Delete a file instead of marking it for deletion

Question

I am writing a service for Windows (from XP to 8.1). I need to recursively delete a folder and I use DeleteFile and RemoveDirectory for that. I don't want to use SHFileOperation because it has the MAX_PATH limit.

The problem is that sometimes, RemoveDirectory fails with ERROR_DIR_NOT_EMPTY, even if the directory is empty. I found out that this is because DeleteFile works asynchronously, it only "marks" a file for deletion. Therefore, adding a small delay (Sleep) before calling RemoveDirectory fixes the issue. But I am looking for a cleaner method.

So, is there a way to ensure that the marked files are well and truly deleted?

I already tried to call FlushFileBuffers directly on the directory, without success.

Edit: Some are claiming that NtDeleteFile can delete a file even if there are handles open on it. I just checked that and it's wrong, at least on Windows 8.1: the file is removed only when all the handles are closed.

Answer 1

I don't want to use SHFileOperation because it has the MAX_PATH limit.

On Vista+, you can (and should) use IFileOperation instead of SHFileOperation(). Then you are not limited to any path length limitations, and it can be used safely in a service, unlike SHFileOperation():

Is it wrong to call SHFileOperation from a service?

Is it wrong to call SHFileOperation from a service? Revised

So you decided to call SHFileOperation from a service, at least remember to disable copy hooks

So, is there a way to ensure that the marked files are well and truly deleted?

Not really. The files are either in use, or not cleared from the cache manager, or the like. If DeleteFile() succeeds, you know the file will be deleted eventually. You just have to give the system time to actually delete it. If you receive ERROR_DIR_NOT_EMPTY, wait a few seconds and try again. If you keep getting ERROR_DIR_NOT_EMPTY after several attempts, either fail your operation since the folder is clearly not ready to be deleted yet, or else just keep trying until it finally succeeds, enumerating files periodically (in case new files are created).