Cannot Delete, Rename, or Move 386spart.par File

• Microsoft Windows 95

SYMPTOMS

You are unable to delete, rename, or move the 386spart.par file.

CAUSE

The previous version of Windows installed on your computer used a permanent swap file named 386spart.par. This file is often retained when you upgrade to Windows 95.

RESOLUTION

To delete the 386spart.par file and allow Windows 95 to use a dynamic swap file, follow these steps:

1. Restart the computer. Press the F8 key when you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, and then choose Safe Mode Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu.

2. At the command prompt, type the following lines, pressing ENTER after each line:

         cd windows
         edit system.ini
   

3. Disable any of the following lines you find in the [386Enh] section by placing a semicolon (;) at the beginning of the line:

         Pagingfile=<drive>386spart.par
         PermSwapDOSDrive=C
         PermSwapSizeK=<kilobytes>
   

   Make sure to note the drive specified for the "Pagingfile=" line.

4. Save and then close the System.ini file.

5. Type the following lines, pressing ENTER after each line:

         cd\ 
         deltree 386spart.par
   

   NOTE: If the 386spart.par file is located on a different drive from the Windows folder, first change to the drive specified on the "Pagingfile=" line by typing the following line and then pressing ENTER

         <drive>:
         
   

   where <drive>: is the drive letter. Then, type the two lines above.

6. Restart your computer normally.

To rename or move the 386spart.par file, follow these steps:

1. Restart the computer. Press the F8 key when you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, and then choose Safe Mode Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu.

2. At the command prompt, if the 386spart.par file is located on a drive other than drive C, type the following line and then press ENTER

         <drive>:
        
   

   where <drive>: is the drive on which the 386spart.par file is located.

3. Type the following line, and then press ENTER:

         attrib -r -h -s 386spart.par
   

4. To rename or move the 386spart.par file, use the appropriate method:

Rename

To rename the 386spart.par file, type the following line, and then press ENTER:

   ren 386spart.par 386spart.paa

Move

To move the 386spart.par file, type the following line, and press then ENTER

   move 386spart.par <drive>: <path>\<filename>

MORE INFORMATION

The 386spart.par file is the Windows 3.x permanent swap file. The 386spart.par file has a fixed size and must occupy contiguous clusters at a fixed location on the drive. The Spart.par file located in the Windows folder is the pointer file that tells Windows on which drive the 386spart.par file is located and how large it is. These two files provide virtual memory for Windows 3.x, which can be inherited by Windows 95 when you upgrade.

The default Windows 95 swap file (Win386.swp) is located in the Windows folder and can be non-contiguous. The Win386.swp file size changes dynamically with the demands from the system. Windows 95 creates this file at startup if the file is not found.

When you upgrade a Windows 3.x installation that uses a permanent swap file, Windows 95 may use the existing 386spart.par file as its swap file instead of creating the Win386.swp file. When Windows 95 uses the 386spart.par file, the file can grow in size if the system requires more virtual memory, but it can never shrink below the size defined by the "PermSwapSizeK=" line.