{"id":5521,"date":"2017-10-15T20:10:01","date_gmt":"2017-10-15T14:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=5521"},"modified":"2023-06-19T17:04:40","modified_gmt":"2023-06-19T11:34:40","slug":"error-0x80070091-directory-not-empty-deleting-folder-copying-chkdsk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/error-0x80070091-directory-not-empty-deleting-folder-copying-chkdsk\/","title":{"rendered":"Error 0x80070091 “The directory is not empty” When Deleting or Copying a Folder"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you attempt to delete a folder or copy it to another location or drive, the following error may pop up:<\/p>\n

\n

Interrupted Action.<\/p>\n

An unexpected error is keeping you from deleting the folder. If you continue to receive this error, you can use the error code to search for help with this problem.<\/p>\n

Error 0x80070091: The directory is not empty.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"0x80070091<\/p>\n

0x80070091 (ERROR_DIR_NOT_EMPTY) – Decimal 145 – The directory is not empty.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Resolution<\/h2>\n

Follow the steps below to resolve the error 0x80070091 when copying or deleting a folder in Windows.<\/p>\n

Step 1: Rename the folder<\/h3>\n

See if renaming the folder helps. For example, if the folder name is office docs<\/code>, append a hyphen or exclamation character at the end of the file or folder name office docs!<\/code>.<\/p>\n

Now try deleting or copying the folder. If that doesn’t help, try Step 2<\/code>.<\/p>\n

\n

Step 2: Run Chkdsk or Disk Error-checking<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Open File Explorer<\/li>\n
  2. Right-click on the drive letter where the folder is located, and click Properties.<\/li>\n
  3. Select Tools<\/strong> and click the Check<\/strong> button under Error checking.
    \n\"disk<\/li>\n
  4. Even though Windows tells you it’s not necessary to check the drive, click Scan drive<\/strong> anyway.
    \n\"disk<\/li>\n
  5. After the disk error checking is complete, you may click the Details link in the dialog box.
    \n\"diskClicking Show Details<\/strong> will launch the Event Viewer and open the exact disk error check entry in the Application log.<\/p>\n

    \"disk<\/p>\n

    Here is a sample entry:<\/p>\n

    Disk Error Checking – Results in Application Event Log<\/h4>\n
    \r\nChkdsk was executed in scan mode on a volume snapshot.\u00a0 \r\nChecking file system on D:\r\nStage 1: Examining basic file system structure ...\r\n\r\n    \r\n\u00a0\u00a0 41216 file records processed.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 File verification completed.    \r\n    \r\n\u00a0\u00a0 0 large file records processed.    \r\n\u00a0\u00a0 0 bad file records processed.\r\n\r\nStage 2: Examining file name linkage ...    \r\n    \r\n\u00a0\u00a0 43044 index entries processed.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Index verification completed.    \r\n    \r\n Stage 3: Examining security descriptors ...\r\n\r\n    Security descriptor verification completed.    \r\n    \r\n\u00a0\u00a0 915 data files processed.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal...\r\n    \r\n\u00a0\u00a0 34431536 USN bytes processed.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Usn Journal verification completed.\r\nWindows has scanned the file system and found no problems.\r\n    \r\n No further action is required.\r\n 283583487 KB total disk space.\r\n    \r\n\u00a0\u00a0 54862240 KB in 12528 files.    \r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3588 KB in 916 indexes.    \r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 149583 KB in use by the system.    \r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 65536 KB occupied by the log file.    \r\n\u00a0 228568076 KB available on disk.\r\n\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 4096 bytes in each allocation unit.   \r\n\u00a0\u00a0 70895871 total allocation units on disk.    \r\n\u00a0\u00a0 57142019 allocation units available on disk.\r\n----------------------------------------------------------------------\r\n\r\n    Stage 1: Examining basic file system structure ...\r\nStage 2: Examining file name linkage ...\r\nStage 3: Examining security descriptors ...\r\n<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n
    Step 3: Run Unlocker<\/h3>\n
    If Chkdsk or Error checking indicate no file system corruption and the problem still persists, it’s possible that the directory is locked by a process. See How to Find Which Process has Locked a File\/Folder<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n
    To unlock the folder and delete it, use one of the methods in the article<\/a> to delete the stubborn folder. The IOBit Unlocker program or the other “Unlocker” program should be able to delete the folder.<\/p>\n
    The Unlocker (portable) program is avaiable for download from MajorGeeks<\/p>\n
    https:\/\/www.majorgeeks.com\/files\/details\/unlocker_portable.html<\/pre>\n
    Alternatively, you may boot into Safe mode<\/a> or Windows RE to delete the stubborn folder.<\/p>\n
    That should fix errors “0x80070091: The directory is not empty”, “Cannot Delete folder” or similar error messages caused by file system\/disk errors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
    When you attempt to delete a folder or copy it to another location or drive, the following error may pop up: Interrupted Action. An unexpected error is keeping you from deleting the folder. If you continue to receive this error, you can use the error code to search for help with this problem. Error 0x80070091: … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[191],"class_list":["post-5521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-windows","tag-error-messages"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":54286,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/error-0x80070570-file-directory-corrupted\/","url_meta":{"origin":5521,"position":0},"title":"Error 0x80070570: The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable","author":"Ramesh","date":"June 17, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"When you install a program or delete a file or folder, error 0x80070570 may appear. The following is the error message verbatim: An unexpected error is keeping you from deleting the folder. 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