Using ATTRIB, CHKDSK, or DIR Command to Locate Files (89727)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 2.11
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 3.1
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 3.2
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 3.21
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 3.3
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 3.3a
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 4.0
  • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 4.01
  • 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 Q89727

SUMMARY

Locating files on your hard drive can be accomplished with the MS-DOS ATTRIB and CHKDSK commands. With MS-DOS 5.0, 6.0, or 6.2, you can locate files using the DIR command. These commands are also very useful when searching for multiple copies of a file.

MORE INFORMATION

The MS-DOS 5.0 and later internal command DIR provides an /S option that allows you to search all subdirectories for occurrences of the specified file. For example, the following command will find the COMMAND.COM file in every directory on the C drive:

dir c:\command.com /s

In MS-DOS versions 3.3 and later, the MS-DOS external command ATTRIB can be used to check for the existence of a file on a specific drive. The following command issued from the root directory (C:\>) will find the COMMAND.COM file in every directory on drive C and display their attributes:

attrib c:\command.com /s

NOTE: When using DIR or ATTRIB, you must specify that the search start at the root path in order to search the entire drive, or you can specify a pathname if you want to restrict the search to a certain branch of the directory tree.

With MS-DOS versions 2.0 and later, you can locate a file on a drive by using the MS-DOS external commands CHKDSK and FIND. For example, the following will find COMMAND.COM:

chkdsk c: /v | find "COMMAND.COM"

Note: Because the FIND command is case sensitive, you must specify the filename in capital letters. Also, because the pipe creates a temporary file, you must have write access to the current disk/directory.

When using the DIR and ATTRIB commands, issue the command from the root directory to include all locations of the file on a disk. When using the CHKDSK command, all copies of the file are displayed regardless of the directory you're in.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:5/12/2003
Keywords:KB89727
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