"The virtual directory specified already exists"... but it doesn't!

I've come across this issue intermittently on some servers, but I haven't figured out yet why it happens. The times I've seen it happen is when the virtual folder wasn't created with all the permissions required, and then deleting it seems to leave a remnants of it behind. An example of this is when you cannot locate the virtual directory but can see it referenced by an app pool.

So, how do you get rid of it?

9 times out of 10 the following works for me. Let's say the new virtual directory is called "MyDir" and was located in the web site "My Web"

- Open up a command prompt
- Type in the following command:

IIsVDir /delete "My Web"/MyDir

Sometimes if that doesn't work creating the virtual directory (using the same name - MyDir in this example) and running the above command again usually works.

If anyone can shed any light on why this remnants happens please do.