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Magic folder :0

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Posted on by absentia8

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Hello, colleagues.

Today I faced one small problem.
In PAD I can't delete one of my folders (folder, it's in the attached file).

I've been working in PAD for quite a long time and this is the first time I've encountered this problem. I would appreciate it if you could try to delete this folder yourself.

1. This folder is freely deleted manually through Windows, but refuses to be deleted through PAD.
2. I have tried solving the problem by running PAD on another computer where the folder was originally created - no result.
3. I have also tried renaming the folder and deleting it again - no result.
4. I created a similar new folder and compared Windows deletion restrictions in the properties of the two folders - no restrictions. (This folder is a perfectly normal Windows folder (it's just from a different computer, that's all).
5. Yesterday my PAD was successfully deleting similar folders, but today it refuses.
6. I have not made any changes to Windows, nor have I made any other changes or adjustments to the system. I have also not updated my PAD (I have the latest version installed). So I went to bed and in the morning when I went back to work, the folder was no longer deleted.
6. Naturally I tried rebooting the system. Again, I even tried running the stream on a completely different computer - it miraculously does not delete.

I created a rar archive “log_files.rar” and put this very folder “folder” in it.
I also made screenshots.
I also saved the error log “Error details.txt” and the flow code itself “PAD_flow.txt”.

I appreciate your help.

log_files.rar

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Power Automate Desktop

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eetuRobo 4,476 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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Seems like there is some Read-only restrictions and it seemed to always revert back to it even when I took it off.

Only way I found to delete that folder was to use Run PowerShell script that deletes it.

Action to paste to your flow (change the folder path):
@@copilotGeneratedAction: 'True'
Scripting.RunPowershellScript.RunPowershellScriptAndFailOnTimeout Script: $'''# This code has been generated by AI. Original prompt:
# help me delete this folder: \"C:\\Users\\YourUser\\Downloads\\log_files\\folder\"
#
$folderPath = \"C:\\Users\\YourUser\\Downloads\\log_files\\folder\"
if (Test-Path $folderPath) {
Remove-Item -Path $folderPath -Recurse -Force
Write-Host \"Folder deleted: $folderPath\"
} else {
Write-Host \"Folder not found: $folderPath\"
}''' Timeout: 30 ScriptOutput=> PowershellOutput ScriptError=> ScriptError

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absentia8 205 on at

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Thank you @eetuRobo for offering your option.
I would like to figure out the cause rather than using a third party solution in addition to PAD in the form of using code.
I keep looking for a simpler solution as I'm not a programmer and I'm not ready to use code to delete a folder when it should happen within PAD.

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Deenuji_Loganathan_ 6,250 Moderator on at

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Hi

Avoid attempting to delete a folder that's on the desktop or any special folders like (Desktop, Downloads, Pictures, Videos). Instead, move the folder to a root directory on the C drive, such as C:\Demo\Folder, and then proceed.

Thanks,
Deenu

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absentia8 205 on at

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Thanks for answering Deenuji_Loganathan .
It's a regular Windows folder, as I posted earlier.

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Deenuji_Loganathan_ 6,250 Moderator on at

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Hi absentia8 ,

Power Automate Desktop does not permit the deletion of special folders such as Desktop, Downloads, Pictures, and Videos for security reasons. As previously suggested, place your folder in a location like C:\Demo\Folder, and then attempt to delete it.

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