Maximum File Count in a Windows 10 Folder

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I generally organize things by file creation date and very broad subject.  As a result I have folders with lots and lots and lots of files.

I’m worried that at some high count I’ll break something.

A previous poster mentioned a limit of 16TB per folder, which with video MP4 files can conceivably be reached in due course.  Maybe Microsoft lists these size and count specs somewhere, but I’ve never run across them.

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LarryG wrote:

A previous poster mentioned a limit of 16TB per folder, which with video MP4 files can conceivably be reached in due course.  Maybe Microsoft lists these size and count specs somewhere, but I’ve never run across them.

Use File Explorer to go to the folder and highlight the folder (don’t open it). Select Copy Path on the Home tab above. You now have a copy of the Path to that folder.
Open an Admin Command window by opening a Run box (WinKey +R), enter cmd, press Ctrl + Shift + Enter at the same time and click Yes to the UAC query.
At the prompt enter dir /s enter one space after the s and right click to paste the Path to the folder so the command looks like this

dir /s “Path to folder”

Press the enter key and the actual total number of bytes stored in that folder is listed at the end of the report.

You can use the Data converter in the Calculator app to convert the bytes to units you better understand like TBs.

HTH, Dana:))

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Drcard:)) wrote:

actual total number of bytes stored in that folder is listed at the end of the report.

Doesn’t a simple right-click on folder > properties give the same results ?

LarryG wrote:

A previous poster mentioned a limit of 16TB per folder

There’s no practical limit on the combined sizes of all the files in a folder
Maximum number of files on disk: 4,294,967,295
Maximum number of files in a single folder: 4,294,967,295

https://askleo.com/is-there-a-limit-to-what-a-single-folder-or-directory-can-hold/

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Maximum number of files – number of directories and existing files and system files = somewhere north of 4 billion.
https://www.ntfs.com/ntfs_vs_fat.htm

cheers, Paul

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TechTango

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Be aware, while there’s no limit on the number of file/folders, there is a maximum character limit on how long the path to a file/folder can be of 256 characters.

You can increase that by setting the following value in the registry.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem]
"LongPathsEnabled"=dword:00000001

Registry file attached.

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wavy

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That character limit is only in Explorer. You can set longer paths but need to use other means to work with them.

cheers, Paul

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wavy

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LarryG wrote:

A previous poster mentioned a limit of 16TB per folder, which with video MP4 files can conceivably be reached in due course.  Maybe Microsoft lists these size and count specs somewhere, but I’ve never run across them.

My bad on that. That should have been 16 EB not TB. I don’t think any user will need to worry about any size limits.

HTH, Dana:))

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Alex5723

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