Article ID: 121007 - Last Review: December 3, 2007 - Revision: 3.5

How to Disable the 8.3 Name Creation on NTFS Partitions

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This article was previously published under Q121007

SUMMARY

The creation of 8.3 filenames and directories for all long filenames and directories on NTFS partitions may decrease directory enumeration performance. This article describes a method of disabling the 8.3 name creation on all NTFS partitions.

NOTE: Although disabling 8.3 name creation increases file performance under Windows NT, some 16-bit applications may not be able to find files and directories with long filenames.

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MORE INFORMATION

Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP

To disable the 8.3 name creation on all NTFS partitions, type fsutil.exe behavior set disable8dot3 1 at a command prompt, and then press ENTER.

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Windows 2000 and Windows NT

To disable the 8.3 name creation on all NTFS partitions, use the following steps: Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

Start Regedt32.exe and locate the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem
Select the NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation entry.

NOTE: By default, the value for this entry is set to 0.
On the Edit menu, click DWORD. Type a value of 1 in the Data field.
Click OK and then quit Regedt32.
Quit Windows NT and turn off your computer.
Restart your computer and Windows NT.

NOTE: The change to the NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation registry entry affects only files, folders, and profiles that are created after the change. Files that already exist are not affected.

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