Large format disk file name limitations

[Perryg114]

I am trying to copy files from a 2T disk to a 5T disk and it says that some of the files names are too long. I am copying from the root directory or what you young folks call a folder, to the root directory of the 5T drive. I am trying to transfer the data from the full 2T drive to the 5T but 72 of the file names are too long. So how to I identify those files to change their names and what are the limitations on the new 5T disk's filename length?

Perry

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I think the limitation is circa 255 (256?) characters for the complete path and file name combined. At least, that's what I've run into on NTFS systems with Windows 7.

Are you copying by drag and drop or are you using an application to do the job? If using an application, it may have a log file that indicates which 72 files failed to copy.

How about doing a move instead of a copy? The files remaining after the move would presumably be the 72 files that were too long.

I think there are applications or workarounds that would help you, but I've never had to resort to them---I've always been able to ID the "too long" files and then just give them a shorter file name.

You might consider making an image of the drive before beginning to operate in case you make a mistake from which you cannot otherwise recover.

 

[Coup27]

This has been one of those Windows annoyances which has existed for years and has personally caused me many inconveniences with large file transfers at work.

The problem is Windows (at least Windows 7 and before) does not allow filenames + paths to be longer than 260 characters. This includes the C: \folder\filename.ext however in my experience Windows will allow you to create a filename longer by renaming a file but when you try and copy the file to another disk it will error saying the filename is too long.

For transferring massive amounts of data you want to avoid the Windows default file transfer protocol and use something like TeraCopy. This will not only allow you to CRC check all the files at the end of the transfer but it will also queue errors and present them all at the end so you can manually correct what needs correcting (ie, filename lengths).

If you have already copied everything you can use file synchronization software to scan the source folder and destination folder and it will highlight what's missing. I use PureSync by Jumping Bytes for my regular backups so I only backup whats changed since my last backup. It's free and has a decent interface. You would want the echo copy mode and make sure to disable fast compare within the settings for the job. Laughably though, once PureSync has ran a compare and found the files which don't exist on the destination side will then copy them for you as if the filename limit doesn't even exist!

 

[Perryg114]

Thanks for the tips. I had a recent WHS crash and am trying to keep a copy of the shared directories on a separate disk to give me some redundancy. The problem is I can't get all the files backed up no matter where they come from. I will try some of that software.

Perry