Microsoft KB Archive/867525

= You receive a &quot;The file or directory is corrupt and unreadable&quot; error message when you move and rename files in Windows Server 2003 =

Article ID: 867525

Article Last Modified on 7/24/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Web Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (32-bit x86)
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition

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SYMPTOMS
When you use one or more programs to move files and to rename those files, you may experience both of the following symptoms:  You occasionally receive the following error message:

The file or directory is corrupt and unreadable. Please run the Chkdsk utiltity.

 If you run the Chkdsk.exe tool, the Chkdsk.exe tool does not report any problems with the hard disk or with the file indexes.



CAUSE
This problem may occur if you are running Microsoft Windows Server 2003 on a computer that has multiple central processing units (CPUs). A race condition may occur where two separate threads rename and move a particular file in the NTFS file sytem at the same time. This problem occurs because NTFS incorrectly determines that the name of a parent folder does not change when NTFS opens a file. For example, one thread might rename a file at the same time that the other thread moves the same file. NTFS then tries to remove a link that no longer exists to the file. Therefore, NTFS generates the error message that is listed earlier in this article.



Hotfix information
A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem, submit a request to Microsoft Online Customer Services to obtain the hotfix. To submit an online request to obtain the hotfix, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=6294451

Note If additional issues occur or any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. To create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Prerequisites
No prerequisites are required to install this hotfix.

Restart requirement
You must restart your computer to apply the changes after you install this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information
This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information
The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Windows Server 2003, 32-bit editions
  Date         Time   Version       Size     File name 07-Jun-2004 15:57  5.2.3790.181  619,008  Ntfs.sys

Windows Server 2003, 64-bit editions
  Date         Time   Version       Size       File name --  07-Jun-2004  16:02  5.2.3790.181  1,694,208  Ntfs.sys



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the &quot;Applies to&quot; section of this article.



MORE INFORMATION
For additional information about the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

824684 Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates

Keywords: kbqfe kbhotfixserver kbbug kbfix kbwinserv2003presp1fix KB867525

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