Using the UNDELETE Command in Windows 95

 Last reviewed: February 2, 1996
Article ID: Q142189
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows 95

SYMPTOMS

If you try to use the MS-DOS UNDELETE command in Windows 95, you may receive the following error message: 

   Windows has disabled direct disk access to protect long filenames.
   To override this protection, see the LOCK /? command for more
   information.

   The system has been halted. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart your
   computer.

CAUSE

The UNDELETE command requires direct access to the drive. You must lock the drive before you issue the UNDELETE command.

RESOLUTION

NOTE: The UNDELETE command runs in MS-DOS mode by default. You should run these commands in MS-DOS mode.

Lock the drive before you issue the UNDELETE command. To lock the drive, type 

   lock <x>:
where <x> is the letter of the drive you want to lock.

When you are done using the UNDELETE command, unlock the drive by typing 

   unlock <x>:
where <x> is the letter of the drive you want to unlock.

WARNING: Using the LOCK command enables direct disk access. A program that accesses the disk directly can destroy long file names. You should back up long file names before running a program that could harm them. To back up long file names, use the Lfnbk.exe program located in the Admin\Apptools\ Lfnbk folder on the Windows 95 CD-ROM. See the Lfnbk.txt file in the same folder for information about this program.

The Lfnbk.exe program is included in the CD-ROM version of Windows 95, but not in the floppy disk version. If you are using the floppy disk version of Windows 95 and you want to use Lfnbk.exe, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for information about the availability of Lfnbk.exe: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q135315
   TITLE     : CD-ROM Extras for Microsoft Windows 95 Upgrade

KBCategory: kbtool kberrmsg
KBSubcategory: win95
Additional reference words: 95

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Last reviewed: February 2, 1996
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