Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!hal!cwruecmp!neoucom!wtm
From: wtm@neoucom.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Hard Drive dir problem
Message-ID: <621@neoucom.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 9-Jul-87 10:09:38 EDT
Article-I.D.: neoucom.621
Posted: Thu Jul  9 10:09:38 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 12-Jul-87 07:40:59 EDT
References: <3774@garfield.UUCP> <2684@mtgzy.UUCP>
Organization: Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine
Lines: 21
Keywords: flashing lights
Summary: DOS is looking at the FAT


Apologies if the answer is already out on the net, but I haven't
seen the resonse at our site yet.

A long pause upon doing the first "DIR" command on a drive is
usually due to DOS scanning the FAT (file allocation table) to
count the number of secotrs that are used and unused.  You'll note
that the pregnant pause happens just before the line at the end of
the directory listing, "xx FILES nnnnnnn BYTES FREE".

If you have a "BUFFERS = nn" line in your CONFIG.SYS file, the
space available is cached in RAM by DOS, thus subsequent DIR
connands do not require scanning the FAT.

The poster also asked about PCTOOLS and NU.  Both of these programs
look at the fat themselves, keeping their information separate from
what DOS thinks about the disk.

Hope this is of use.
Bill
(wtm@neoucom.UUCP)