Copy and paste problem with Vista

I keep multiple backups of my data and digital images. Some of my "backups"
are really copies that I keep on external hard disks. There was no problem
when I used XP. I would simply copy files or folders from drive C:\ and
paste into the external hard disks. However, I have run into a problem ever
since I got my new computer with Vista. I don't know if it is a Vista
problem or if it is a problem that I am causing because I am now back to
being a newbie again. For example, I wll copy folders with a large number
of files. Then I will start getting *numerous* reports like this: "The
file...has properties that cannot be copied to the new location" and "Are
you sure you want to copy this file without its properties?" Another
frequent message is one that says I am about to copy a file over another.
Do I want to do that. Well, it *should not* have found a duplicate file
unless the file is within the files I am copying because I delete old
"backups"/copies before I start the new copy-and-paste job.

Can anyone explain what is going on here and what I can do to avoid it?
And, most especially, I want to be sure that I am not copying something that
will have no value in case I need to retrieve something from that disk.

I am using a Dell 530 with Vista Home Premium.

Thanks,
MaryL

Is the external drive in NTFS format?

Have you gone the the drive manufactures site and installed the latest
drivers?

"MaryL" <-OUT-THE-LITTER> wrote in message
news:...
>I keep multiple backups of my data and digital images. Some of my
>"backups" are really copies that I keep on external hard disks. There was
>no problem when I used XP. I would simply copy files or folders from drive
>C:\ and paste into the external hard disks. However, I have run into a
>problem ever since I got my new computer with Vista. I don't know if it is
>a Vista problem or if it is a problem that I am causing because I am now
>back to being a newbie again. For example, I wll copy folders with a large
>number of files. Then I will start getting *numerous* reports like this:
>"The file...has properties that cannot be copied to the new location" and
>"Are you sure you want to copy this file without its properties?" Another
>frequent message is one that says I am about to copy a file over another.
>Do I want to do that. Well, it *should not* have found a duplicate file
>unless the file is within the files I am copying because I delete old
>"backups"/copies before I start the new copy-and-paste job.
>
> Can anyone explain what is going on here and what I can do to avoid it?
> And, most especially, I want to be sure that I am not copying something
> that will have no value in case I need to retrieve something from that
> disk.
>
> I am using a Dell 530 with Vista Home Premium.
>
> Thanks,
> MaryL
>

I have several external hard disks from three manufacturers (HP, Iomega, and
I/O Magic). Some are formatted Fat32 and some are NTFS. I have not
downloaded drivers. To be honest, I didn't think about it since all
"seemed" to show up correctly under plug and play. On the other hand,
*all* of the disks have returned the same messages that I described.

(1) Would it be better to reformat all of them as NTFS?
(2) Does this sound like something where I need to locate drivers for every
disk?

Thanks,
MaryL
"Bob" <> wrote in message
news:. ..
> Is the external drive in NTFS format?
>
> Have you gone the the drive manufactures site and installed the latest
> drivers?
>
> "MaryL" <-OUT-THE-LITTER> wrote in message
> news:...
>>I keep multiple backups of my data and digital images. Some of my
>>"backups" are really copies that I keep on external hard disks. There was
>>no problem when I used XP. I would simply copy files or folders from
>>drive C:\ and paste into the external hard disks. However, I have run
>>into a problem ever since I got my new computer with Vista. I don't know
>>if it is a Vista problem or if it is a problem that I am causing because I
>>am now back to being a newbie again. For example, I wll copy folders with
>>a large number of files. Then I will start getting *numerous* reports
>>like this: "The file...has properties that cannot be copied to the new
>>location" and "Are you sure you want to copy this file without its
>>properties?" Another frequent message is one that says I am about to copy
>>a file over another. Do I want to do that. Well, it *should not* have
>>found a duplicate file unless the file is within the files I am copying
>>because I delete old "backups"/copies before I start the new
>>copy-and-paste job.
>>
>> Can anyone explain what is going on here and what I can do to avoid it?
>> And, most especially, I want to be sure that I am not copying something
>> that will have no value in case I need to retrieve something from that
>> disk.
>>
>> I am using a Dell 530 with Vista Home Premium.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> MaryL
>>
>

If you're having the problem only with the FAT32 disk(s) I would suggest you
convert it to NTFS.

