KnowledgeBase Archive

An Archive of Early Microsoft KnowledgeBase Articles

View on GitHub

Q93582: DoubleSpace Err Msg: "There Are No More Drive Letters"

Article: Q93582
Product(s): Microsoft Disk Operating System
Version(s): MS-DOS:6.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): 
Last Modified: 19-NOV-1999

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft MS-DOS operating system version 6.0 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SYMPTOMS
========


You receive the following error message:

  There are no more drive letters reserved for dblspace to use.
  To add more, use the options selection from the tools menu.

CAUSE
=====

This error occurs when there are not enough drive letters available to
DoubleSpace, your DBLSPACE.INI file is missing or corrupted, or you have not
installed DoubleSpace on your hard disk and you are trying to mount a compressed
floppy disk.

WORKAROUND
==========

To work around this problem, follow the appropriate procedure below.

DoubleSpace Does Not Have Enough Drive Letters Available
--------------------------------------------------------

If there are no drive letters available for DoubleSpace to mount a drive, use the
following procedure to increase the "Last drive reserved for DoubleSpace's use"
setting.

1. To run DoubleSpace, type "dblspace" (without the quotation marks) at the
  command prompt.

2. From the Tools menu, choose Options.

3. Increase your "Last drive reserved for DoubleSpace's use" setting by at least
  one letter.

  NOTE: This procedure causes the host drive letter to change. If your Windows
  permanent swap file is located on that host drive, when you start Windows,
  you will receive an error message indicating that your permanent swap file is
  corrupted. To correct this problem, run Control Panel and reconfigure your
  permanent swap file for the new host drive.

Your DBLSPACE.INI file Is Missing or Corrupted
----------------------------------------------

Create a C:\DBLSPACE.INI file (where C is your startup disk) with a text editor
such as MS-DOS Editor. The DBLSPACE.INI file should contain the following two
lines:

  MaxRemovableDrives=2
  LastDrive=F

Your drive should now mount normally with a DBLSPACE /MOUNT command. For more
information on this command, type "help dblspace /mount" (without the quotation
marks) at the MS-DOS command prompt and then press ENTER.

NOTE: LastDrive= must be set to one letter beyond your last logical drive letter.
For example, if your last drive is E, use LastDrive=F in your DBLSPACE.INI
file.

You Are Attempting to Mount a Compressed Floppy Disk
----------------------------------------------------

To work around this problem, create a very small new DoubleSpace drive and then
delete it. This creates the DBLSPACE.INI file and loads DBLSPACE.BIN into memory
so you can read the compressed floppy disk.

To do this:

1. Type "dblspace" (without the quotation marks) at the MS-DOS command prompt.

2. Choose Custom Setup

3. Choose Create A New Empty Compressed Drive.

4. Select a drive you want to use.

5. When you are prompted for the amount of free space to leave on the drive,
  type a number larger than your hard disk drive.

6. After DoubleSpace tells you the maximum amount free space you can leave on
  your drive, type in that number. For example, if DoubleSpace tells you the
  maximum amount of free space is 95.55 megabytes (MB), leave 95 MB of free
  space.

7. Choose Continue.

8. Press the C key to create the compressed drive.

You can now mount the compressed floppy disk. If you do not want to keep the
DoubleSpace drive you created, type the following command at the MS-DOS command
prompt and restart your computer:

  " deltree /y dblspace.001 " (without the quotation marks)

As an alternative, you can also use the following procedure to create a
DBLSPACE.INI file and load DBLSPACE.BIN in memory:

1. Create a C:\DBLSPACE.INI file (where C is your startup disk) with a text
  editor such as MS-DOS Editor. The DBLSPACE.INI file should contain the
  following two lines:

     MaxRemovableDrives=2
     LastDrive=F

  NOTE: LastDrive= must be set to one letter beyond your last logical drive
  letter. For example, if your last drive is E, use LastDrive=F in your
  DBLSPACE.INI file.

2. Copy DBLSPACE.BIN from your DOS directory to the root directory of your
  startup (boot) drive. For example:

     copy c:\dos\dblspace.bin c:\ 

3. Restart your computer.

4. You can now mount the compressed disk in your floppy drive. For example, if
  the disk is in drive A, type the following at the command prompt:

  " dblspace /mount a: " (without the quotation marks)

Additional query words: 6.00 err msg compress double space

======================================================================
Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbMSDOSSearch kbMSDOS600
Version           : MS-DOS:6.0

=============================================================================

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY.