Need help moving/copying a sub folder to an external device

  • Thread starter Thread starter ECLiPSE 2002
  • Start date Start date
E

ECLiPSE 2002

I have a new Win 7 pc and am in the process of transfering folders
and files from my Win Xp SP3 to the Win 7 pc. I have had no problem
with moving and copying folders and files until I got to my Family
Genealogy master folder. One of the sub folders with multiple text and
image files refuses to move or copy to an external thumb drive. I have
used Easy Tranfer and that would not copy or move the sub folder and
also tried to manually drag and drop and copy and paste with the same
popup the tells me ..."cannot move and cannot copy file'.

All of the other sub folders in the Family Genealogy

Oddly, I am able to copy the subfolder to other locations on the XP pc
HDD but not to an external device.

I have also tried formating the thumb drives (I tried several) in both
FAT32 and NTFS but that doesn't work either.

Any suggestions would be appreciated,

Frank
 
I have a new Win 7 pc and am in the process of transfering folders
and files from my Win Xp SP3 to the Win 7 pc. I have had no problem
with moving and copying folders and files until I got to my Family
Genealogy master folder. One of the sub folders with multiple text and
image files refuses to move or copy to an external thumb drive. I have
used Easy Tranfer and that would not copy or move the sub folder and
also tried to manually drag and drop and copy and paste with the same
popup the tells me ..."cannot move and cannot copy file'.

All of the other sub folders in the Family Genealogy

Oddly, I am able to copy the subfolder to other locations on the XP pc
HDD but not to an external device.

I have also tried formating the thumb drives (I tried several) in both
FAT32 and NTFS but that doesn't work either.

Any suggestions would be appreciated,

Frank
Click to expand...



What is the exact error message?


Hard to help you without getting the proper info.
 
Thanks Philo for the response.

The subfolder that refuses to move or copy is found in C:\Family
Genealoly\Genealogy\Frank&Carmen Family
Histories\Appendices\Murphy_Hebert_ Lafond_Martineau.

"The Murphy_Hebert_Lafond_Martineau"is the subfolder that will not
move or copy all other subfolders will..

The message I get is a popup error message that simply says: ERROR
COPYING FILE OR FOLDER - there is a red circle with an x within and a
a line that says Cannot Copy Folder or alternately Cannot Move Folder
then an OK button.

I have also used Process Explorer hoping it would shed some light on
the problem but all it shows me is that the fault lies with Windows
Explorer.

This has me perplexed and a fix would sure be welcomed.

Frank
 
Thanks Philo for the response.

The subfolder that refuses to move or copy is found in C:\Family
Genealoly\Genealogy\Frank&Carmen Family
Histories\Appendices\Murphy_Hebert_ Lafond_Martineau.

"The Murphy_Hebert_Lafond_Martineau"is the subfolder that will not
move or copy all other subfolders will..

The message I get is a popup error message that simply says: ERROR
COPYING FILE OR FOLDER - there is a red circle with an x within and a
a line that says Cannot Copy Folder or alternately Cannot Move Folder
then an OK button.

I have also used Process Explorer hoping it would shed some light on
the problem but all it shows me is that the fault lies with Windows
Explorer.

This has me perplexed and a fix would sure be welcomed.

Frank
Click to expand...


<snip>

It's either nested too deeply or the number of permissible characters in
the tree has been exceeded.


This should hopefully work:


Create a new folder where you would like to store it...but make sure it
is not too deeply nested...and give it a simple name.


Just for example: C:\Family Genealogy\Murphy



Now navigate to the folder that is not copyable and from /within/ the
folder "select all" . In other words copy all the files contained
within the folder but do not copy the folder itself.

Now copy that and paste it in the new location "Murphy"


Please post back to confirm that it worked or if more help is needed
 
Philo will try your suggested fix tomorrow and get back with the
outcome. Many thanks for your assistance.

Frank
 
Thanks Philo for the response.

The subfolder that refuses to move or copy is found in C:\Family
Genealoly\Genealogy\Frank&Carmen Family
Histories\Appendices\Murphy_Hebert_ Lafond_Martineau.

"The Murphy_Hebert_Lafond_Martineau"is the subfolder that will not
move or copy all other subfolders will..

The message I get is a popup error message that simply says: ERROR
COPYING FILE OR FOLDER - there is a red circle with an x within and a
a line that says Cannot Copy Folder or alternately Cannot Move Folder
then an OK button.

I have also used Process Explorer hoping it would shed some light on
the problem but all it shows me is that the fault lies with Windows
Explorer.

This has me perplexed and a fix would sure be welcomed.

Frank
Click to expand...

have you tried 'Unlocker' on it?? a free utility
 
Philo,

Your suggestion worked. I created and named a new folder containing
ony two words and then indivdually copied each file to the new
folder.Then created appropriate folders for the files. Only a few
files of hundreds would not copy because of the file name length.

What a relief - now the new pc has the complete family genealogy
files.Your advice also made me aware of the nesting issue, which I was
unfamiliar with.

Your assistance was a Godsend - many thanks again.

Frank
 
On 01/24/2014 08:19 AM, ECLiPSE 2002 wrote:

Glad it worked!

Right now Microsoft is working on a new file system (ReFS) that should
take care of the nesting and long name problem...but for now it's good
to know the limitations.

Glad your genealogy data has been saved on your new machine.


My mother has been working on genealogy for many years...but still
there are no records going back beyond my great-grandparents.

I know some people have records going back 400 years or so.




Philo,

Your suggestion worked. I created and named a new folder containing
ony two words and then indivdually copied each file to the new
folder.Then created appropriate folders for the files. Only a few
files of hundreds would not copy because of the file name length.

What a relief - now the new pc has the complete family genealogy
files.Your advice also made me aware of the nesting issue, which I was
unfamiliar with.

Your assistance was a Godsend - many thanks again.

Frank
Click to expand...
X


<snip>
 
To 1476. Paternal grandmother's side, the others who knows? :)
Click to expand...



The only good thing for me at least is that I knew all of my
grandparents and even was able to relate to my grandmothers as an adult.
 
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