Recovery Console ATTRIB Reports "The Parameter Is Not Valid"

ID: Q230473

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server

SYMPTOMS

When you use the ATTRIB command in Recovery Console to add attributes to or remove attributes from a file, you may receive the following error message:

The parameter is not valid. Try /? for help.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if you specify more than one attribute to be added or removed. For example:

attrib -r -s -h boot.ini

This behavior can also occur if you use uppercase letters for the attribute to add or remove. For example:

attrib -R boot.ini

The ATTRIB command in Recovery Console supports setting only one attribute at a time using lowercase letters.

RESOLUTION

Set only one attribute per command, using lowercase letters. For example, to remove all the attributes from the Boot.ini file, issue the following three commands:

attrib -r boot.ini
attrib -h boot.ini
attrib -s boot.ini

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

The Attrib command has new functionality in Windows 2000 that allows you to set multiple attributes simultaneously. For example, you can use the following syntax To remove all the attributes:

Attrib -rsh boot.ini

or To add the read-only attribute and remove the system and hidden attributes:

Attrib +r-sh boot.ini

NOTE: Do not put spaces between the parameters.

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbtool
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb