SUPPORT / SAMPLES & SAS NOTES
Problem Note 62333: A DATA step fails with "ERROR: Rename of temporary member for libname.data-set-name.DATA failed"
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A DATA step in your SAS® program might fail with the following error:
ERROR: Rename of temporary member for libname.data-set-name.DATA failed.
The following error message is also written to the Microsoft Windows Application Event Log:
SAS Error Event: hc_disk_rename: File already exists while renaming the file: c:\full_path_to_file
Return code from system: 183
Return code from system: 183
The following text defines the 183 Microsoft return code: "ERROR_ALREADY_EXISTS 183 (0xB7) Cannot create a file when that file already exists."
Typically, the data set name that appears in the error message is a name that was recycled from a previous step or from a subsequent iteration. This intermittent error can be caused by one of the following types of third-party applications or system issues:
- Antivirus software
- Backup software
- Security software
- Temporary problems reading from disk
Workaround
- Identify the software that is interfering with the SAS I/O operation. The file extension or the directory in the error message (what is shown in place of full_path_to_file in the error example) must be excluded within the interfering application.
- Modify the SAS program so that a new name is used each time a data set is created.
Click the Hot Fix tab in this note to access the hot fix for this issue.
The hot fix for SAS® 9.4 TS1M5 adds the ability to retry the rename operation.
Operating System and Release Information
| Product Family | Product | System | Product Release | SAS Release | ||
| Reported | Fixed* | Reported | Fixed* | |||
| SAS System | Base SAS | Microsoft® Windows® for x64 | 9.2 | 9.4_M6 | 9.2 TS1M0 | 9.4 TS1M6 |