Cannot Delete Empty Subdirectory on Novell Server (65901)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 3.0
  • Microsoft Windows 3.1
  • Microsoft Windows 3.11
This article was previously published under Q65901

SUMMARY

You may experience problems deleting and displaying empty directories with Microsoft Windows running on a Novell network if the SHOW DOTS=ON line is not in the SHELL.CFG file. Specifically, you may get the following error message:
Error Deleting File   Cannot delete <drive>:\<directory>\*.*.
Cannot find file; check to ensure the path and filename are correct
This error occurs when you attempt to delete an empty subdirectory using File Manager on a Novell NetWare server if the SHOW DOTS=ON line is not specified in the SHELL.CFG file. The variables <drive> and <directory> above would be replaced by the actual drive and directory name that you are attempting to delete.

MORE INFORMATION

The SHOW DOTS=ON line causes the [..] directory entry to be displayed in File Manager. The SHELL.CFG file must be located in the same directory as IPX.COM and the NETx.COM file (where x is either 3 or 4 depending on the MS- DOS version in use). If the SHELL.CFG file does not exist, it can be created using any nonformatting text editor (such as Notepad) by writing SHOW DOTS=ON and then saving the file as SHELL.CFG to the appropriate directory.

An additional symptom of not having SHOW DOTS=ON is the error message
No Files Found
The directory <drive>:\<directory>\*.* does not contain any files
when you attempt to access an empty directory on the server.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:7/7/2005
Keywords:KB65901
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.