Remove Folder from multiple profiles

[shorty610]

If there is already a topic on this, please let me know. I'm trying to write a batch file that will remove a folder from all local profiles on the PC that have it, not just the %ALLUSERS% profile. We have a program that needed to be installed for each user profile that needed it, so it puts a folder under only their local Start menu > Programs. When the program is uninstalled, it doesn't remove the folder from the Start menu, though it does remove the installed files from the local C: drive, killing the shortcut (which is in its own folder) that is left behind on every profile. I have tried using %USERPROFILE% variable for this, but it only removes it for the currently logged-in user, not all profiles that have it. I tried using "C:\Documents and Settings\*\Start Menu\Programs\..." but that didn't work either. And using a login script isn't really an option since I want to just run it once and have them all removed. I did this with a .lnk (shortcut) by using ' DEL "C:\Documents and Settings\shortcut.lnk" /S ' to search that folder and all subfolders, but the same did not work with 'rd' or 'rmdir' and the folder name. Any ideas?

Thanks!

Edited February 27, 2008 by shorty610

[gunsmokingman]

Here try this VBS script it should do what you want.

You will have to add thew name of the folder to the script.

Save As SearchUsersFolder.vbs

Dim Act :Set Act = CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")
Dim Fso :Set Fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Dim colItems, objItem, StartFolder, User
  User = Act.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%UserProfile%")
	 Set Wmi = GetObject("winmgmts:\\.\root\CIMV2") 
	 Set colItems = Wmi.ExecQuery("SELECT * FROM Win32_UserAccount",,48) 
	 For Each objItem in colItems
	  WScript.Echo objItem.FullName
	  If InStr(User,objItem.FullName) Then
	   StartFolder = User
		Set objFolder = Fso.GetFolder(StartFolder)
		ShowSubfolders Fso.GetFolder(StartFolder)
	  Else
	   Dim V1, V2, V3
	   V1 = Split(User,"\")
		For Each V2 In V1
		 V3 = V2 
		Next 
		 Set objFolder = Fso.GetFolder(StartFolder)
		 User = Replace(User,V3,objItem.FullName)
		 StartFolder = User 
		ShowSubfolders Fso.GetFolder(StartFolder)
	  End If 
	 Next 

   Function ShowSubFolders(Folder)
   For Each Subfolder in Folder.SubFolders
   On Error Resume Next
'-> Place The Folder Name In The TestDelete Spot
   If InStr(Subfolder.Path,"TestDelete") Then
	Fso.DeleteFolder(Subfolder.Path)
   End If 
	ShowSubFolders Subfolder
   Next
   End Function

[shorty610]

Thanks, but when I ran the script, it gave me a blank error (Windows Script Host) with no message, just an OK button, followed by another WSH error: "ASP.NET Machine Account", then a runtime error refering to line 22, character 9: Error:Path not found; Code:800A004C. However, it did remove the folder in question, but only from the profile currently logged in. I was hoping to remove the folder from all the profiles that have it. I'm not at all familiar with scripts like vbs, and a little familiar with batch files, so I appreciate all the help I can get.

[gunsmokingman]

The first one works on Vista correct this one I tested on Xp and it worked.

I didnt recieve any errors.

Dim Act :Set Act = CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")
Dim Fso :Set Fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Dim colItems, objItem, StartFolder, User
  User = Act.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%UserProfile%")
	 Set Wmi = GetObject("winmgmts:\\.\root\CIMV2") 
	 Set colItems = Wmi.ExecQuery("SELECT * FROM Win32_UserAccount",,48) 
	 For Each objItem in colItems
	  If InStr(User,objItem.FullName) Then
	   StartFolder = User
		Set objFolder = Fso.GetFolder(StartFolder)
		ShowSubfolders Fso.GetFolder(StartFolder)
	  Else
	   Dim V1, V2, V3
	   V1 = Split(User,"\")
		For Each V2 In V1
		 V3 = V2 
		Next 
		On error Resume Next 
		Set objFolder = Fso.GetFolder(StartFolder)
		 User = Replace(User,V3,objItem.FullName)
		 StartFolder = User 
		 ShowSubfolders Fso.GetFolder(StartFolder)
	   End If 
	 Next 
   Function ShowSubFolders(Folder)
   For Each Subfolder in Folder.SubFolders
   On Error Resume Next
'-> Place The Folder Name In The TestDelete Spot
   WScript.Echo Subfolder.Path
   If InStr(Subfolder.Path,"TestDelete") Then
	Fso.DeleteFolder(Subfolder.Path)
   End If 
	ShowSubFolders Subfolder
   Next
   End Function

[shorty610]

Was experimenting a bit and came up with this batch:

set test=%HOMEDRIVE%\Documents and Settings

for /d %%d in ("%test%\*.*") do (

chdir %%d

rmdir "Start Menu\Programs\TestFolder" /s /q

)

Now it's rough, and checks through every single profile on the computer, so it could be a bit slow. I'll keep looking to see how else I might be able to tweak/improve it, such as searching for only applicable profiles.

[Yzöwl]

If you gave us the actual folder name I could do a little better with it. There shouldn't really be a reason why you cannot run it under %userprofile% at logon!

[shorty610]

As I've thought more about it, even though my batch works and could be tweaked, I'm still a little concerned about the time it might take to run through each profile. Running on login might be ideal after all...

Edited February 28, 2008 by shorty610