Use PowerShell to Make All Files in a Folder to Lowercase Instead of Uppercase

#Use PowerShell to Convert All Files in a Folder to Lowercase Instead of Uppercase

#Here’s a PowerShell script to convert all filenames in a folder to lowercase:

#Just the code

Get-ChildItem -Path "C:\test" -Recurse | ForEach-Object {
    $newName = $_.Name.ToLower() # or .ToUpper() for uppercase
    if ($_.Name -cne $newName) {
        Rename-Item -LiteralPath $_.FullName -NewName $newName -Force
    }
}

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#Longer Story

#When attempting to convert filenames to lowercase from a CD-ROM using PowerRename, I encountered challenges primarily due to file system limitations, specifically with ExFAT partitions. The led me to develop a PowerShell script that effectively renames files and discovered that the script only works when files were first copied to an NTFS partition.

#ExFAT Limitation

#ExFAT (Extended File Allocation Table) is a file system designed for flash drives and external hard drives. While it offers advantages like large file size support and cross-platform compatibility, it has some limitations when it comes to file operations:

1. Case Sensitivity: ExFAT is case-preserving but case-insensitive. This means it maintains the case of filenames as they were created, but doesn’t distinguish between uppercase and lowercase when accessing files.
2. Rename Operations: Some tools and scripts may have difficulty renaming files on exFAT partitions due to how the file system handles these operations
3. Permissions: ExFAT doesn’t support the same level of file permissions as NTFS, which can affect certain operations

#PowerRename and ExFAT

#PowerRename, a PowerToy utility, may show that it’s working on ExFAT but fails to actually rename the files.

#NTFS Compatibility

NTFS (New Technology File System) is more robust and supports a wider range of file operations.