File Manager Can Delete All Data on a Logical Drive

• Microsoft Windows operating system versions 3.0, 3.0a

SUMMARY

When using File Manager included with Windows 3.0 or 3.0a, it is possible to delete all data on a logical drive (either floppy or hard drive).

NOTE: This problem does not occur in later versions of Windows.

MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

NOTE: The following steps will delete all the data on your logical drive. Be sure to back up your drive before performing these steps.

1. Run File Manager and select the [..] entry in a directory one level down from the root.

2. From the File menu, choose Delete. Because [..] always refers to the parent directory, File Manager will interpret this as a request to delete everything on a logical drive, proceeding to delete all files and all subdirectories, and even IO.SYS and MSDOS.SYS if these exist.

Reasons for Behavior

This behavior can seemingly "spontaneously" happen if the following circumstances apply:

1. [..] was inadvertently highlighted prior to exercising the Delete command.

2. Confirm On Delete and Confirm On Subtree Delete are not selected in the dialog box that appears when you choose Confirmation from the Options menu.

       File Manager would otherwise generate warnings about the deletions
       that would occur.
   

Safely Deleting All the Files in a Directory

From the File menu, choose Select All to select all of the files in a directory. This command will not select the [..] entry.