Code (Transcript calls of mine) open: fileName forWrite: writeMode "Open the file with the given name. If writeMode is true, allow writing, otherwise open the file in read-only mode." | f | f := fileName asVmPathName. Transcript log: 'File:', f. fileID := StandardFileStream retryWithGC:[self primOpen: f writable: writeMode] until:[:id| id notNil] forFileNamed: fileName. fileID ifNil: [ ' > Cannot get fileID' logCr. ^ nil]. "allows sender to detect failure" (' > Got fileID: ', fileID printString) logCr. name := fileName. self register. rwmode := writeMode. buffer1 := String new: 1. self enableReadBuffering I have a ton of files to open. And some were slow to return a problem. After digging, I got to the method above. Now at one moment, I get nil fileIDs. What is that retryWithGC: until: thing??? retryWithGC: execBlock until: testBlock forFileNamed: fullName "Re-implemented to only force GC if a file with the given name exists" | blockValue foundIt | blockValue := execBlock value. (testBlock value: blockValue) ifTrue:[^blockValue]. "See if we have a file with the given name" foundIt := self registry keys "hold on strongly for now" anySatisfy:[:file| file name sameAs: fullName]. foundIt ifFalse:[^blockValue]. Smalltalk garbageCollectMost. blockValue := execBlock value. (testBlock value: blockValue) ifTrue:[^blockValue]. Smalltalk garbageCollect. ^execBlock value. Huhhhhh, yeah, some lookup going on in a registry... and GCs? For file opens? I am doing these opens in a webapp, what I want is to know if the file is there or not and fail fast, not have all of this thing (debugging kind of nightmarish...) I have tested with 100 files and of course it all works since I get the IDs back from the registry. But at one point, it all fails. Registry full? What to do here? TIA Phil