"Path too long" Solved

Question

Hello,

I just bought an external hard drive (Western Digital 500 G) because I'm going to reset my PC (radical cleaning!). My problem is that whenever I try to copy a file that is too long or too many files at once, it crashes and I get "unable.......path too long." I have the same problem whether I do a copy/paste, cut/paste, or "move to." I have an entire partition of my internal hard drive of about 40 G to back up, consisting of thousands of files, so I can't do them one by one even if that worked...
Can you help me?
Thank you!

Configuration: Windows XP Internet Explorer 7.0

Krisantem · Accepted Answer

I create a TMP folder in C, so it becomes C:\TMP  I copy or move the files into this folder  Then I copy or move them to the destination folder.

s.spark · Answer

Hi,

The error message is very clear, the file path is too long (number of characters), basically too many /folders/in folders/in folders/in folders/in folders/in folders, with folder/file names that are too long.

You need to use shorter names (or have fewer folders, in folders, in folders, in folders, etc.) so that the final file path is shorter.

Technøxit · Answer

Hello, I know the issue is resolved but I have a similar problem, and maybe you have the answer.

Let me explain quickly:

I have a 500 GB Maxtor hard drive and I've never had any issues.

3 or 4 days ago, I wanted to copy mods for a game from the external hard drive
to My Documents, so as usual, "copy/paste" and there was no copy
in sight :o so I started over, selected everything, copied and... pasted still

nothing, no copy, no message, nothing. Since I have 2 computers, one with XP (where I was)
and one with Vista, I tried on Vista and there were no issues. So I started to

make copies from the computer with XP in order to format it. But again, there was an issue, it says

Windows is preparing to copy, then an error message comes up - File name:

not found or invalid and sometimes too long. Luckily, I had made copies

the week before. So I formatted my PC thinking the problem was there.

Once my computer was like new, I went back to the mods folder to make a copy

in My Documents and still the same problem, is this even possible?... Yet

yes, and worse yet, some of my folders on the external hard drive are now empty...

Yet I have always done the same thing for the past 2 or 3 years with the same files/folders.

Fortunately, since I had made a copy on the other PC, I haven't lost anything, however, I would like

to know where the problem comes from so I don't face the same issue next time.

I've realized that from now on I will make fewer folders and subfolders, etc...

But that still shouldn't erase files in several folders, should it?

Anyway, if you have the answer to my problem. I've already formatted the external hard drive

completely and later I will run a scan/defrag hoping that the problem

won't happen again. Have a nice day.
--
Best regards!

planete.game57 · Answer

Hi,  I just had to shorten each file and folder name.  And that solved the issue because the total path length decreased.  See you later  P.S.: There were solutions before formatting, you know :o

Technøxit · Answer

Hi, well let's say that when you want to copy from the computer to the external hard drive

and conversely, and that in both cases it doesn't work... Formatting was a

radical solution, yes, but it allowed me to see that the problem came from too many folders

in the external hard drive, even though it always worked well like this for 3 years. Anyway,

this time I’m going to redo folders without too many subfolders and I think it's going to be fine.

Well, I hope so ^^
--
Regards!

planete.game57 · Answer

Hello,  Yes, on Windows it's limited to 255 characters, I think, but generally we never exceed that.  That said, having 30 levels of folders can be a hassle. ^^  Good luck for the rest. ;)

Technøxit · Answer

255 characters, you're teaching me something... I didn't know.

No doubt I've gone well over 255. But I wouldn't have

thought it could erase files. Let's just say it's mostly the folder

"Backups" where I've organized by names, patches, and add-ons.

For example, for the Wheels of Steel game series, it goes like this:

"Backups -> Wheel of Steel -> Haulin - Backups -> February 1, 2010 ->

Mods -> Trucks -> here about 50 folders because 50 different mods that I can't

put in the same folder since some aren't compatible with all in-game.

Then it continues -> Maps, etc... Well, I'll try to keep it as short as possible, lol.

