Microsoft KB Archive/96083

= DoubleSpace Err Msg: Drive Is Too Fragmented to Resize =

Article ID: 96083

Article Last Modified on 11/21/1999

-

APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft MS-DOS 6.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 6.2 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 6.21 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 6.22 Standard Edition

-



This article was previously published under Q96083



This information applies to both Microsoft DoubleSpace and Microsoft DriveSpace. For MS-DOS 6.22, use DRVSPACE in place of DBLSPACE for commands and filenames.



SYMPTOMS
When you try to resize a DoubleSpace drive, you may receive the following error message

Drive  is too fragmented to resize. Before resizing drive , defragment it by typing DEFRAG.EXE /H /Q : at the MS-DOS command prompt.

where  is the drive letter of the compressed drive.



CAUSE
If running DEFRAG /H /Q : does not correct this problem, one or more of the following statements apply to your system:


 * You have a system file located at the end of your DoubleSpace drive (possibly IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS, or a system file created by a delete- tracking, disk image, erase protect, or format protection program).
 * You have a bad sector on your host drive near the end of the DoubleSpace compressed volume file (CVF).
 * Software installed on your system uses a copy-protection schemes that use clusters marked as &quot;bad&quot; to store data.

The following programs write system files at the end of a drive and therefore commonly cause the error message noted above:   Program Name                  Program File Name      System File Created

Microsoft MS-DOS Mirror          MIRROR.COM              MIRORSAV.FIL Central Point Mirror             MIRROR.COM              MIRORSAV.FIL Symantec Norton Image            IMAGE.EXE               IMAGE.IDX Symantec Norton Format Recover   FR.EXE                  FRECOVER.IDX Microsoft MS-DOS 5.0 Undelete    MIRROR.COM              PCTRACKR.DEL Microsoft MS-DOS 6.0/6.2 Undelete - Delete Tracker                UNDELETE.EXE            PCTRACKR.DEL - Delete Sentry                 UNDELETE.EXE            CONTROL.FIL Central Point Undelete - Delete Tracker                UNDELETE.EXE            PCTRACKR.DEL - Delete Sentry                 UNDELETE.EXE            CONTROL.FIL



RESOLUTION
If you know some of your software is copy-protected, follow the instructions in the &quot;Copy-Protected Software Is Installed on the Computer&quot; section below.

If you are not using copy-protected software, use the following steps:

 If you are running MS-DOS 6.2, run ScanDisk on your host drive. For example, type scandisk : /surface at the MS-DOS command prompt and then press ENTER. If you are running MS-DOS 6.0, unmount the DoubleSpace-compressed drive and run a third-party surface scan product, such as Symantec's Norton Utilities Norton Disk Doctor (NDD.EXE) or Central Point Software's DiskFix.

If the surface-scan program detects and corrects a bad cluster, you should be able to resize your drive. If you still cannot resize the drive, continue following this procedure. Use the DIR command to search for hidden system files on the DoubleSpace-compressed drive. For example, if your DoubleSpace- compressed drive is drive C, type dir c: /s /as /p at the MS-DOS command prompt and then press ENTER. Use ATTRIB to remove the file attributes on the system files you find in step 2. For example, if you have a Mirror file on drive C, type the following at the MS-DOS command prompt and then press ENTER:

attrib -r -s -h c:\mirorsav.fil

NOTE: If the system files you find are used by a delete-tracking program (refer to the table in the CAUSE section), you need to reboot your computer without loading the corresponding program file before you change the file attributes on the system file. To do so, reboot your computer and press F5 when the &quot;Starting MS-DOS...&quot; prompt is displayed.</li> Run Microsoft Defragmenter.</li></ol>

You should now be able to resize the DoubleSpace-compressed drive.

If you were able to successfully resize the DoubleSpace-compressed drive, reset the file attributes on the system file addressed in step 3. For example, type the following at the MS-DOS command prompt and then press ENTER:

attrib +r +s +h c:\mirorsav.fil

If you were not able to resize the DoubleSpace-compressed drive, edit the DBLSPACE.INI file and increase the MaxFileFragments setting by using the following steps:

<ol> Remove the Read-Only, System, and Hidden file attributes on the DBLSPACE.INI file. For example, if drive H is your host drive, type the following at the MS-DOS command prompt and press ENTER:

attrib -r -s -h h:\dblspace.ini

NOTE: To determine which drive is your host drive, type dblspace /list at the MS-DOS command prompt and then press ENTER.</li> Using MS-DOS Editor, edit the DBLSPACE.INI file and increase the value for MaxFileFragments; 2000 is a good number to try.</li> Save the DBLSPACE.INI file and exit MS-DOS Editor.</li> Restart your computer and try to resize the drive.</li></ol>

Copy-Protected Software Is Installed on the Computer
If you are using copy-protected software, you may be able to work around this problem by using a third-party disk-edit program, such as Symantec's Norton Utilities or Central Point Software's PC Tools, to change the cluster's status from &quot;bad&quot; to unused (that is, change the status from FFF7 to 0). However, this usually leaves the third-party copy-protected software unusable. If possible, uninstall the third-party copy-protected software, resize the DoubleSpace drive, and then reinstall the copy- protected software. For more information about removing your software's copy-protection scheme, contact the vendor of the software.

<div class="moreinformation_section">

MORE INFORMATION
Decreasing the size of a compressed drive causes the file allocation table (FAT) to be truncated. If a FAT entry past the truncation point is marked as anything other than &quot;free,&quot; DoubleSpace displays the error noted above. To maintain compatibility with copy-protection schemes and programs that use clusters marked as &quot;bad&quot; to store data, DoubleSpace does not shrink the FAT past a &quot;bad&quot; cluster.

The Symantec and Central Point products included here are manufactured by vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.

Additional query words: 6.00 6.20 6.21 6.22 3rdparty dblspace double space third party third-party hidden

Keywords: KB96083

-

[mailto:TECHNET@MICROSOFT.COM Send feedback to Microsoft]

© Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.