Windows 10: mklink cannot create file already exists

Just ran into a ""we can't sign into your account" problem due to some unnecessary update that has clearly messed up my registry. Anyway, I have gone down the duplicating and restoring to a new account. Again one step forward and three back. I heavily rely in mklinks They are wonderful things and help circumvent son much of the awful 'upgrades' from Microsoft. Now it seems that they don't seem to want to work. I now get an error that says .mklink cannot create file already existsThere is no file with the name that conflicts in the folder. Any ideas of what's going wrong?

:)

 

Can't delete folders/files within a symbolic link or junction mklink

Thanks again. I just tried this - assuming a performed all steps correctly:







I then created the new symlink and got the same results when trying to delete a folder:

 

Cannot create a file when that file already exists error message

I get this message when I try to change windows 10 update download location. The steps I performed were:


1. Stop wuauserv in Task Manager > Services tab.
2. Rename C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution to C:\Windows\OldSoftwareDistribution
3. Create new folder on external harddrive: D:\WindowsUpdateLocation
4. Open command prompt - Run as administrator and type in mklink /j c:\windows\softwaredistribution d:\WindowsUpdateDownload and hit enter.

I get 'Cannot create a file when that file already exists' . What am I doing wrong here? It should say Junction created for C:\Windows\OldSoftwareDistribution <<=>> D:\WindowsUpdateLocation but I get the error message instead.

 

Can't delete folders/files within a symbolic link or junction mklink

Here are results from this step:



Local Groups: Administrators, Users

Results from this step:



I don't know what the different notes mean - (I) (OI) (CI) (F) etc

Results from the laptop working correctly. For this I created a symlink to my Documents D:\ hard drive

I had previously taken ownership with my user name "SMILLER" but I added "Authenticated Users" and "Administrators" to the list here:



I also performed this step on the symlink folder F:\Movies that I created where my user name is the Owner and I added Administrators and Authenticated Users, also with no luck.

I also tried this step with no luck. After all of these suggestions I am still getting this error when I try to delete a folder through the symlink:



It still says I need permission from SMILLLER

Thanks for all the suggestions. I would love to get your thoughts on the results above before resorting to a refresh or repair install of Windows. Both of those processes remove installed apps, yes?

- - - Updated - - -

I appreciate your response, as sometimes I may not see the clear answer right in front of my nose.

When I click Continue, it still doesn't allow me to delete and says that I need permission from SMILLER, which is my user name:


Interestingly, If I go inside the folder and delete the media file itself, it hangs for about 15 seconds and then it deletes. But then I go up one folder level and I still can't delete the containing folder.