PRB: F1914, F1043, C1041 Errors, Causes and Resolutions

• Microsoft FORTRAN for MS-DOS, version 4.0, 4.01, 4.1, 5.0, 5.1
• Microsoft FORTRAN PowerStation for MS-DOS, versions 1.0 and 1.0a

SYMPTOMS

Compiling an application causes the compiler to generate the following messages:

   fatal error F1914: cannot open internal files

   fatal error F1043: cannot open compiler intermediate file

   fatal error C1041: cannot open compiler intermediate file -
      no more files

CAUSE

There are several consistent causes for these errors:

• The TMP environment variable is set incorrectly
• The FILES= parameter is set incorrectly
• The hard disk is full

RESOLUTION

Verify the following:

• That the TMP environment variable specifies a valid directory on a drive that has sufficient free space.
• On versions of MS-DOS prior to version 3.3, that the FILES=20 statement appears in the CONFIG.SYS file.
• On MS-DOS versions 3.3 and later, that the FILES= statement specifies a sufficient number of file handles.
• That the CHKDSK utility does not indicate any problems with the file allocation table (FAT).

MORE INFORMATION

The C1041 error should be F1041, the text of the error message is incorrect.

The text below provides more information about the specific causes of these error messages.

Causes Related to the TMP Environment Variable

The FORTRAN compiler and the utilities create temporary files by prepending the contents of the TMP environment variable to a generated file name. Any problems with the contents of the TMP environment variable can produce the symptoms listed above.

The TMP environment variable may specify a directory that does not exist. Because many disk backup programs do not save the location of empty directories, this cause is a prime candidate if a disk restore was done recently.

If the TMP environment variable specifies a directory on a virtual RAM drive, you must create the directory each time the computer reboots.

If the TMP environment variable contains spaces, if the TMP environment variable specifies more than one directory, or if a semicolon (;) terminates the directory specification, these problems can occur.

Causes Related to the FILES= Specification

The FILES= parameter in the CONFIG.SYS file specifies the number of available file handles. If the number of available file handles is too low then the compiler or the utilities will be unable to open required temporary files. If the FILES= statement is missing from CONFIG.SYS, insufficient file handles may be available.

In versions of MS-DOS prior to version 3.3, the maximum number of file handles is 20. If the FILES= statement specifies a number greater than 20, MS-DOS versions prior to version 3.3 create eight file handles, the default value. Because MS-DOS uses five file handles for overhead, only three file handles are available for application use in this condition.

If spaces surround the equals (=) sign in the FILES= statement, MS-DOS may ignore the statement and create the default number of file handles.

Causes Related to the Hard Disk

If the TMP environment variable specifies a location that has insufficient disk space, or if the file allocation table (FAT) is corrupted, the compiler or the utilities may not be able to create any temporary files.

If the TMP environment variable specifies a location on a virtual RAM drive, not enough space may be available to create temporary files. This can easily occur if the intermediate files for a software build are stored on the RAM drive. As the process creates object modules and executable files, less room remains on the drive to store temporary files.