Specific file shows in directory on Explorer, but not in mirrored directory on Google Drive

I do regular backups from the C:\ drive to Google Drive's "My Drive". I'm letting Google Drive sync, this is a backup defined in FreeFileSync to look at specific directories and make that directory on G: match the contents of the same directory on C;\. Adds new files, updates newer versions from C>G, deletes anything found on G: that isn't present on C:

This all worked fine for maybe 2 years. About 2 weeks ago, I updated to 24H2. After that, when FFS tried to delete a particular file it found on G: that didn't have a match on C:, it threw a message "unable to delete, file not found in G:\directory name." So I open G: in Windows Explorer. Find the offending file. Try to delete it. Explorer says "this is no longer located in G:\directory." Try the same thing with the browser interface to My Drive. Weird. The file isn't showing there. So Explorer thinks it's there, but it's not.

Got a tech call going with Google. They had me disconnect/reconnect. That caused some misery that I eventually got around. And for a day or so, FFS wasn't complaining. Then, it started again.

Ideas, anyone?

open command prompt and cd to that directory. run "dir" command and see if the file shows in the output in command prompt

dacrone said:

open command prompt and cd to that directory. run "dir" command and see if the file shows in the output in command prompt

Click to expand...

Yes, the file shows from command prompt. So, looking at G:\ using both Explorer and dir from the command prompt shows it present, looking at Google Drive through the browser interface does not show it present. And legitimately, it shouldn't be there. It's not a file that you would normally find in the four or five directories flagged.

In all of them, it's desktop.ini. Out of curiosity, I tried to open it from Explorer using Notepad. And, of course, Notepad pops the error message "cannot find desktop.ini".

It would appear that FFS uses some hooks in Explorer to compare directories and files and decide what action it will take.

The whole business might seem pretty trivial, but I've got all my FFS backups set up in Task Scheduler to run without intervention on a time schedule. Now, the C>G backup requires attention every time to tell FFS to ignore that it can't delete the files that aren't present in the target.

And no, I don't want to set Google Drive up to real-time sync. For one, I don't need access to my files from multiple machines. Also, if I mess something up, I can just go to G: and grab the previous good version. And FFS maintains a version history, as well, which is also on G:, so I can get prior good versions if I need. Doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's very helpful.

desktop.ini is in every folder if you show system protected files. it just contains info and settings per folder, like the icon used for it and its localized name.

dacrone said:

desktop.ini is in every folder if you show system protected files. it just contains info and settings per folder, like the icon used for it and its localized name.

Click to expand...

Maybe so, but something has changed. I've been using these same FreeFileSync definitions for close to three years, and this problem only started after the 24H2 update. Coincidence or not, that's the timing. And I need a fix.

delete desktop.ini with command line. it'll just come back though.

you can do this, but it may not persist to stick

dacrone said:

delete desktop.ini with command line. it'll just come back though.

you can do this, but it may not persist to stick

A way to get rid of Desktop.ini from Desktop folder in win11.

Hi folks, Apparently, a fix exists that makes the windows registry take the data of that file in charge but infos on the net claim it doesn't work anymore on win10., so i've assumed it wouldn"t in win11 either: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]...

www.elevenforum.com

Click to expand...

That's the thing. You can't delete desktop.ini. Just tried that from the command prompt and it says "the system cannot find the file specified". And it's right there in the directory listing for G:\My Drive. But if you look at the same directory on the browser interface, it's not there.

And that's what FFS is complaining about. It finds the file in the backup directory, sees that is isn't present in the directory being backed up, and pops and error message about being unable to delete it. Same as command line, same as Explorer.

The problem, as I see it, is that the local image of the Google Drive directory (AKA the G: drive) doesn't match the actual contents at the cloud site. Explorer and command prompt look at the local image, browser interface looks at the cloud site. G: thinks the file is there, browser interface says it's not. Go figure...

IF IT WILL NOT DELETE:

Enter:

The /a shows All files and folders, even those with Hidden or other attributes

The /x switch inserts a column between the file size and the LFN (Long File Name) showing the SFN (Short File Name), also known as the 8.3 filename, for each file and folder

So, find that entry in the directory listing and note its SFN
If it's "monopo~1" (for example)

FILE:


FOLDER:

This rd (Remove Directory) command, with the /s switch, will remove the folder, plus all its files and subfolders, so you will be asked to confirm that you really want to do this.

The extra column gets inserted, but all the short file names are blank.