Obscure DOS question

[Scott Stevens]

On Tue, 29 Mar 2005 07:22:39 -0800 (PST)
Vintage Computer Festival <vcf at siconic.com> wrote:

> On Mon, 28 Mar 2005, Jim Leonard wrote:
> 
> > Vintage Computer Festival wrote:
> > > MS-DOS 3.3 has a limit of 512 entries in the root directory.  I
> > > have a need to put more than this.
> >
> > I seem to remember that the limit is actually 224.
> 
> It's definitely 512 on DOS 3.3.
> 
> > > Another question:
> > >
> > > When using the SUBST command in MS-DOS, you cannot aparently
> > > substitute the C: drive.  I seem to recall that MS-DOS 6.0 allowed
> > > this, although I might be confusing that with the ability of
> > > LANtastic to redirect the C: drive to a network drive.
> >
> > Checking 6.22 right here... works fine (I did "subst d: c:\"). So
> > yes, you can.
> 
> Hmm, cool.
> 
> > > At any rate, what I'm trying to do is overcome the limit of 512
> > > file entries in an MS-DOS 3.3 root directory.
> >
> > SUBST won't help you do this unless you don't use a floppy at all,
> > like:
> >
> > 	subst a: c:\temp
> >
> > ...which works fine.
> 
> I'm not using floppies at all.  This is with hard disks.
> 
> > My question is:  Why?
> 
> I'm restoring files from VHS backup tapes.  The files were all
> originally stored and backed up from the root directory.  On the tapes
> I used to test my process, none had more than 512 files archived.  The
> backup software only restores *to the same exact drive and path* that
> the files were archived from (in this case C:\).  I'm running into
> some tapes that have more than 512 files backed up frm the root
> directory.  These were done back in the 1980s.  I can't figure out how
> they did it, but there they are.
> 

Couldn't you use the DOS subst command to fake out the C: drive to some
higher-level folder, i.e. make your D:\scratch folder into the C: drive?
 Directories don't have the filesystem limits that the root directory of
C: does.

This of course, would 'map over' your C: drive (is that allowed by subst
?)