Hey everyone! I have this massive 20GB folder full of files and subfolders that I desperately need to delete. I've tried the usual way through the recycle bin, but it takes forever and doesn't even get the job done. I heard that PowerShell could help, so I got to the prompt and navigated to my user directory with the command `cd "C:Usersusernamefolder"`. Now, I'm trying to delete the folder using `Remove-Item -path "foldername" -recurse -force`. However, I just see a blinking white cursor and nothing happens. The command looks like this: `remove-item` is yellow, `-path` is grey, etc. What does it mean? How can I efficiently delete such a large folder? I've spent days trying to figure this out, and I really appreciate any help! Sorry if I'm missing something obvious.
3 Answers
You could also try going straight into the folder and deleting files in smaller batches for speed. Sometimes Windows struggles when dealing with large folders. A simple method is to highlight some files, press Shift + Delete, and see if that helps. It's faster, but be careful because it skips the recycle bin.
You could also use the `robocopy` command to mirror an empty directory onto the folder you want to remove. This often speeds up the deletion process significantly. Just remember, if it’s taking forever, it might be a problem with your hardware, not the command itself!
Yeah, I did try that but it was stuck for hours trying to copy. I thought it was supposed to be quicker!
If you're not seeing any progress, consider creating a recursive function that uses `write-progress` to show the deletion status. The blinking cursor is normal—it just means PowerShell is doing its thing. Alternatively, you can use Command Prompt: navigate using `cd` and then `rd /s /q .` for directory deletion. If things are dragging on, there might be a hardware issue with your drive.
Thanks for the tip! It’s a new laptop, so how can I check if the drive is the problem? I used robocopy, and it seemed to take forever.
That method still crashed for me. Is there really no faster way than shifting and deleting? Seems risky!