# Manager showed off his DOS prowess – with a command that wiped data

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/manager-showed-off-his-dos-prowess-with-a-command-that-wiped-data/
- Published: 2026-07-27T06:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-27T06:48:23+00:00
- Original publisher: The Register
- Original article: https://www.theregister.com/software/2026/07/27/manager-showed-off-his-dos-prowess-with-a-command-that-wiped-data/5278057
- Topics: Software

## Key points

- Manager on 1980s Swedish site tried a colleague's PC.
- He typed "DEL *.*", deleting all accessible files.
- Colleague forgave him; story is a "Who, Me?" cautionary tale.

## Summary

A reader nicknamed "Clay" has recounted to The Register's "Who, Me?" column how, as a junior manager on a 1980s Swedish construction site, he accidentally deleted a colleague's files after asking to try out a PC during his lunch break. The anecdote serves as a light-hearted cautionary tale about letting non-technical managers loose on computer systems, a recurring theme in the long-running weekly confessional column.

Clay explained that only two site engineers had computers at the time, and out of curiosity he asked to use one during a break. Having little choice but to agree, the junior engineer let him sit down, at which point Clay typed the only DOS command he knew, "DEL *.*", wiping everything in the accessible directory. His colleague reportedly forgave him and he kept his job, though he says the memory of the command still haunts him.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.