> will the program be loaded more than a half-million times, each >>> execution will have to find the file in the mass of file names in that >>> directory before it can delete it. >>> >>> Just do the DEL *.* and let it run. If it takes a couple of days, so >>> what? >>> >>> As an alternative, I suppose you could make a backup of the disk and >>> then fdisk it, format it, and restore everything except that >>> directory. I'd just let the DEL run, though. >>> >>> -- >>> Rich Matheisen >>> MCSE+I, Exchange MVP >>> MS Exchange FAQ at http://www.swinc.com/resource/exch_faq.htm >>> Don't send mail to this address mailto:h.pott@getronics.com >>> Or to these, either: mailto:h.pott@pinkroccade.com >>> mailto:melvin.mcphucknuckle@getronics.com >>> mailto:melvin.mcphucknuckle@pinkroccade.com >> > >
Guest Charles Lavin Posted December 27, 2007 Posted December 27, 2007 Re: Need to delete unmanageable Badmail directory If this had been a Unix machine, I would have figured out far more efficient and quicker ways of wiping out that folder! <g> I got the job done. The overhead of repeated single del calls might have been more than we would have wished for, but we did get the folder emptied one file at a time. I tried a few del *.*s, but came back to find the run had mysteriously aborted and no discernible change in the amount of free disk space. CL "Rich Matheisen [MVP]" <richnews@rmcons.com.NOSPAM.COM> wrote in message news:vgs2n3lh3aub78eu8jokak78j7imnpsrm6@4ax.com... > "Charles Lavin" <x@x.x> wrote: > >>What program will be loaded more than a half-million times? I'm using del. >>When did del become an external program? > > See . . . that's what I get for working with *nix. > > Still, the overhead of the directory searches will be a killer since > each execution will start searching afresh. > > -- > Rich Matheisen > MCSE+I, Exchange MVP > MS Exchange FAQ at http://www.swinc.com/resource/exch_faq.htm > Don't send mail to this address mailto:h.pott@getronics.com > Or to these, either: mailto:h.pott@pinkroccade.com > mailto:melvin.mcphucknuckle@getronics.com > mailto:melvin.mcphucknuckle@pinkroccade.com
Guest Charles Lavin Posted December 27, 2007 Posted December 27, 2007 Re: Need to delete unmanageable Badmail directory ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I went NUTS looking for something like this the other day, and didn't find anything that would work ... This is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Oh well .... the job is done. But I'll keep this for future reference! Thanks! CL "ZVR" <no_spam_ever@me.net> wrote in message news:47716e68$0$26990$9a6e19ea@unlimited.newshosting.com... > Try this tool here, it may help. I have used it once in a similar > scenario, not that many files though. Good luck, and just out of pure > curiosity let us know if it helped :-) > > http://www.snapfiles.com/get/massdireraser.html > >
Guest Charles Lavin Posted December 27, 2007 Posted December 27, 2007 Re: Need to delete unmanageable Badmail directory I think you're getting your posters mixed up ... <g> "ZVR" <no_spam_ever@me.net> wrote in message news:47726c66$0$20141$9a6e19ea@unlimited.newshosting.com... > Define "safe and proven". Nothing is ABSOLUTELY guaranteed in this life, > or the next. As I said I have it used once before, and it was much faster > than regular methods. If that is not enough for you, feel free to revert > to the "safe and proven" DEL *.* or RD /S /Q. > > Also if I can point it out to you, the "safe and proven" requirement > conflicts blatantly with your constant asking for a "fast" method of > getting rid of those files. I think it's time to decide what your > priorities are. > > > "Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com.oz> wrote in message > news:%23%23Hd0kzRIHA.748@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >> >> "ZVR" <no_spam_ever@me.net> wrote in message >> news:47716e68$0$26990$9a6e19ea@unlimited.newshosting.com... >>> Try this tool here, it may help. I have used it once in a similar >>> scenario, not that many files though. Good luck, and just out of pure >>> curiosity let us know if it helped :-) >>> >>> http://www.snapfiles.com/get/massdireraser.html >>> >> >> Is this a safe and proven tool or is there a risk of it >> trashing the file system? >> > >
Guest Charles Lavin Posted December 27, 2007 Posted December 27, 2007 Re: Need to delete unmanageable Badmail directory Hey -- I was willing to manually zero out the directory and let scandisk pick up the pieces ... :-) This is a machine that's being decommissioned. I had a full, verified backup. If it had saved me the days of grief we ultimately wasted (which resulted in the postponement of the actual migration for two weeks), you bet I would have "risked" this tool. I desperately needed the disk space. And I didn't want the slightest risk of this folder being migrated to the new box. Plus, the sheer size of the file table was getting in the way of everything else we were attempting to do ... CL "ZVR" <no_spam_ever@me.net> wrote in message news:4772a347$0$5151$9a6e19ea@unlimited.newshosting.com... >> You're addressing the wrong guy. I'm not the OP. > > That's right, sorry about that. > >> I have several degrees of "safe and proven": > > So do I, I really thought I was responding to the OP and just wanted to > point out that usually things can be done the fast way or the safe way, > and it's up to each to decide what they need most. Again, sorry for the > misunderstanding. > >
Recommended Posts