diff --git a/updater/src/com/intellij/updater/CreateAction.java b/updater/src/com/intellij/updater/CreateAction.java
index fc44de69a690..d9e7a62cefbe 100644
--- a/updater/src/com/intellij/updater/CreateAction.java
+++ b/updater/src/com/intellij/updater/CreateAction.java
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ import java.io.*;
 import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
 import java.nio.file.Files;
 import java.nio.file.LinkOption;
-import java.nio.file.attribute.BasicFileAttributes;
 import java.util.zip.ZipEntry;
 import java.util.zip.ZipFile;
 import java.util.zip.ZipOutputStream;
@@ -23,8 +22,7 @@ public class CreateAction extends PatchAction {
   protected void doBuildPatchFile(File olderFile, File newerFile, ZipOutputStream patchOutput) throws IOException {
     patchOutput.putNextEntry(new ZipEntry(getPath()));
 
-    BasicFileAttributes attrs = Files.readAttributes(newerFile.toPath(), BasicFileAttributes.class, LinkOption.NOFOLLOW_LINKS);
-    if (!attrs.isDirectory()) {
+    if (!Files.isDirectory(newerFile.toPath(), LinkOption.NOFOLLOW_LINKS)) {
       FileType type = getFileType(newerFile);
       writeFileType(patchOutput, type);
       if (type == FileType.SYMLINK) {
diff --git a/updater/src/com/intellij/updater/DeleteAction.java b/updater/src/com/intellij/updater/DeleteAction.java
index 6ef4831f8997..388fe535b355 100644
--- a/updater/src/com/intellij/updater/DeleteAction.java
+++ b/updater/src/com/intellij/updater/DeleteAction.java
@@ -1,9 +1,13 @@
-// Copyright 2000-2018 JetBrains s.r.o. Use of this source code is governed by the Apache 2.0 license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+// Copyright 2000-2020 JetBrains s.r.o. Use of this source code is governed by the Apache 2.0 license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
 package com.intellij.updater;
 
 import java.io.DataInputStream;
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.IOException;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.LinkOption;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.stream.Stream;
 import java.util.zip.ZipFile;
 import java.util.zip.ZipOutputStream;
 
@@ -53,17 +57,27 @@ public class DeleteAction extends PatchAction {
   @Override
   protected void doApply(ZipFile patchFile, File backupDir, File toFile) throws IOException {
     Runner.logger().info("Delete action. File: " + toFile.getAbsolutePath());
-    //NOTE: a folder can be deleted only in case if it does not contain any user's files/folders.
-    String[] children;
-    if (!toFile.isDirectory() || (children = toFile.list()) != null && children.length == 0) {
+
+    // a directory can be deleted only when it does not contain any user's content
+    boolean canDelete = true;
+    if (Files.isDirectory(toFile.toPath(), LinkOption.NOFOLLOW_LINKS)) {
+      try (Stream<Path> children = Files.list(toFile.toPath())) {
+        canDelete = !children.findAny().isPresent();
+      }
+    }
+
+    if (canDelete) {
       Runner.logger().info("Delete: " + toFile.getAbsolutePath());
       Utils.delete(toFile);
     }
+    else {
+      Runner.logger().info("Preserved: " + toFile.getAbsolutePath());
+    }
   }
 
   @Override
   protected void doRevert(File toFile, File backupFile) throws IOException {
-    if (!toFile.exists() || toFile.isDirectory() || isModified(toFile)) {
+    if (!toFile.exists() || Files.isDirectory(toFile.toPath(), LinkOption.NOFOLLOW_LINKS) || isModified(toFile)) {
       Utils.delete(toFile); // make sure there is no directory remained on this path (may remain from previous 'create' actions
       Utils.copy(backupFile, toFile);
     }
diff --git a/updater/testSrc/com/intellij/updater/PatchApplyingRevertingTest.java b/updater/testSrc/com/intellij/updater/PatchApplyingRevertingTest.java
index 2c1bbb6de01f..32ae247a72e7 100644
--- a/updater/testSrc/com/intellij/updater/PatchApplyingRevertingTest.java
+++ b/updater/testSrc/com/intellij/updater/PatchApplyingRevertingTest.java
@@ -606,6 +606,8 @@ public abstract class PatchApplyingRevertingTest extends PatchTestCase {
     Files.createSymbolicLink(myOlderDir.toPath().resolve("A.framework/Versions/Current"), Paths.get("A"));
     Files.createSymbolicLink(myOlderDir.toPath().resolve("A.framework/Libraries"), Paths.get("Versions/Current/Libraries"));
     Files.createSymbolicLink(myOlderDir.toPath().resolve("A.framework/Resources"), Paths.get("Versions/Current/Resources"));
+    Files.createDirectories(myOlderDir.toPath().resolve("Home/Frameworks"));
+    Files.createSymbolicLink(myOlderDir.toPath().resolve("Home/Frameworks/A.framework"), Paths.get("../../A.framework"));
 
     randomFile(myNewerDir.toPath().resolve("A.framework/Versions/A/Libraries/lib1.dylib"));
     randomFile(myNewerDir.toPath().resolve("A.framework/Versions/A/Libraries/lib2.dylib"));