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How to Disable the 8.3 Name Creation on NTFS Partitions

Article ID: 121007 - View products that this article applies to.

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. An 8.3-compliant file name refers to MS-DOS file-naming conventions. These conventions restrict file names to eight characters and restrict optional extensions to three characters.

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, some applications (16-bit, 32-bit, or 64-bit) may not be able to find files and directories with long filenames.

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More information

Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012

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

This operation takes effect immediately (no reboot required).

Notes:
When a volume is not specified the operation updates the registry value:

0 - Enable 8dot3 name creation on all volumes on the system
1 - Disable 8dot3 name creation on all volumes on the system
2 - Set 8dot3 name creation on a per volume basis
3 - Disable 8dot3 name creation on all volumes except the system volume

When a volume is specified the operation updates the individual volume's on disk flag. This operation is only meaningful if the registry value is set to 2.

0 - Enable 8dot3 name creation on this volume
1 - Disable 8dot3 name creation on this volume

For more information on FSUTIL.EXE 8dot3name, visit the following TechNet article:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff621566.aspx

(http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff621566.aspx)

For more information on the registry setting to disable 8.3 names, visit the following TechNet article:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc778996.aspx

(http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc778996.aspx)

Windows XP and Windows Server 2003

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.

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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