Microsoft Knowledge Base

Disabling 8.3 Filenames on NTFS
Last reviewed: October 3, 1994
Article ID: Q121144
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows NT operating system version 3.1
  • Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1

SUMMARY

Disabling short name generation on an NTFS partition greatly increases directory enumeration performance, especially when individual directories contain many files/directories with non 8.3 filenames.

MORE INFORMATION

To disable short name generation use REGEDT32.

WARNING: Using the Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system- 

   wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT to correct
   them. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the
   use of the Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own
   risk.
In the Registry location: 

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem
change the value of the key: 

   NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation:REG_DWORD:0
from 0 to 1.

Note: This value controls the short name generation across all NTFS partitions in the system.

Additional reference words: prodnt
KBCategory: kbenv
KBSubCategory: ntregistry ntconfig

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Last reviewed: October 3, 1994
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