Question

Script or Batch File Needed to Search a Computer for a File Using Wildcard and Then if Exists Delete It

Asked by: Elisheva_Binyamin

I need to write vbscript or batch job that will search an entire computer for any file containing the string "errand".  So basically a computer wide search for "*errand*".    Then if any file with "errand" in it is found it should be deleted.  This can be written either in VBScript or a BAT job, but it needs to be able to be called as a scheduled task.  Thank you in advance for your help!

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2009-09-03 at 10:24:08ID24705329
Tags

search computer

,

if file exists delete

,

vbscript

,

BAT

Topics

Windows XP Operating System

,

Windows Batch Scripting

,

VB Script

Participating Experts
2
Points
500
Comments
14

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. Run a VBscript file from a batch file
    I need a syntax to run a VBScript file(.vbs) from a batch file(.bat) thanks
  2. Unable to schedule batch files
    I have a batch file that opens word and performs a few other tasks. The batch file runs fine manually on the server but when it is scheduled on the server it hangs after opening word 97. the batch file runs fine when scheduled on a pc. any ideas please?? thanks in advance ...
  3. BATCH FILE
    Hi Does anyone know how to fire a PHP script using a BATCH file? Thanks
  4. Batch File
    Hi... I'm trying to create a batch file that is supposed to check a directory for specific file extensions and then delete them or move them to a different folder. After that it is supposed to send a message to the administrator or send an email to the administrator. Is t...
  5. batch file
    HI My prblem is when ever i create a word file and click save the same file should be saved as a different file in other drive and should be hidden.is it possible in batch file.. please let me know how to do it thanks
  6. Batch to VBScript for Logon
    I am interested in using vbscript for my logon script in my domain instead of batch. Currently, I have four sites and in my current batch file logon script, there is a " CALL %LOGONSERVER%.bat" command in the script which will map drives specific to that location fo...

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: luv2craftcaPosted on 2009-09-03 at 10:32:37ID: 25252917

Regular expressions (in vbscript) could be used to do this.

Take a look at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms974570.aspx

for some background.

 

by: Bartender_1Posted on 2009-09-03 at 10:36:22ID: 25252952

In a batch file, it would be as simple as:

del /s /q *errand*

This will look for and delete any file with "errand" in it without prompting, and will search all subdirectories.

Hope this helps!

:o)

Bartender_1

 

by: luv2craftcaPosted on 2009-09-03 at 10:40:33ID: 25252992

If you are new to regular expressions, you can use this site to test them to see if it matches what you think it does.

http://www.regular-expressions.info/vbscriptexample.html

(note: only works in IE)

 

by: Elisheva_BinyaminPosted on 2009-09-03 at 11:43:15ID: 25253627

Bartender_1,  I tried your solution, but got an error code at its completion.  Below is the result from SchedLgU.log.  Is there a way to run this so that it does not give an error code?  Or do I need to add quotes, an if exists statement, or something else?  Let me know!  Thanks!

 

What I wrote in DeleteErrand.bat:
 
del /s /q *errand*
---------------------------------------------------
 
Result posted in SchedLgU.log:
 
"DeleteErrand.job" (DeleteErrand.bat)
	Started 9/3/2009 1:34:52 PM
"DeleteErrand.job" (DeleteErrand.bat)
	Finished 9/3/2009 1:36:31 PM
	Result: The task completed with an exit code of (1).

                                              
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
10:
11:
12:

Select allOpen in new window

 

by: Bartender_1Posted on 2009-09-03 at 11:46:29ID: 25253652

When you schedule your batch command try putting a "/c" after the command.

Hope this helps!

:o)

Bartender_1

 

by: Elisheva_BinyaminPosted on 2009-09-03 at 11:47:52ID: 25253665

luv2craftca,

Could you give me a code example of how to use regular expressions to search a computer for a file, and then if it finds it, deletes the file?  I guess I just am not sure how to use the expressions in vbscript to make this come about.  Thank you so much for your help!

