Slow Performance on NTFS with Long Filenames

ID: q120363

The information in this article applies to:

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

SYMPTOMS

Using similar long filenames on NTFS volumes may cause some I/O operations to slow dramatically. For example, if a directory on an NTFS volume has 10,000 files, each 32 characters long, with the first eight characters identical, file operations such as the DIR command can slow to a crawl.

CAUSE

This is a result of the algorithm used to generate 8.3 filenames (8- character names with 3-character suffixes). There is no specific number of similar files that downgrades performance. It varies.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT and Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.10. We are researching this problem and will post new information in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

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