Windows 10 : cannot delete folder "The system cannot find the file specified"

Question

I'm trying to delete a folder which was probably created by decompressing an archive file which lead to somehow exceed the maximum path length limitation. I already checked with chkdsk the file system and there are zero bad sectors. The security tab in folder properties returns an error. I've tried all popular suggested solutions to delete the folder both from the UI and command prompt and all fail with the same "The system cannot find the file specified" error. Any other solution?

Answer 1

I finally succeeded in deleting the folder. I found on a forum someone who was facing the same error and he suggested using a bash shell and running the rm -rf command. I have git for windows installed which is also installing a bash shell. I ran rm -rf <foldername> from that shell and it worked. Pay attention to this command as it seems really powerful and it probably bypasses some checks that other commands such as rd or del are enforcing.

Answer 2

There is a bug in Windows 10 - you have to use absolute path.

rmdir /S /Q "%cd%\folder"

Answer 3

On MS Windows you can delete such a problematic folder using 7-Zip file archiver/manager - right click the folder and choose "Delete".