Deeply nested files crash Windows

[Guest]

What is the limit of how far files can be nested in XP Pro? I have a fully
updated, registered version running on a fiarly new Pentium 4 HP notebook.
Plenty of memory, etc. When I try to access a file that is nested 6-deep,
Windows Explorer crashes. This happens whether I'm trying to access that
file directly in Windows Explorer or through an app such as Word. 6-deep
nesting doesn't seem all that deep to me. Is 5 the limit? Or what might be
going on here?

 

[Kippesoep]

There is a limit to the maximum path length, being 260 characters. The depth
of the nesting isn't all that important. You can access the files by
shortening the directory names. So if you have:
C:\Documents and Settings\leemce\leemce's Documents\An Incredibly Long Name
For A Directory\An Even Longer Name For A Simple Folder\Yet Another
Unbelievably Long Name For A Folder That Is So Big That It Causes A Serious
Buffer Overflow In Explorer\Some Document.doc

Start simplifying it from the top down into something like:
C:\Documents and Settings\leemce\leemce's Documents\d1\d2\d3\Some
Document.doc

That should be accessible.

Regards,
Steven Don

 

[Guest]

Thanksery much for your response. I have tried to respond to this problem by
simplifying the nesting but I didn't have any path links anywhere close to
260 characters. Some are long -- approaching 100 characters -- but not 260.
I did appreciate your creativity in imagining my folder names, though! Any
other thoughts appreciated.

leemce

 

[Joshua Smith [MSFT]]

Hi leemce,

I can try looking at a debug dump of what is going on to see if I can
get an idea of what might be the cause. To do this download the 32bit
Windows debugging tools from http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/ddk/debugging/ .
Install the tools. It is helpful during the install to change the path to
something easier like "c:\debuggers" so there is less typing (and searching
for the files) in the future. Then run the ADPlus.vbs script from the
install directory. Here is how to do that.

1. Click Start -> Run.
2. Type cmd and hit Enter in the Run dialog box.
3. In the Command Window type (without quotes) "cd \debuggers" providing you
changed the path during setup, otherwise change to the directory you
installed to.
4. Type "adplus.vbs -crash -pn explorer.exe"
5. Perform the steps you normally do to crash Explorer.
6. Open the debuggers directory and send me the files in the folder named
"Crash_Mode_Date....."

Here is a link that explains the ADPlus.vbs script if you want more
information on it.
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q286/3/50.asp
If you need something explained more don't hesitate to ask. Just remove
"online" from my address.

Joshua Smith
OpenGL Test Lab
Microsoft