"MaryL" <-OUT-THE-LITTER> wrote in message
news:%...
>I have several external hard disks from three manufacturers (HP, Iomega,
>and I/O Magic). Some are formatted Fat32 and some are NTFS. I have not
>downloaded drivers. To be honest, I didn't think about it since all
>"seemed" to show up correctly under plug and play. On the other hand,
>*all* of the disks have returned the same messages that I described.
>
> (1) Would it be better to reformat all of them as NTFS?
> (2) Does this sound like something where I need to locate drivers for
> every disk?
>
> Thanks,
> MaryL
> "Bob" <> wrote in message
> news:. ..
>> Is the external drive in NTFS format?
>>
>> Have you gone the the drive manufactures site and installed the latest
>> drivers?
>>
>> "MaryL" <-OUT-THE-LITTER> wrote in message
>> news:...
>>>I keep multiple backups of my data and digital images. Some of my
>>>"backups" are really copies that I keep on external hard disks. There
>>>was no problem when I used XP. I would simply copy files or folders from
>>>drive C:\ and paste into the external hard disks. However, I have run
>>>into a problem ever since I got my new computer with Vista. I don't know
>>>if it is a Vista problem or if it is a problem that I am causing because
>>>I am now back to being a newbie again. For example, I wll copy folders
>>>with a large number of files. Then I will start getting *numerous*
>>>reports like this: "The file...has properties that cannot be copied to
>>>the new location" and "Are you sure you want to copy this file without
>>>its properties?" Another frequent message is one that says I am about to
>>>copy a file over another. Do I want to do that. Well, it *should not*
>>>have found a duplicate file unless the file is within the files I am
>>>copying because I delete old "backups"/copies before I start the new
>>>copy-and-paste job.
>>>
>>> Can anyone explain what is going on here and what I can do to avoid it?
>>> And, most especially, I want to be sure that I am not copying something
>>> that will have no value in case I need to retrieve something from that
>>> disk.
>>>
>>> I am using a Dell 530 with Vista Home Premium.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> MaryL
>>>
>>
>

I have several external hard disks. Three of them were FAT32, and I have
now formatted them as NTFS. That provided "partial" success. I no longer
get the error message that says "The file...has properties that cannot be
copied to the new location." So, the formatting seems to have been the
solution for that one. I continued to get the message that said I was about
to copy a file over another. I still don't understand what would cause
that, especially since these were newly-formatted disks. On the positive
side, though, I now only received that message for 9 files, and it was
always the same 9 files. I located the files on drive c:\. In each case,
the file names had been changed and were truncated to 8 characters plus "~"
(like the old DOS files). All were old and none were important, so I simply
deleted them instead of renaming them. I have since copied everything to
one of the external disks -- and there were *no* error messages. So,
whatever caused the problem, it may be that it has been solved. (I
certainly hope so!)

Thanks for the help.

MaryL



"Bob" <> wrote in message
news:yYCdnSWfv6uygQDanZ2dnUVZ_q-...
> If you're having the problem only with the FAT32 disk(s) I would suggest
> you convert it to NTFS.
>
> "MaryL" <-OUT-THE-LITTER> wrote in message
> news:%...
>>I have several external hard disks from three manufacturers (HP, Iomega,
>>and I/O Magic). Some are formatted Fat32 and some are NTFS. I have not
>>downloaded drivers. To be honest, I didn't think about it since all
>>"seemed" to show up correctly under plug and play. On the other hand,
>>*all* of the disks have returned the same messages that I described.
>>
>> (1) Would it be better to reformat all of them as NTFS?
>> (2) Does this sound like something where I need to locate drivers for
>> every disk?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> MaryL
>> "Bob" <> wrote in message
>> news:. ..
>>> Is the external drive in NTFS format?
>>>
>>> Have you gone the the drive manufactures site and installed the latest
>>> drivers?
>>>
>>> "MaryL" <-OUT-THE-LITTER> wrote in message
>>> news:...
>>>>I keep multiple backups of my data and digital images. Some of my
>>>>"backups" are really copies that I keep on external hard disks. There
>>>>was no problem when I used XP. I would simply copy files or folders
>>>>from drive C:\ and paste into the external hard disks. However, I have
>>>>run into a problem ever since I got my new computer with Vista. I don't
>>>>know if it is a Vista problem or if it is a problem that I am causing
>>>>because I am now back to being a newbie again. For example, I wll copy
>>>>folders with a large number of files. Then I will start getting
>>>>*numerous* reports like this: "The file...has properties that cannot be
>>>>copied to the new location" and "Are you sure you want to copy this file
>>>>without its properties?" Another frequent message is one that says I am
>>>>about to copy a file over another. Do I want to do that. Well, it
>>>>*should not* have found a duplicate file unless the file is within the
>>>>files I am copying because I delete old "backups"/copies before I start
>>>>the new copy-and-paste job.
>>>>
>>>> Can anyone explain what is going on here and what I can do to avoid it?
>>>> And, most especially, I want to be sure that I am not copying something
>>>> that will have no value in case I need to retrieve something from that
>>>> disk.
>>>>
>>>> I am using a Dell 530 with Vista Home Premium.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>> MaryL
>>>>
>>>
>>
>

I don't know why you got the "copy a file over another message" but you can
use the Vista Backup program, or you can write a simple batch file like
this:

xcopy /y [path]\[filename] [drive letter:\folder name]

To copy all of the files in a folder use *.* instead of filename.

The "/y" switch will replace existing files without a confirmation prompt.

