[comp.sys.ibm.pc] MS-DOS 3.1

steve@wintermute.ucsd.edu ({Darkavich}) (12/28/89)

I have discovered that after using MS-Dos 3.1 for a while, that my floppies
have developed a problem.  The problem is that the manual specificly says
that the file entry limitation is 255 files.  every disk I have stops at
112 files.  I cann't figure this out.  Is this a problem with 3.1 or could
it be a corrupt version??  All help is appreciated.  
		Thanks,
			Steve Misrack
			smisrack@ucsd.edu

LC.YRS@forsythe.stanford.edu (Richard Stanton) (12/28/89)

In article <10632@ucsd.Edu>,
steve@wintermute.ucsd.edu ({Darkavich}) writes:
>
>I have discovered that after using MS-Dos 3.1 for a while, that my floppies
>have developed a problem.  The problem is that the manual specificly says
>that the file entry limitation is 255 files.  every disk I have stops at
>112 files.  I cann't figure this out.  Is this a problem with 3.1 or could
>it be a corrupt version??  All help is appreciated.

It sounds like you are just running into the limit imposed on the
number of entries in the root directory of your disks. Depending
on the formatting program, this limit is usually either 112 or 224
(at least these numbers ring a large bell in my mind).

You can get around this simply by putting files in subdirectories,
since there is no limit on the number of files in a subdirectory. Of
course, you can only have up to 112 subdirectories of your root
directory, but I don't imagine this will be a problem.

Richard Stanton

pstanton@gsb-what.stanford.edu

tim@fortytwo.UUCP (Tim Baker) (12/28/89)

In article <10632@ucsd.Edu> steve@wintermute.ucsd.edu ({Darkavich}) writes:
>
>I have discovered that after using MS-Dos 3.1 for a while, that my floppies
>have developed a problem.  The problem is that the manual specificly says
>that the file entry limitation is 255 files.  every disk I have stops at
>112 files.  I can't figure this out.  Is this a problem with 3.1 or could
>it be a corrupt version??  All help is appreciated.  

Info from 3.1 DOS manual:

Maximum # of files
  in a directory		Type of Disk
------------------		------------
	64			single-sided diskette	160 KB
	112			double-sided diskette	360 KB
	224			high capacity diskette	1.2 MB
	 ?			"The number of files on a hard disk depends
			 	on the size of the DOS partition"*

Hope this helps!   :-)

* Honeywell MS-DOS** 3.1
** MS-DOS is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation

-- 
= Tim Baker  | think!fortytwo!tim  or   | The trick of the dreamer is keeping  =
= 	     | uunet!hbiso!fortytwo!tim | yourself from the blues. Steve Perry =

leonard@bucket.UUCP (Leonard Erickson) (12/28/89)

steve@wintermute.ucsd.edu ({Darkavich}) writes:

>I have discovered that after using MS-Dos 3.1 for a while, that my floppies
>have developed a problem.  The problem is that the manual specificly says
>that the file entry limitation is 255 files.  every disk I have stops at
>112 files.  I cann't figure this out.  Is this a problem with 3.1 or could
>it be a corrupt version??  All help is appreciated.  

The "255 files" limit is a limit on the number of *open* files. And it'd
be difficult to get close to it.

What you've run into is a limit on the number of *directory entries* for
a root directory. The root directory of any disk has a fixed size. For
a 360k floppy that size limits it to 112 files. A hard disk has a 512
file limit. I forget what the limits are for other sizes of floppies.

There's nothing wrong with your system. You'll just have to create
a subdirectory on the floppy and stick the files *there*. Subdirectories
arte only limited by avaialable disk sppace. Do note that both volume
labels and subdirectories use up slots in in the directory.
-- 
Leonard Erickson		...!tektronix!reed!percival!bucket!leonard
CIS: [70465,203]
"I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools.
Let's start with typewriters." -- Solomon Short

fredex@cg-atla.UUCP (Fred Smith) (12/28/89)

In article <10632@ucsd.Edu> steve@wintermute.ucsd.edu ({Darkavich}) writes:
>
>I have discovered that after using MS-Dos 3.1 for a while, that my floppies
>have developed a problem.  The problem is that the manual specificly says
>that the file entry limitation is 255 files.  every disk I have stops at
>112 files.  I cann't figure this out.  Is this a problem with 3.1 or could
>it be a corrupt version??  All help is appreciated.  
>		Thanks,
>			Steve Misrack
>			smisrack@ucsd.edu




The number of files on a volume is set at the time it is formatted, and differs
 with volume type. I seem to recall that the limit for a 360k floppy IS 112
files.

Fred