Preserving Long Filenames for Legacy Applications (Windows 95/98/Me)

Registry Guide for Windows
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Registry tweaks, tricks & hacks to optimize, enhance and secure Microsoft Windows.

Preserving Long Filenames for Legacy Applications (Windows 95/98/Me)
Category: Home > Windows > File System > Files and Shortcuts

Windows normally preserves the long filenames of files accessed by legacy applications. This functionality can be disabled if you are experiencing LFN errors with a legacy application.

Open your registry and find the key below.

Create a new Binary value, or modify the existing value called 'PreserveLongNames' using the settings below.

Exit your registry, you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect.


(Default)	REG_SZ	(value not set)
PreserveLongNames	REG_BINARY	00 00 00 00


	HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem

Settings:

System Key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem]
Name: PreserveLongNames
Type: REG_BINARY (Binary Value)
Value: (00 00 00 00 = disabled, ff ff ff ff = enabled)

Disclaimer: Modifying the registry can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. We cannot guarantee that problems resulting from modifications to the registry can be solved. Use the information provided at your own risk.

Last Modified: January 12, 1999

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