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File too long for Recycle Bin

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Cuffy:
Has anyone run across the problem in Win8.1 that a file won't delete because "file too long for Recycle Bin"
 :tellme:

Shades:
No, can't say I haven't (in any version of Windows).

Solutions could be:
- Shorten the name of the file.
- Move the file to different location much closer to the drive letter and then delete it.
- Adjust the setting of the Recycle bin to throw away files directly (without these being stored in the recycle bin first), delete the file and adjust the setting again (although I think this is a setting for p.ssies to begin with)
- If all that fails you can try to boot from a Linux or Windows boot cd and delete the file that way.

Alternative nerd solution would be:
- If you run a 32-bit version of Windows, you still have something like 'PortableLinux', which is a 1.4GByte download. After unpacking the archive you can run this and you will have both Windows and Linux (ubuntu based) running next to each other at the same time. If Windows won't allow you to delete the file, use the Linux navigator to go that file and delete it. Windows won't/can't intervene that action and your problem is solved. With the Linux navigator you can also take a peek in folders Windows blocks for all users (but not viruses and malware apparently) and get rid of crap there too. Be careful though, remove too much and you are in trouble.

mwb1100:
If I recall right, Shift-Delete in explorer will delete a file without putting it in the recycle bin which might workaround the problem.

Or you can delete the file from a command line window which doesn't know anything about the recycle bin.

Cuffy:
Solutions could be:
- Shorten the name of the file.
- Move the file to different location much closer to the drive letter and then delete it.
- Adjust the setting of the Recycle bin to throw away files directly (without these being stored in the recycle bin first), delete the file and adjust the setting again (although I think this is a setting for p.ssies to begin with)
- If all that fails you can try to boot from a Linux or Windows boot cd and delete the file that way.
-Shades (September 27, 2014, 02:36 PM)
--- End quote ---
All good logic, But............. Windows won't let you move the file, shorten it or rename it.
Can't bypass the Recycle Bin either  :down:
Files long enough to cause this problem are rare and I have a little utility from last century, Move on Boot, that deletes them  nicely but I think I've found a faster solution.
A little background on the source of the files..........
I'm diabetic and occasionally run across a recipe in a newsletter that may add something to my diet so I save it. When time permits I gather all those recipes and move them to a folder on Drive D:. I save the recipe in htm format so it comes down with an "includes folder" which "includes" some files, usually graphic files, that are three screens long  :huh:
Several hundred characters long and I have no idea why.
The ladies that collect recipes on a regular basis are more apt to run into this than others  :Thmbsup:
To shorten the story........ if you get an error message "file too long......." and you want rid of it, highlite the file,
right click on the Menu Bar in the ribbon and you'll get a dropdown with an option to "Delete the History". Delete the history and chances are that you can now delete to file without further ado.
Evidently the file history is included in the file length somehow but that's above my paygrade. I discovered the fix by chance  :D
A Windows programmer might be able to enlighten us  :huh:

I suggest you round up a copy of Move on Boot to keep in your toolbox. It's a freebie and has been updated over the years.
 :P

MilesAhead:
It sounds like it can't be done through the shell because Explorer still has a 260 character path length limit.  The best solution may be a file manager without this limitation.

If you haven't run into this Explorer "feature" due to some old embedded code nobody wants to mess with hidden in there somewhere, you can do an experiment.  Make some nested folders until you create a folder with a path exactly 260 characters long.  Now try to make a new folder inside it.  It won't let you.  I forget exactly what happens, if there's an error msg or if it just does nothing as if it is ignoring you.

Command line delete should work with wildcards.  Just wtch out for any spaces in the file path.  A newer file manager is likely the no headache solution.

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