"Path too deep" Can not transfer files

[OutHouse]

This just started and i cant find any thing on MS or Google. I have 3 XP pro machines at home and when i try to copy files from one pc to the other i get an error "path is too deep". I get this even when i copy from the C:\ to C:\.

would any of you have a clue on how to fix this?

 

[stephbu]

If you're running Anti-Virus software - disable it on source and destination machines and then retest.

 

[Dogma420]

just a little fyi that is worth mentioning...

if you should ever backup on cd, make sure that the path doesn't have too many folders, nothing is readable after i think 2 folders deep....just a small thought,

good luck, just accessing/transfering, you should have no problems with deep paths....something else is stopping you, such as what the other said, av software or such.

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: stephbu
If you're running Anti-Virus software - disable it on source and destination machines and then retest.

stopped Nortons service on all machines and retested. Still get the error.

 

[SoulAssassin]

Use robocopy. It's part of the Resource Kit but can be found here and there. Actually I think you can grab the 2003 RK for free from MS. The "path too deep" error is misleading. I get it all the time when copying single files from directories not far off the root. It's more of a timeout message.

 

[LiLithTecH]

That error generally means the combined file path is more than 256 characters.

Shorten the Directory/Filenames names if possible.
(PDF files in tutorials are notorious for this error)

 

[Teva24]

If you don't want to go through the trouble of rearranging your folder structure you can do this for Winnt/2k/xp/2k3 pc's

If you have a folder
C:\Folder1\Folder2\Folder3\Folder4\Folder5\Folder6

and you are getting an error copying to folder 6.

Do this:
command prompt
net use S: \\%computername%\c$\folder1\folder2\folder3\folder4\folder5\folder6

then copy to the S drive, this will bypass the limit of the 256char path.

or you could just share the folder itself.

-Teva24

 

[OutHouse]

Nope, its a straight copy from C:\ to C:\ so no deep directories. The file name is only 5 charaters long.

 

[SoulAssassin]

Originally posted by: Citrix
Nope, its a straight copy from C:\ to C:\ so no deep directories. The file name is only 5 charaters long.

2nd time around, the error msg is misleading. Use robocopy you'll be fine. Trust me.