HP OpenVMS Systems

Resolving No Such File Errors during DELETE?

» close window

The Question is:

 
I am trying to clean up some files off of a disk and I am getting a "no such
file" error when deleting some files.  Even when I do a dir/size I get the
message "no such file" after the name of the file.  How do I remove a file
that does not exist, yet doe
s?
 

The Answer is :

 
  SET FILE/REMOVE is used to remove file or directory alias entries.
  When the primary file entry has been deleted and thus the contents
  of the file are gone, the symptoms are usually as described in
  your question.
 
  The OpenVMS Wizard would also recommend use of ANALYZE/DISK/REPAIR
  after performing any pass of SET FILE/REMOVE, and would recommend
  ensuring that a good disk BACKUP is in place and available before
  using the SET FILE/REMOVE or similarly powerful command.
 
  Also be aware that directory alias entries are heavily used on
  OpenVMS system disks, and the removal or deletion of files in
  one of these alias directory roots can render all system roots
  on the system disk unbootable.
 
  On a recent OpenVMS system disk, SYS$SYSDEVICE:[SYS*]SYS$COMMON.DIR
  is an alias for SYS$SYSDEVICE:[000000]VMS$COMMON.DIR, meaning that
  the blanket deletion of the files in an unused system root will result
  in the deletion of the shared files across all system roots on the
  disk, rendering the entire disk unbootable.
 

  

     

     
answer written or last revised on ( 15-FEB-1999 )
     
» close window