SHARE Does Not Need to Be Loaded in MS-DOS 5.0 or Later (66511)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 5.0
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 5.0a
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 6.0
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 6.2
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 6.21
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 6.22
This article was previously published under Q66511

SUMMARY

MS-DOS 4.x requires that SHARE.EXE be loaded on systems with logical drives larger than 32 megabytes (MB). This is not required for MS-DOS versions 5.0 and later.

The file control block (FCB) file-access method assumes 32 MB or smaller logical drives. In MS-DOS version 4.x, SHARE.EXE is loaded to change any attempted FCB file accesses into File Handle file accesses on large logical drives. Without SHARE.EXE, applications that attempt FCB file accesses fail. In MS-DOS versions 5.0 and later, translating FCB file accesses to File Handle accesses is performed by the MS-DOS kernel; therefore, loading SHARE.EXE is not necessary.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:5/12/2003
Keywords:KB66511
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