Technical Q&A

OPS26 - System Error 119 (5-October-1999)

Q: My customers report that my application is crashing with system error 119. What does it mean?

A: This error, defined in Errors.h as dsMustUseFCBAccessors, was introduced in Mac OS 9.0. In order for Apple to increase the maximum number of open files, we had to change the FCB structure and thus its length.

Software that calls the PowerPC low-memory accessor functions for the FCB table will now halt the system with this dsMustUseFCBAccessors (119) system error. Developers needing to access FCB data should do so using the appropriate routines, as described in DTS Technote TN 1184, “FCBs, Now and Forever.”