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Q82270: ATTRIB Command May Inadvertently Remove File Attributes

Article: Q82270
Product(s): Microsoft Disk Operating System
Version(s): MS-DOS:5.x,6.0,6.2,6.21,6.22
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): 
Last Modified: 17-DEC-2000

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft MS-DOS operating system versions 5.0, 5.0a, 6.0, 6.2, 6.21, 6.22 
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SYMPTOMS
========

The following MS-DOS command removes ALL attributes (read-only, hidden, system,
archive) from ALL files in the current directory:

  c:\dos\attrib , (ATTRIB comma)

As a consequence, if issued from the root directory, the following command:

  c:\dos\attrib , /s

removes ALL attributes from ALL files in ALL directories on the current drive.

STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in MS-DOS versions 5.0, 5.0a, 6.0,
6.2, 6.21, and 6.22. We are researching this problem and will post new
information in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION
================

Both of the following commands remove all file attributes in the current
directory:

  c:\dos\attrib ,

  c:\dos\attrib *.* -r -s -h -a

Additional query words: 6.22 5.00 6.00 5.00a

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Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbMSDOSSearch kbMSDOS621 kbMSDOS622 kbMSDOS620 kbMSDOS600 kbMSDOS500 kbMSDOS500a
Version           : MS-DOS:5.x,6.0,6.2,6.21,6.22

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