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From: Garance_Drosehn@mts.rpi.edu (Garance Drosehn)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Subject: Re: A New Folder from Hell (Recursive folder, created by Unstuffing)
Message-ID: <}QG^37%@rpi.edu>
Date: 14 Dec 90 23:18:02 GMT
References: <9630@b11.ingr.com>
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst.
Lines: 33
Nntp-Posting-Host: gilead.its.rpi.edu

In article <9630@b11.ingr.com> 
     pablo@b11.ingr.com (Pablo Fernicola) writes:
> My machine crashed when I was installing (UnStuffing) MacInTax.  When the
> machine came back up one of the application folders was created.  Inside 
> the folder there is another folder (just like its parent) and inside this 
> folder there is another folder, and inside this folder there is another 
> folder, ad infinitum . . .
> 
> Looks like the section of the folder that points to its contents its 
> pointing to itself in a recursive chain (this is my guess).  
> Any clues?

I hit a similar problem when using the installer for Stuffit Deluxe.  I 
don't think it's a recursive chain, I think there really are all those 
folders inside of folders.  Rename the first level folder and then open 
it.  Rename the folder inside it (to something else) and then reopen that. 
You can keep trying this and all the folders will keep whatever name you 
give them.

I expect that finder is crashing because there are too many levels.  You 
can open a few levels worth of these folders, and then move the innermost 
folder out to the first level.  You can then trash the intermediate 
folders.  I trashed 800 levels of folders before I gave up and just 
reformated the drive (after doing a backup which excluded that folder, of 
course).  I think I saw someone else who did this, and said they prevailed 
after 1200 levels of folders.

Presumably this is just a bug in the UnStuffit-Deluxe-type installer 
mechanism.

Garance_Drosehn@mts.rpi.edu
ITS Systems Programmer
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Troy, NY.  USA