Knowledge Base

DIR/CHKDSK Behavior w/ More Than 32,768 Files in Subdirectory

Article ID: 119350

Article Last Modified on 11/19/1999

APPLIES TO

This article was previously published under Q119350

SYMPTOMS

The DIR and CHKDSK commands incorrectly report disk information on drives containing subdirectories with more than 32,767 entries. For specific examples, refer to the More Information section below.

WORKAROUND

The only workaround at this time is to move some files from the directory to another drive or subdirectory so that the total number of entries is fewer than 32,767.

MORE INFORMATION

DIR Command

  • If no filename or wildcard description is specified on the command line, DIR reports the total number of files in the subdirectory as 32,769. This number represents the total number of files or directories that DIR can see (32,767), plus the additional directories "." and "..".
  • If a file or directory name is specified on the command line, DIR behaves normally and successfully locates the file even if it is located beyond entry 32,767.
  • If a wildcard description is specified on the command line, DIR locates only the first file beyond entry 32,767 that matches the wildcard specification.

CHKDSK Command

  • Any files or subdirectories beyond entry 32,767 are incorrectly identified as lost allocation units by CHKDSK.

Additional query words: DIR CHKDSK 32767 4.01 5.00 6.00 6.2 6.21 6.22

Keywords: KB119350


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