Windows XP in a Nutshell (2024)

Table of Contents

Name Synopsis Syntax Description Examples Notes

Name

del or erase

Delete one or more files.

del [/p] [/f] [/s] [/q] [/a:attributes] filenameerase [/p] [/f] [/s] [/q] [/a:attributes] filename

The del command is used to delete one or morefiles from the command line without sending them to the Recycle Bin.

The del options are:

filename: Specifies the file(s) to delete. If you do not specify the drive orpath, the file is assumed to be in the current directory. You can usestandard * and ? wildcards tospecify the files to delete.
/p: Prompts for confirmation before deleting each file.
/f: Forces deletion of read-only files.
/s: Delete specified files in all subdirectories (when using wildcards).
/q: Quiet mode; do not prompt if filename is*.*.
/a: attributes: Selects files to delete based on attributes (read-only, hidden,system, or archive). See Attrib in Chapter 4 for more information on attributes.

Delete the file myfile.txt in the currentdirectory:

C:\>del myfile.txt

Delete the file myfile.txt in thec:\files directory:

C:\>del c:\files\myfile.txt

Delete all files with the pattern myfile.*(e.g., myfile.doc,myfile.txt, etc.) in the current directory, butprompt for each deletion:

C:\>del c:\files\myfile.* /p

The del and erase commands arefunctionally identical.
Using the del command to delete a file does notmove it to the Recycle Bin. In other words, youcan’t get a file back once you use thedel command, unless you have a special“unerase” disk recovery utility.