diff -r 866c5c187f48 masterfs/src/org/netbeans/modules/masterfs/filebasedfs/children/ChildrenSupport.java
--- a/masterfs/src/org/netbeans/modules/masterfs/filebasedfs/children/ChildrenSupport.java	Thu Nov 06 05:25:52 2008 +0100
+++ b/masterfs/src/org/netbeans/modules/masterfs/filebasedfs/children/ChildrenSupport.java	Thu Nov 06 10:26:46 2008 +0100
@@ -209,6 +209,9 @@
                     newChildren.add(child);
                 }
             }
+        } else if (folder.exists()) { // childs == null -> folder does not exists, or an I/O error occurs
+            // folder.listFiles() failed with I/O exception - do not remove childs
+            return retval;
         }
         
         Set deleted = new HashSet(getExisting(false));