As mentioned earlier, I've never had any issues, but it seems the problem is because

of the last copy where I added add-ons (so more files/folders added).
--
Regards!

planete.game57 · Answer

I don't know, there could maybe be other causes.

Normally, it shouldn't delete the files.

Look at this post, it will really help you!
It's 255 characters, well, 256!

https://forums.commentcamarche.net/forum/affich-1316639-profondeur-repertoires-explorateur-windows

Response from Lucifer90.

Have a good day!

tahitibob57 · Answer

Hi, I've encountered the problem before, and I discovered it could come from the brand of the hard drive... and... from a driver that conflicts. Once, I saw a post from a guy telling me that it was his HP printer that was causing the trouble. Think about it: have your backup issues appeared after you installed any hardware?

Technøxit · Answer

Hi, no, the problem doesn't come from the hardware. I've had the same stuff for a while now and I've never had a problem, I do have an HP printer and the computer too, but I've never had any issues on that side. I've noticed that the problem only affects the "Backups" folder and not the others, so it's without a doubt that there are too many subfolders. Windows indicates in the "Backups" folder 40.4 GB - 11,044 files and 865 folders >_< knowing that I've already started sorting to have fewer subfolders lol. But I really got lucky to have another computer with Vista because on XP the copies were impossible in both directions and I would have lost a lot.
--
Best regards!

planete.game57 · Answer

Yes, I also thought it was a folder issue like I told you, but nothing is 100% certain since we don't have more info on how you're using the computer...

But apparently, in this case, it is indeed a folder problem.

See you!

etienneb · Answer

Hi,

The best is to use robocopy or xcopy in a .bat
Example: when I need to transfer the complete contents from a workstation to an external hard drive and it works perfectly, no need to mess around with folders and directories....

Etienne

etienneb · Answer

Hi,

The best way is to use robocopy or xcopy in a .bat
For example: when I need to transfer the complete contents of a workstation to an external hard drive and it works perfectly, no need to mess around with folders and directories....

Etienne

Phil · Answer

The best thing to do is to install SuperCopier which manages file copying properly. And consequently, there's no need to change anything in your structure!

wiiiifiii · Answer

I disconnected my wifi and then it worked.

Seven7 · Answer

Vista does not allow (as XP did) paths that are too long...
And there's no need for 10 subfolders (as I saw above) for it to not work; having just 2 is already more than enough for it to fail...

Sure, there’s the option of renaming the images in question to shorter names, but if there are 1000 of them, you'll have your work cut out for you.

There’s another, simpler solution: copy the folder of your images to your desktop and then compress it (using iZarc, WinZip, etc.). Then, copy or cut the created archive and paste it onto your external hard drive; that should work.

For as long as I've been saying it, Vista is crap compared to XP! :D

sebseb · Answer

Personally, I had the same problem. I changed my USB port and everything got sorted out... I’m not a whiz at computers, but I think it’s a question of "bandwidth" between the USB port and the USB key... Anyway, good luck!

jivef · Answer

Hello,
There was a time when file names under DOS were limited to a total of 12 characters. (Before Windows 95)

To be precise, it was 8 characters, a dot, and 3 characters.
MyFile.doc
ReportA.doc
InternReportB.doc
CodeList.xls
LaTeXFile.tex
etc

Whereas now, it's become a bit of a free-for-all.

There is a happy medium between the technical limitations of the old versions and the chaos of today.

People often include the opening sentence in the file name.
Example:
"My internship report at Bébert's in the Bourg sur Yvette bar .doc"

In a reasonable version it would be
InternReportAtBebertsBourgSY.doc

It's condensed, but note that the spaces have disappeared, as well as the accents. Accents are problematic; they cause issues when copying files to another operating system.

So, in your file names, remove spaces, accented characters, and cedillas. Use only basic ASCII characters.

You will have shorter paths and avoid the 256-character limit imposed by M$.

"Path too long"

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