MS-DOS Error Codes

When one of the handle file functions fails with the carry flag set, or when a program calls Int 21H Function 59H (Get Extended Error Information) following a failed FCB function or other system service, one of the following error codes may be returned:

Value Meaning

MS-DOS version 2 error codes

01H Function number invalid

02H File not found

03H Path not found

04H Too many open files

05H Access denied

06H Handle invalid

07H Memory control blocks destroyed

08H Insufficient memory

09H Memory block address invalid

0AH (10) Environment invalid

0BH (11) Format invalid

0CH (12) Access code invalid

0DH (13) Data invalid

0EH (14) Unknown unit

0FH (15) Disk drive invalid

10H (16) Attempted to remove current directory

11H (17) Not same device

12H (18) No more files

Mappings to critical-error codes

13H (19) Write-protected disk

14H (20) Unknown unit

15H (21) Drive not ready

16H (22) Unknown command

17H (23) Data error (CRC)

18H (24) Bad request-structure length

19H (25) Seek error

1AH (26) Unknown media type

1BH (27) Sector not found

1CH (28) Printer out of paper

1DH (29) Write fault

1EH (30) Read fault

1FH (31) General failure

MS-DOS version 3 and later extended error codes

20H (32) Sharing violation

21H (33) File-lock violation

22H (34) Disk change invalid

23H (35) FCB unavailable

24H (36) Sharing buffer exceeded

25H—31H (37—49) Reserved

32H (50) Unsupported network request

33H (51) Remote machine not listening

34H (52) Duplicate name on network

35H (53) Network name not found

36H (54) Network busy

37H (55) Device no longer exists on network

38H (56) NetBIOS command limit exceeded

39H (57) Error in network adapter hardware

3AH (58) Incorrect response from network

3BH (59) Unexpected network error

3CH (60) Remote adapter incompatible

3DH (61) Print queue full

3EH (62) Not enough room for print file

3FH (63) Print file was deleted

40H (64) Network name deleted

41H (65) Network access denied

42H (66) Incorrect network device type

43H (67) Network name not found

44H (68) Network name limit exceeded

45H (69) NetBIOS session limit exceeded

46H (70) Temporary pause

47H (71) Network request not accepted

48H (72) Print or disk redirection paused

49H—4FH (73—79) Reserved

50H (80) File already exists

51H (81) Reserved

52H (82) Cannot make directory

53H (83) Fail on Int 24H (critical error)

54H (84) Too many redirections

55H (85) Duplicate redirection

56H (86) Invalid password

57H (87) Invalid parameter

58H (88) Net write fault

Under MS-DOS versions 3.0 and later, you can also use Int 21H Function 59H to obtain other information about the error, such as the error locus and the recommended recovery action.