Renaming Files While Copying May Cause Corruption (103040)
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.1
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.1
- Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server 3.1
This article was previously published under Q103040 SYMPTOMS
With the Windows NT command prompt, if you use the COPY command to
copy a file from one directory to another, you cannot rename the file
simultaneously if you are using wildcards in the command line.
For example, if you have one file called TEST.EXE in a directory
called ATEST, and you want to rename the file to BINARY.EXE while
copying it, the file will be corrupted if you use the following
command line:
copy c:\atest\*.exe c:\binary.exe
The file will be partially copied, but will truncate at the first
instance of CTRL-Z (EOF) in the file, causing a corrupted file.
WORKAROUND
To work around this problem, use a /b switch in front of the source
file. This will correctly complete the copy and rename operation. For
example:
copy /b c:\atest\*.exe c:\binary.exe
Do not place the /b after the destination file. If you use a /b after
the destination file as in the following example, the destination file
will be corrupted:
copy c:\atest\*.exe c:\binary.exe /b
Also, using the following command is the best way to copy and rename a
file:
copy c:\atest\test.exe c:\binary.exe
STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 3.1
and Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1. We are researching this
problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge
Base as it becomes available.
| Modification Type: | Major | Last Reviewed: | 4/8/2004 |
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| Keywords: | KB103040 |
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