Error Removing SUBSTed Directories (72187)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 4.0
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 4.01
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 5.0
This article was previously published under Q72187

SUMMARY

When attempting to delete a directory that has been made into a virtual drive, using the SUBST command from MS-DOS Shell that came with MS-DOS versions 4.0, 4.01, 4.01a, and 5.0, you get the following message:
System integrity violated. You should exit.
If the directory has been SUBSTed, the message itself is an error in Shell, and you can continue working within the shell without having to exit.

MORE INFORMATION

If the error occurs when deleting a directory, do the following:

  1. If you know for sure that the directory has been SUBSTed, the error can be ignored. However, the directory still needs to be unSUBSTed before it can be deleted. See step 2c.
  2. If you are not sure if the directory has been SUBSTed, do the following:

    1. Exit Shell immediately.
    2. Type SUBST at the command line. This will list all the SUBSTed directories.
    3. If the directory in question is present, it first has to be unSUBSTed before it can be deleted. Type SUBST <DRIVE>:/D at the command line to unSUBST. You can now return to Shell and delete the directory.
    4. If the directory in question is not in the SUBST list, system integrity has indeed been violated, and you should immediately reboot your system.
This error occurs because the C-runtime sets _dos_errno to EBUSY, which Shell cannot interpret. It, therefore, maps that error number to the message "System Integrity Violated...".

There is an analogous error when trying to remove a SUBSTed directory from the command line. The message is the following
Attempt to remove current directory - <directory>
even though the directory is not your current directory. It is, however, the current directory for the SUBSTed drive.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/15/2003
Keywords:KB72187
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.