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From: dold@mitisft.Convergent.COM (Clarence Dold)
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.misc
Subject: Re: Limit on number of files per directory
Message-ID: <1555@mitisft.Convergent.COM>
Date: 27 Jul 90 23:34:07 GMT
References: <19528@orstcs.CS.ORST.EDU>
Distribution: na
Organization: Convergent Technologies, San Jose, CA
Lines: 23

in article <19528@orstcs.CS.ORST.EDU>, duvalj@bionette.cgrb.orst.edu (Joe Duval - Entomology) says:

> Is there a limit on files in DOS?  Is there a certain number that I should
> start worrying if I go above?

Along with the hard limits that other posters mention, there is also the
issue of performance.  You mention 'trouble' not failure.
There is a certain number of files, and the number is exact, although I can't
recall what or why, where MSDOS access almost dies.

My wife had ~300 files in one directory, which I split into 10 directories.
The difference was astounding.  I originally thought it was file fragmentation,
but it was directory size.  The system still worked with the outsize directory,
it just wasn't much fun.

Some other poster provided the exact number, along with the reason, and I've
forgotten both.

-- 
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