The dangers of robocopy and symbolic links

Question

I was backing up a laptop to a USB drive overnight, using robocopy to copy the directory structure of C:\Users on a Win 7 Pro build. The process ran all night. By the next morning, the copy had failed due to insufficient space on the drive. The data being
backed up was only 120 GB and the drive was an empty 500 GB. According to the log, the process only made it about 20% of the way before it got caught in an endless loop of copying the C:\Users\<username>\Application Data link. I had forgot to include
the /xjd switch in the job file it seems.
Unfortunately, now I am unable to delete the "Application Data" folder as I get a "...filenames are too long for the destination folder..." error. Upon inspection, the folder appears to point to itself, creating a seemingly endless subdirectory
tree. I've tried manually deleting parts of the directory structure through cut, paste and delete operations but I gave up after 2 hrs. I then tried writing a batch script using robocopy to mirror an empty folder, hoping that would remove the "Application
Data" folder, but that too fails after a few minutes once the directory path gets too long.
I've checked online but haven't been able to find any tool which would allow me to delete the circular link that was created by robocopy. Does anyone have suggestions on how to remove this file structure besides formatting the drive?

Answer 1

From all the other threads I've read, I'm beginning to realize this just isn't an option with this O/S.
Thanks for the help and suggestions.
I got intrigued by this problem, then spent a couple of hours on finding a solution. You can use the batch file below to deal with your circular folder. It will deal with any folder, no matter how deep.
@echo off
goto Start
This batch file will delete circular directories that are 
created by robocopy.exe when used without the /XJ switch.
The batch file will warn you before it deletes any folder.
Pressing Ctrl+C will terminate it.
Usage: rdd "Folder Name"
22.3.2013 FNL
:Start
set msg=
if [%1] EQU [] goto Error
if [%2] NEQ [] goto Error
goto Initial
Initial checks:
- Is this an elevated command prompt?
- Does the user want to proceed?
- Does the folder exist
:Initial
set r=%random%
for /F "delims=" %%a in ('echo %1') do set Stripped='%%~a'
set msg=You must execute this batch file under elevated privileges.
dir \ 1> %SystemDrive%\%r%.txt 2>nul || goto Error
del %SystemDrive%\%r%.txt
set msg=Folder %Stripped% not found
pushd %1 2>nul || goto Error
set msg=Exiting
set /p reply=About to delete the folder %1. Go ahead? (Y/N) 
if /i not "%reply%"=="Y" goto Error
set Level=0
for /F %%a in ('dir /b \RDD_Folder* 2^>nul') do rd \%%a
set Args=WScript.Arguments
echo WScript.Echo Left(%Args%(0), InStrRev(%Args%(0), "\")-1) >"%temp%\rdd.vbs"
goto Loop1
Create a number of junctions to various points
inside the circular directory tree.
Prerequisite: mklink (exists under Windows 7)
:Loop1
for /F "delims=" %%a in ('dir /b /s 2^>nul') do set FullPath=%%a
if "%FullPath:~200,4%" EQU "" (echo. & goto Loop2)
for /F "delims=" %%a in ('cscript.exe //nologo "%temp%\rdd.vbs" "%FullPath%"') do cd "%%a"
set msg=Unable to create junction.
set /a Level=%Level%+1
echo Creating junction \RDD_Folder%Level%
mklink /d \RDD_Folder%Level% "%CD%" > nul|| (popd & goto Error)
cd "\RDD_Folder%Level%"
goto Loop1
Delete the circular folders, working from
the inside to the outside, then delete the
symbolic links.
:Loop2
for /f "delims=" %%a in ('dir /b "\RDD_Folder%Level%"') do set ToDelete="\RDD_Folder%Level%\%%a"
echo Deleting %ToDelete%
pause
rd /s /q %ToDelete%
rd \RDD_Folder%Level%
set /a Level=%Level%-1
if %Level% NEQ 0 (
  cd \RDD_Folder%Level%
  goto Loop2
popd
echo Deleting %1
pause
rd /s /q %1
goto :eof
Error exit
:Error
echo.
if "%msg%"=="" set msg=Usage:  rdd  "FolderName"
echo %msg%