 

by: Bartender_1Posted on 2009-09-03 at 11:49:29ID: 25253678

your scheduled command should look like this:

cmd /c deleteerrand.bat

 

by: Elisheva_BinyaminPosted on 2009-09-03 at 11:56:44ID: 25253747

Bartender_1,  I tried adding the "/c", but still got the error.  Below is what my run statement looks like in the Task, along with the Error code I got again.  Thanks again for your help!

Run line from Task:
 
"C:\Documents and Settings\ebinyamin\My Documents\DeleteErrand.bat" /c
---------------------------------------------------
 
Result posted in SchedLgU.log:
 
"DeleteErrandTEST.job" (DeleteErrandTEST.bat)
	Started 9/3/2009 1:55:20 PM
"DeleteErrandTEST.job" (DeleteErrandTEST.bat)
	Finished 9/3/2009 1:55:20 PM
	Result: The task completed with an exit code of (1).
                                              
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
10:
11:
12:

Select allOpen in new window

 

by: Bartender_1Posted on 2009-09-03 at 11:58:52ID: 25253773

Ok, your scheduled command should look like this:

cmd /c "C:\Documents and Settings\ebinyamin\My Documents\DeleteErrand.bat"

Hope this helps!

:o)

Bartender_1

 

by: Elisheva_BinyaminPosted on 2009-09-03 at 12:22:35ID: 25254014

Bartender_1,  

Thanks for the tip but I am still getting an error.  See what is listed on the Run line and then the result.  Let me know what you think.  I also tried it without the cmd, but this of course failed as well.  I also changed the name, because I noticed that my search clause included the name of my bat file and I don't want this deleted.  Let me know what you think.  Thanks!

Run line from Task:
 
cmd /c "C:\Documents and Settings\ebinyamin\My Documents\DeleteEr_rand.bat"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Result posted in SchedLgU.log:
 
"Delete_Er_rand.job" (cmd)
	Started 9/3/2009 2:17:21 PM
"Delete_Er_rand.job" (cmd)
	Finished 9/3/2009 2:17:21 PM
	Result: The task completed with an exit code of (1).
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Run line from Task:
 
/c "C:\Documents and Settings\ebinyamin\My Documents\DeleteEr_rand.bat"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Result posted in SchedLgU.log:
 
"Delete_Er_rand.job" (/c) 9/3/2009 2:19:54 PM ** ERROR **
	Unable to start task.
	The specific error is:
	0x80070002: The system cannot find the file specified.
	Try using the Task page Browse button to locate the application.

                                              
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
10:
11:
12:
13:
14:
15:
16:
17:
18:
19:
20:
21:
22:
23:
24:
25:
26:
27:

Select allOpen in new window

 

by: Bartender_1Posted on 2009-09-03 at 12:31:02ID: 25254099

Do you get any error messages if you run the batch file from the command line?

 

by: Elisheva_BinyaminPosted on 2009-09-03 at 12:32:29ID: 25254112

OK.  I think I finally got the wording right!  I just need the "cmd" in front and the "/c"  at the end. Below is what I wrote on the Run line as well as may successful result.  Thank you so much for your help!

Run line from Task:
 
cmd "C:\Documents and Settings\ebinyamin\My Documents\DeleteEr_rand.bat" /c
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Result posted in SchedLgU.log:
 
"Delete_Er_rand.job" (cmd)
	Started 9/3/2009 2:30:52 PM
"Delete_Er_rand.job" (cmd)
	Finished 9/3/2009 2:30:52 PM
	Result: The task completed with an exit code of (0).

                                              
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
10:
11:
12:
13:

Select allOpen in new window

 

by: Bartender_1Posted on 2009-09-03 at 12:34:14ID: 25254134

I'm glad you managed to get it to work.

Cheers!

:o)

Bartender_1

 

by: Elisheva_BinyaminPosted on 2009-09-03 at 12:36:25ID: 31624557

Thank you so much for your help!  I just needed to get the wording right.  The bat code was perfect.  I just needed to make sure that the Run command for the Task looks like this:

cmd "C:\Documents and Settings\ebinyamin\My Documents\DeleteEr_rand.bat" /c

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...