Windows 7, Deleting Large files is extremely slow. (Not going to recycle bin, permanent delete)

Anonymous
2009-12-13T14:37:28+00:00

It is taking a huge amount of time to delete files.

The files are not going to recycle bin (I am hold shift while hitting the Delete key)

Also I have even tried shutting off the recycle bin

I have timed a few of these

Single file delete, 2.6 gb, 2 minutes 14 seconds

Single file delete, 1.9 gb, 1 minutes 44 seconds

Single file delete, 230 mb, 0 minutes 24 seconds

Most of the time the dialog window that pops up says "Calculating..."

Judging by the times, This has something to do with file size.

I get similar time when I delete from the command prompt.

Windows XP would do permanent deletes and moves (on the same drive) in a split second, especially since we are talking about one file.

I work with large image files regularly. I can't wait 2 plus minutes every time I delete one of these files when I may have to move or delete a few hundred at a time.

I am getting very frustrated with Windows 7.

So far...

I have disabled Remote Differential Compression (RDC)

I have disabled TCP AutoTuning and Receive Side Scaling

                netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled (AND)

                netsh interface tcp set global rss=disabled  (And rebooted)

There are no removable drives, USB devices, or other attached devices other that the keyboard and mouse.

I have disabled

Windows Search and Indexing

I am viewing "Details" only in windows explorer (No Thumbnails)

I have shut off IPv6 support (I read about it somewhere but I believe it was to do with network operations, but I tried it anyway)

Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface is disabled

All Drivers are up to date.

I have completely wiped the drive and reloaded the OS.

This is on a 1tb storage drive, no RAID, 3gb SATA drive (Seagate 7200.12)

Windows 7 64bit (Windows experience is listed as 6.1)

Intel i5 processor with 4gig memory

Fresh install, fast hard drive (OS).

Avast AV

Not much else running

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Files, folders, and storage

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  1. Anonymous
    2012-06-16T23:54:52+00:00

    I have tried most of the ideas in this thread but all have drawbacks. Someone at MS must have the solution.

     My problem is not only with large files but any file.  A very small 16 K "MS Works" file takes 1.5 minutes to delete before the "Are You Sure Window" appears.  I'm about to the end of my nice vocabulary. J

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  2. Anonymous
    2012-05-18T16:16:54+00:00

    I am also seeing the problem of Win 7-64 not deleting files in a timely manner. My situation is a little different in that files are being created and deleted programmatically. Let me try to explain.  There are three computers. Common usernames via our network with Admin. rights to the three computers are granted. Computers Two and Three have mapped drives to One via IP naming (\ip address\c). All are desktops Lenovo -7359WSF with 8GB and plenty of HD space. File size discussed is 1k. Connections between computers are via a Cissco switch with everything configured for 100m full duplex. Programs are VB6 executables. Network OS is Server 2008 R2.

    Computer One is acting as a data/program storage area.  Programs and data are just kept there.  Computer Two will execute a program from One and poll a directory on One for a file.  Computer Three will write a file to One and when Two sees the file, go and do some action.  When Two has completed the action, Two will delete the file on One. Computer Three is polling the directory for the deletion of the file and will update its screen when the file is deleted. The timing of the polling is approx. 6 times a second, for all computers.  What I am seeing is the creation of the file and delays of up to 10 seconds before the file gets deleted.  I do not see the delays with Win XP-32.  This eliminates the question of the delay with Two’s action. Now, for the kicker.  If I open Windows File Explorer on Two and point it to the directory where the file is created/deleted on One, the timing issue becomes moot.  There is hardly any delay!

    Indexing has been turned off/on and no differences are observed. Same with Remote Differential Compression. Same the Program Compatibility Assistant. Same with Anti-Virus software disabled/enabled.  Same with replacing Computer One with a network storage location. Any Ideas?

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  3. Anonymous
    2012-05-04T19:14:34+00:00

    Has this issue ever been fixed? Seems your "Safe Mode" response is not helpful. I simply want to delete a large file (3.5GB) sitting on my desktop and do not want to go to Safe mode to do so. How can I delete this large file - or is deleting large files not possibly in Win 7?

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  4. Anonymous
    2012-05-04T13:38:49+00:00

    I had forgotten about RMDIR!  I've taken the long way around to solve the problem but I'm going to try some directory pruning on a couple of other systems using RMDIR.

    Thanks!

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  5. Anonymous
    2012-05-04T07:47:31+00:00

    I've tried everything in this thread and the problem still exests (Windows 7 x64).  Specifically, I'm trying to cleanup an uninstall of the Chrome browser and I'm trying to delete  a directory within the INDEXEDDB directory.  The problem is that it has over 92,000,000 (YES, 92 MILLION) freaking files!

     

    No, it's not a corrupt directory or a trashed drive.  Several tests including CHKDSK and everything is fine hardware wise.  The files are a "known operating feature" of the browser.

     

    The problem is that the pre-processing takes forever, we're talking about millions of files here.

     

    Gosh, I miss the old DELTREE command...

    Well, the DELTREE command still exists, but its now RD or RMDIR.

    To use it in W7 open up the Windows Explorer and go to the left pane, Shift_Right_Click on the directory above the tree you want to remove.  Select "Open a Command Window Here".

    When the command window opens do "RMDIR /S <directory name>" - the /S deletes all files and subdirectories of <directory name>

    It will then say "are you sure <Y/N>" type "y"

    It will then say "The directory is not empty" - don't worry, it is now!

    Repeat RMDIR <directory name>

    Gone!

    FYI in the command window if you want to see the tree structure of the directory you're in, type TREE and it shows all the directories in a nice tree so you can make sure you're in the right spot.

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