# Deleting Collections folder locks UE **URL:** \ **Category:** Feedback & Requests\ **Tags:** unreal-engine, bug-report, editor, UE4, question\ **Created:** [October 6, 2016, 10:31am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/deleting-collections-folder-locks-ue/372610 "2016-10-06T10:31:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_1d9c3aac](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_1d9c3aac](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_1d9c3aac)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 10:31am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/deleting-collections-folder-locks-ue/372610/1 "2016-10-06T10:31:33Z")
Current version of UE 4 becomes unresponsive when the “Collections” folder that resides in “Content” is deleted by user while the project is opened. When I run from the source, I found out that UE4 tries to access this folder, but cannot and stucks in a loop. Here is what is printed to log: ``` [2016.10.06-10.20.59:377][914]LogDirectoryWatcher: A directory notification failed for 'D:/Unreal//Content/Collections/' because it was empty or there was a buffer overflow. Attemping another request... ``` This is logged thousands of times in just a few seconds. If a directory cannot be found then it should be created. ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_2b03d27c](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_2b03d27c](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_2b03d27c)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 3:07pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/deleting-collections-folder-locks-ue/372610/2 "2016-10-06T15:07:41Z")
hey emrahgunduz- Can you provide the setup that causes this issue? When I create a new project and turn on Show Collections in the Content Browser’s View Options, the list of collections is empty by default. Adding a new collection and deleting does not cause the editor to freeze or become unresponsive. Any additional information you can provide to help me reproduce the issue on my end would be helpful. ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_1d9c3aac](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_1d9c3aac](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_1d9c3aac)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 9:14am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/deleting-collections-folder-locks-ue/372610/3 "2016-10-07T09:14:28Z")
no no 🙂 create a new project \> open the project in ue 4.13.1 \> on windows explorer, go to the project’s content folder \> delete the Collections folder \> unreal freezes… ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_2b03d27c](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_2b03d27c](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_2b03d27c)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 1:13pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/deleting-collections-folder-locks-ue/372610/4 "2016-10-07T13:13:18Z")
Hey emrahgunduz- Removing files form a program’s directory while that program is running is always likely to cause the program to react negatively. This type of behavior is expected when altering files outside a program when the program is running. If you need to delete project files, it is best to close the program before deleting files/folders. Cheers ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_1d9c3aac](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_1d9c3aac](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_1d9c3aac)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 2:19pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/deleting-collections-folder-locks-ue/372610/5 "2016-10-07T14:19:59Z")
then epic must definitely correct the empty folders problem in ue 4. currently right after deleting an asset inside ue4, causes the empty – previously deleted folders to reappear, which cause a lot of troubles on asset management. these empty folders never get deleted on os level, and if we remove them most probably the editor hangs. ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_2b03d27c](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_2b03d27c](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_2b03d27c)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 2:58pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/deleting-collections-folder-locks-ue/372610/6 "2016-10-07T14:58:17Z")
I am not seeing an instance of deleting an asset causing a deleted folder to reappear inside the editor. Are you deleting the asset from inside the project or through Windows Explorer window? Can you elaborate on what you mean by the “empty folder problem”? ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_1d9c3aac](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_1d9c3aac](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_1d9c3aac)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 3:45pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/deleting-collections-folder-locks-ue/372610/7 "2016-10-07T15:45:40Z")
I’ve recorded the situation. Here is the link to the video: [- YouTube](https://youtu.be/4hH4F8tn8bc) As you can see, deleted empty folders re-appear on editor restart. In most cases, they re-appear when I delete an asset inside the editor (while recording the video I could not re-create the condition for this case). ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_2b03d27c](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_2b03d27c](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_2b03d27c)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 5:28pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/deleting-collections-folder-locks-ue/372610/8 "2016-10-07T17:28:26Z")
The issue of the folders reappearing after reopening the project has already been fixed internally and will be available in a future update to the engine. You can find the public issue for this here [Unreal Engine Issues and Bug Tracker (UE-11796)](https://issues.unrealengine.com/issue/UE-11796) Cheers