File and Volume specific commands, Hardlink management, Quota management, USN, Sparse file, Object ID and Reparse point management
Create a hardlink
FSUTIL hardlink create new_filename existing_filename
Eg : fsutil hardlink create c:\foo.txt c:\bar.txt
Create a new file of a specific size
FSUTIL file createnew filename
Eg : fsutil file createnew C:\testfile.txt 1000
Set the short NTFS filename for a file
FSUTIL file setshortname filename shortname
Eg : fsutil file setshortname C:\testfile.txt tes1.txt
Set the valid data length for a file
FSUTIL file setvaliddata filename datalength
Eg : fsutil file setvaliddata C:\testfile.txt 4096
Set the zero data for a file
FSUTIL file setzerodata offset=val length=val filename
offset : File offset, the start of the range to set to zeroes
length : Byte length of the zeroed range
Eg : fsutil file setzerodata offset=100 length=150 C:\Temp\sample.txt
List all drives (including mapped and Subst drives)
FSUTIL fsinfo drives
Query drive type for a drive
FSUTIL fsinfo drivetype volume pathname
Eg : fsutil fsinfo drivetype C:
ListLocalDrives.cmd - List all drives on the local computer
Query volume information
FSUTIL fsinfo volumeinfo volume pathname
Eg : fsutil fsinfo volumeinfo C:\
Query NTFS specific volume information
FSUTIL fsinfo ntfsinfo volume pathname
Eg : fsutil fsinfo ntfsinfo C:
Query file system statistics
FSUTIL fsinfo statistics volume pathname
Eg : fsutil fsinfo statistics C:
QUOTA Management
FSUTIL quota {query|disable|track|enforce } C:
FSUTIL quota violations
FSUTIL quota modify volume_pathname threshold limit user
Eg : fsutil quota modify c: 3000 5000 domain\user
Find a file by user name (if Disk Quotas are enabled)
FSUTIL file findbysid user directory
Eg : fsutil file findbysid scottb C:\users
File system options:
FSUTIL behavior query option
FSUTIL behavior set option
Where option is one of:
allowextchar {0|1} Allow extended characters in filenames
disablelastaccess {0|1} Don’t generate last-access times
quotanotify NumSeconds Log quota violations, default=3600 seconds
mftzone {1|2|3|4} Set MFT Zone, multiple of 200MB
Bugcheckoncorrupt {0|1} Enable bugcheck #
disablecompression {0|1} Disable compression #
disableencryption {0|1} Disable encryption #
encryppagingfile {0|1}
memoryusage {1|2} Paged-pool memory cache, 1=default #
symlinkevaluation L2L:{0|1} Local to local symbolic links #
symlinkevaluation L2R:{0|1} Local to remote symbolic links #
symlinkevaluation R2R:{0|1} Remote to local symbolic links #
symlinkevaluation R2L:{0|1} Remote to remote symbolic links #
DisableDeleteNotify {0|1} Delete notifications for all volumes#
disable8dot3 [volumePath] sfnNum
sfnNum is between 0 and 3
0 = Create short file names (default).
1 = don’t create short file names.
2 = Set 8.3 names on a per volume basis.
3 = Disable 8.3 names on all volumes except the system volume.
1 = enable option
0 = Disable option
# = Windows7/2008 option
Eg : FSUTIL behavior query disable8dot3
FSUTIL behavior set disablelastaccess 1
FSUTIL dirty query volume pathname
FSUTIL dirty set volume pathname
Marking a disk as dirty will prompt a Chkdsk at next boot
Eg : FSUTIL dirty query C:
Query a reparse point
FSUTIL reparsepoint query filename
Eg : fsutil reparsepoint query C:\Server
Delete a reparse point
FSUTIL reparsepoint delete filename
Eg : fsutil reparsepoint delete C:\Server
Edit an object identifier
FSUTIL objectid {query | set | delete | create}
Set sparse file properties
FSUTIL sparse queryflag filename
FSUTIL sparse setflag filename
FSUTIL sparse queryrange filename
FSUTIL sparse setrange filename
Eg : fsutil sparse queryflag "C:\My Test.txt"
Query the allocated ranges for a file
FSUTIL file queryallocranges offset=val length=val filename
offset : File Offset, the start of the range to query
length : Size, in bytes, of the range
Eg : fsutil file queryallocranges offset=1024 length=64 C:\Temp\sample.txt
To run FSUTIL, you must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group.
Sparse files provide a method of saving disk space for files that contain meaningful data as well as large sections of data composed of zeros. If an NTFS file is marked as sparse, then disk clusters are allocated only for the data explicitly specified by the application.
e.g. The Indexing Service, stores it's catalogs as sparse files.
With 8.3 filennames disabled you'll notice a performance improvement only with a large number of files (over 300,000) in relatively few folders where a lot of the filenames start with similar names. Not having 8.3 filenames available will prevent the use of old applications such as Word 2.0 and Excel 4.0
If you have a lot of small files, you may need a larger Master File Table to avoid MFT fragmentation:
FSUTIL behavior set mftzone 2 will reserve 25 % of the volume for the MFT.
1 = 12.5 %(default)
2 = 25%
3 = 37.5%
4 = 50%
This won't affect existing disk partitions, after changing the mftzone size, reboot the machine and create a new partition.
In Windows7 and Server 2008 the mft zone is allocated in blocks of 200MB:
1 = 200 MB (default)
2 = 400 MB
3 = 600 MB
4 = 800 MB
Increasing the MFT zone does not decrease the disk space available for data files.
The last access time attribute of NTFS can slow performance, if you disable it, the time set will simply be the Creation Time.
FSUTIL behavior set disablelastaccess 1
Bugs
FSUTIL outputs a NULL character (not a space) after every drive specifier, this may cause difficulty when piping the output of fsutil into other commands (particularly FOR), see this forum thread for more detail.
Some features in fsutil are reported to not work correctly under FAT or FAT32 volumes e.g. FSUTIL dirty query.
“You can tune a file system, but you can't tune a fish” ~ Sun man page for tunefs
Related:
Q982018 - FSUTIL update - compatibility with Advanced Format Disks
CACLS - Change file permissions
CHKNTFS - Check the NTFS file system
DevCon - Device Manager Command Line Utility
DIRUSE - Display disk usage
DISKSHADOW - Volume Shadow Copy Service
Q174619 - MFT How NTFS reserves space for its Master File Table
Q961095 - MFT Master File Table zone reservation in Vista and Server 2008
Q286164 - Hard Links and System Restore
Q249734 - Backup Software, RSM and file last access date
© Copyright SS64.com 1999-2013
Some rights reserved