Deleting large amount of files

[JamesLean]

I have a folder on a Windows 2003 SP2 server which has a large amount of files in it, probably a couple of hundred thousand, going back over a few years. I am trying to delete all the old files and just keep one month's worth.

If I try and just open the folder in explorer it just hangs. Does anyone have any tips on the best way to go about deleting these files? I need to do an initial delete to get a month's worth and then set up a scheduled task to retain that amount.

I am not sure whether some kind of DOS batch file would work or whether it is something I would need to do using VBScript or similar?

--James

 

[itsp1965]

The reason why it's hanging is because it takes awhile to enumerate 100,000+ files using Explorer (eventually it will respond). You can easily use the command line to view/delete the files.

For example if you wish to delete all files with the extension *.log from all your subdirectories you can type

DEL /S *.LOG

Hope this helps

 

[JamesLean]

Sorry, the key point of the question was that I only want to delete files older than 1 month. AFAIK the del command can't filter by date.

I was wondering whether anyone had a batch file or other script that could do this?

--James