Speed of File Creation Slows Down Linearly with Number of Files (214401)

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0

This article was previously published under Q214401

SYMPTOMS

The speed of file creation slows down linearly with the number of files on the volume. When you use a clean volume, it takes about 3 seconds to create 1,024 files; about 12 seconds with 1.2 million existing files; about 40 seconds with 4.4 million existing files; about 53 seconds with 5.9 million existing files; and about 85 seconds to create 1,024 files with 9.73 million files.

CAUSE

The cause was determined to be some ineffeciencies in the NTFS Master File Table (MFT) file creation process.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows NT 4.0. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

152734 How to Obtain the Latest Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in Windows NT version 4.0. This problem was first corrected in Windows NT version 4.0 Service Pack 5.

Modification Type:	Minor	Last Reviewed:	9/23/2005
Keywords:	kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbbug kbfix kbQFE KB214401