Windows NT 3.1 to HP LM/X 1.4 Long Filename Problems

• Microsoft Windows NT operating system version 3.1
• Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1

SYMPTOMS

Microsoft Windows NT 3.1 systems cannot see any files in a directory on a Hewlett-Packard (HP) LM/X 1.4 server if any file in the directory contains a period (or "dot") followed by more than seven characters. If you use the "dir" command to check the contents of the directory, you will receive the following message:

   File Not Found.

CAUSE

HP LM/X 1.4 systems negotiate to Server Message Block (SMB) Specification Ext 2.0 (LAN Manager 1.x), which doesn't support long filenames. When speaking this down-level protocol, Windows NT 3.1 does not set bit 4 of Byte 9 of its SMBs. This bit is defined as follows:

   flags (smb_flg) bit 4:

   "When on, all paths sent to the server by the consumer are already in
   the canonicalized format used by OS/2. This means that file/directory
   names are in upper case, are valid characters and backslashes are used
   as separators."

STATUS

A fixed, untested version of the RDR.SYS driver is available from Microsoft Product Support Services.

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT and Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1. We will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.