Can the tool 'streams.exe' regard "Scan inside symbolic links" as an optional parameter?

0 0 0 Reputation points
2024-05-22T06:59:59.5+00:00

I tried to use the command "streams64.exe -s -d" or "streams.exe -s -d" in Administrator access in the user folder "C:\Users\<username>", However, here is a symbolic link "C:\Users\<username>\Appdata\local\Application Data", It is linked to its parent folder "C:\Users\<username>\Appdata\local". Then streams.exe stuck into an endless loop and folder displaying "Application Data\Application Data\Application Data\…" The best way to avoid the problem is not to scan inside symbolic links.

image-20240522131429715

image-20240522131510305

I found that the software NTFSLinksview, which is developed by nirsoft, use the similar strategy to scan files and folders as streams.exe. However, NTFSLinksview has a checkbox "Scan inside symbolic links" to choose whether to scan the symbolic link's contents or not. when I checked the option, it will stuck into an endless loop, too. However, when the option is unchecked (This is the default setting of NTFSLinksview), It will only scan the symbolic itself and won't jump to the destination folder to scan. This will avoid getting stuck into an endless loop.

image-20240522123753884

image-20240522124026950

I also found that using -Attributes !ReparsePoint in Windows PowerShell command Get-ChildItem can bypass scanning inside symbolic links, in avoid getting stuck into an endless loop. The example command can like this:


Get-ChildItem -Force -Attributes !ReparsePoint -Recurse -File -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | ForEach-Object {
    Get-Item -Stream * -Path $_.FullName | Remove-Item
}

I have already run the PowerShell command on my PC, it is relatively safe.

The example is based on this topic: windows - List all files and dirs without recursion with junctions - Super User, You can go to this website to learn more about how to avoid "Scan inside symbolic links".

I sincerely hope streams.exe can also regard "Scan inside symbolic links" as an optional parameter. like adding -s parameter to enable Recurse subdirectories. Thank you!

Sysinternals
Sysinternals
Advanced system utilities to manage, troubleshoot, and diagnose Windows and Linux systems and applications.
1,112 questions
0 comments No comments
{count} votes