How can I fix XP's copy madness?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dan Stephens
  • Start date Start date
D

Dan Stephens

XP is driving me buggy. When I drag a folder 'A' to a
second drive, and that drive already has a folder 'A', XP
creates a subfolder inside 'A' with the name 'A'.

I frequently backup files by dragging the whole folder
from C: to D:. When I drop the folder on D:\, I get the
same result as if I had dropped it onto D:\A. Then I
have to go down the entire tree and move folders and
files back up the tree into the proper place.

In the past, Windows 1.x thru 2K always asked if I wanted
to overwrite and then put the files where they belonged.
They changed the behavior, and now it is a pain!

Is there a setting in the registry, on a dialog or a tech
note that I can reference to fix this?

Thanx

Dan Stephens
remove the x's from the email address.
 
I don't think XP behaves any differently from other OS in this
respect.

You must be dropping the folder on the folder A icon - to avoid this
drop the folder on the disk drive letter or right click and Send To a
drive letter.

John A
 
Exactly.
-----------

| I don't think XP behaves any differently from other OS in this
| respect.
|
| You must be dropping the folder on the folder A icon - to avoid this
| drop the folder on the disk drive letter or right click and Send To a
| drive letter.
|
| John A
|
| On Thu, 6 Nov 2003 11:11:15 -0800, "Dan Stephens"
|
| >XP is driving me buggy. When I drag a folder 'A' to a
| >second drive, and that drive already has a folder 'A', XP
| >creates a subfolder inside 'A' with the name 'A'.
| >
| >I frequently backup files by dragging the whole folder
| >from C: to D:. When I drop the folder on D:\, I get the
| >same result as if I had dropped it onto D:\A. Then I
| >have to go down the entire tree and move folders and
| >files back up the tree into the proper place.
| >
| >In the past, Windows 1.x thru 2K always asked if I wanted
| >to overwrite and then put the files where they belonged.
| >They changed the behavior, and now it is a pain!
| >
| >Is there a setting in the registry, on a dialog or a tech
| >note that I can reference to fix this?
| >
| >Thanx
| >
| >Dan Stephens
| >remove the x's from the email address.
| >
|
 
Thanks for the response, but ...

I tried on Win 2K and I get the overwrite warning and no
nesting. I tried again on (actually twice ... once in
the tree and once in the explorer pane) and I don't get
the warning, but do get the duplicated nested tree.

Try it yourself.
Create a folder 'A' on Drive C:\.
Create a file 'B.txt' in folder 'A'.
Drag it to another drive and drop it on root ... say A:\.
Check that there is only the original contents there.
Drag it over to A:\ again ... be sure to drop it on the
drive letter, and not the folder.

Your file list will look like this:
A:\A <DIR>
A:\A\B.txt
A:\A\A <DIR>
A:\A\A\B.txt.

I've only been using Windows on a daily basis since V1.04
(back in 1986). I know the difference between dropping
in a folder and dropping on the drive. The first few
times it happened, I assumed that I was goofing it up.
It's not me. It has happened like this on every XP
machine I have used, and happened correctly on every
prior version of Windows. This has worked correctly in
every version through 2K. Now, someone has decided not
to risk overwriting things ... at least it appears that
way.
 
Well you didn't mention your expertise in your original post.

I tried what you suggested on both a floppy disk and CDRW and both
test worked as I expected - the second time I dragged the folder to
the drive I received a warning about overwriting - no nested tree.

Seems like there might be something wrong with your system

John A
 
John,

Thanks for confirming that it should work as expected.
Now, I just have to figure out what I am setting or
installing that is causing this strange mishap.

I apologize if I was misleading about my abilities. I
did mention that I have used all Windows versions since
1.x. I just didn't feel comfortable claiming expertise.
I develop Windows software and have been writing in C/C++
since 1984. Generally, I can find what is messing up my
machine, but I run into this same issue on several
machines. It must be something I am installing.

At least now, I know it can be correctly done.

Dan Stephens
 
As I typed, it occured to me that it must be something
dealing with the file system at a low level. I use
ZipMagic. I disabled it, and copying works as expected.
Now to go beat them up about it.

Thanks again.

Dan Stephens
 
Good to see your problem solved

John Allen

As I typed, it occured to me that it must be something
dealing with the file system at a low level. I use
ZipMagic. I disabled it, and copying works as expected.
Now to go beat them up about it.

Thanks again.

Dan Stephens
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