Script to delete folder and all sub-folders in a shared folder

[JPhillips173]

Hey guys,

This one should get the juices flowing. Here's what i need.

I need a script that will go into a shared folder where all our students home folders are and delete a folder and all it's sub-folders inside of each users home folder. So it will have to support wildcards because i can't put a line of code for each 1200 students. Also it has to run on a windows 2003 server, and be able to be called automatically before our backup jobs run every night.

Here's the path:

e:\students\(usernames)\library\caches
e:\students\(username)\library\application support\firefox\profiles

(username) being the wildcard so it will parse every folder and find the sub-folders and delete them.

Also last year i started grouping the home folders by graduation year to make it easier to remove once they graduate, so there is also a sub-folder that has all of the sophmore home folders in it.

Here's it's path:
e:\students\2010\(username)\library\caches
e:\students\2010\(username)\library\application support\firefox\profiles

I know this is a complicated script and i found one from the windows "scripting guys" but i don't know if it will do wildcards and if it does what they are. (maybe *)

Here's the script they gave me:
--------------------------------------------------------
Dim arrFolders()
intSize = 0

strComputer = "."
Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:\\" & strComputer & "\root\cimv2")

strFolderName = "c:\scripts\archive"

Set colSubfolders = objWMIService.ExecQuery _
("Associators of {Win32_Directory.Name='" & strFolderName & "'} " _
& "Where AssocClass = Win32_Subdirectory " _
& "ResultRole = PartComponent")

ReDim Preserve arrFolders(intSize)
arrFolders(intSize) = strFolderName
intSize = intSize + 1

For Each objFolder in colSubfolders
GetSubFolders strFolderName
Next

Sub GetSubFolders(strFolderName)
Set colSubfolders2 = objWMIService.ExecQuery _
("Associators of {Win32_Directory.Name='" & strFolderName & "'} " _
& "Where AssocClass = Win32_Subdirectory " _
& "ResultRole = PartComponent")

For Each objFolder2 in colSubfolders2
strFolderName = objFolder2.Name
ReDim Preserve arrFolders(intSize)
arrFolders(intSize) = strFolderName
intSize = intSize + 1
GetSubFolders strFolderName
Next
End Sub

For i = Ubound(arrFolders) to 0 Step -1
strFolder = arrFolders(i)
strFolder = Replace(strFolder, "\", "\\")
Set colFolders = objWMIService.ExecQuery _
("Select * from Win32_Directory where Name = '" & strFolder & "'")

For Each objFolder in colFolders
errResults = objFolder.Delete
Next
Next
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know this is complicated script but they said that the script must delete all of the sub-folders before it will delete the root folder.
If i've left out any important info let me know.

Thanks for the help,

Jon Phillips
JPhillips@monet.prs.k12.nj.us
System Admin
Princeton Regional Schools

[srochford]

Wow!

Might not need to be that difficult - sometimes batch files are easier ...

e:
cd \students
for /d %%i in (*) do rd "e:\students\%%i\library\caches" /s /q
for /d %%i in (*) do rd "e:\students\%%i\application support\firefox\profiles" /s /q

Not sure if you want to delete the contents of each folder but leave the folder - if so, it's probably easier to just delete the folder and its contents and then put back an empty folder:

for /d %%i in (*) do md "e:\students\%%i\library\caches"
for /d %%i in (*) do md "e:\students\%%i\application support\firefox\profiles"

I'll dig out some vbscript later but my tea's ready now :-)

[originofsymmetry]

Don't mean to hijack here but I would like a slight modification to this script as I need to copy a couple of folders into every users home directory, don't know how to set up the (*) wildcard properly though, any help appreciated.