"MaryL" <-OUT-THE-LITTER> wrote in message
news:eH$...
>I have several external hard disks. Three of them were FAT32, and I have
>now formatted them as NTFS. That provided "partial" success. I no longer
>get the error message that says "The file...has properties that cannot be
>copied to the new location." So, the formatting seems to have been the
>solution for that one. I continued to get the message that said I was
>about to copy a file over another. I still don't understand what would
>cause that, especially since these were newly-formatted disks. On the
>positive side, though, I now only received that message for 9 files, and it
>was always the same 9 files. I located the files on drive c:\. In each
>case, the file names had been changed and were truncated to 8 characters
>plus "~" (like the old DOS files). All were old and none were important,
>so I simply deleted them instead of renaming them. I have since copied
>everything to one of the external disks -- and there were *no* error
>messages. So, whatever caused the problem, it may be that it has been
>solved. (I certainly hope so!)
>
> Thanks for the help.
>
> MaryL
>
>

Thanks. One final question: Can you please explain where/how I would type
in the batch file? I used to write batch files in DOS (many years ago), so
I recognize what you are saying -- but I don't know where to enter this
information in Vista.

MaryL


"Bob" <> wrote in message
news:. ..
>I don't know why you got the "copy a file over another message" but you
>can use the Vista Backup program, or you can write a simple batch file like
>this:
>
> xcopy /y [path]\[filename] [drive letter:\folder name]
>
> To copy all of the files in a folder use *.* instead of filename.
>
> The "/y" switch will replace existing files without a confirmation prompt.
>
> "MaryL" <-OUT-THE-LITTER> wrote in message
> news:eH$...
>>I have several external hard disks. Three of them were FAT32, and I have
>>now formatted them as NTFS. That provided "partial" success. I no longer
>>get the error message that says "The file...has properties that cannot be
>>copied to the new location." So, the formatting seems to have been the
>>solution for that one. I continued to get the message that said I was
>>about to copy a file over another. I still don't understand what would
>>cause that, especially since these were newly-formatted disks. On the
>>positive side, though, I now only received that message for 9 files, and
>>it was always the same 9 files. I located the files on drive c:\. In
>>each case, the file names had been changed and were truncated to 8
>>characters plus "~" (like the old DOS files). All were old and none were
>>important, so I simply deleted them instead of renaming them. I have
>>since copied everything to one of the external disks -- and there were
>>*no* error messages. So, whatever caused the problem, it may be that it
>>has been solved. (I certainly hope so!)
>>
>> Thanks for the help.
>>
>> MaryL
>>
>>
>

Open NotePad.
Enter your batch file text and choose "all files" not "text" when you save
it. Be sure to save it with the .bat extension. If done correctly the file
will display a gear icon.
Have some fun and copy and paste the following to the end of your file.

@echo off
> inputbox.vbs echo Dim Input
>>inputbox.vbs echo Input = ("GOOD JOB MARY! COPY COMPLETE! GIMME
FIVE!")
>>inputbox.vbs echo MsgBox (Input)
cscript /nologo inputbox.vbs
del inputbox.vbs



"MaryL" <-OUT-THE-LITTER> wrote in message
news:...
> Thanks. One final question: Can you please explain where/how I would
> type in the batch file? I used to write batch files in DOS (many years
> ago), so I recognize what you are saying -- but I don't know where to
> enter this information in Vista.
>
> MaryL
>
>
> "Bob" <> wrote in message
> news:. ..
>>I don't know why you got the "copy a file over another message" but you
>>can use the Vista Backup program, or you can write a simple batch file
>>like this:
>>
>> xcopy /y [path]\[filename] [drive letter:\folder name]
>>
>> To copy all of the files in a folder use *.* instead of filename.
>>
>> The "/y" switch will replace existing files without a confirmation
>> prompt.
>>
>> "MaryL" <-OUT-THE-LITTER> wrote in message
>> news:eH$...
>>>I have several external hard disks. Three of them were FAT32, and I have
>>>now formatted them as NTFS. That provided "partial" success. I no
>>>longer get the error message that says "The file...has properties that
>>>cannot be copied to the new location." So, the formatting seems to have
>>>been the solution for that one. I continued to get the message that said
>>>I was about to copy a file over another. I still don't understand what
>>>would cause that, especially since these were newly-formatted disks. On
>>>the positive side, though, I now only received that message for 9 files,
>>>and it was always the same 9 files. I located the files on drive c:\.
>>>In each case, the file names had been changed and were truncated to 8
>>>characters plus "~" (like the old DOS files). All were old and none were
>>>important, so I simply deleted them instead of renaming them. I have
>>>since copied everything to one of the external disks -- and there were
>>>*no* error messages. So, whatever caused the problem, it may be that it
>>>has been solved. (I certainly hope so!)
>>>
>>> Thanks for the help.
>>>
>>> MaryL
>>>
>>>
>>
>

Thanks again! I see that my question wasn't clear, though. I really meant,
how do I run the batch file? In DOS and even in earlier versions of
Windows, I would run batch files from the command line. What about Vista?

MaryL

"Bob" <> wrote in message
news:. ..
> Open NotePad.
> Enter your batch file text and choose "all files" not "text" when you save
> it. Be sure to save it with the .bat extension. If done correctly the file
> will display a gear icon.
> Have some fun and copy and paste the following to the end of your file.
>
> @echo off
> > inputbox.vbs echo Dim Input
> >>inputbox.vbs echo Input = ("GOOD JOB MARY! COPY COMPLETE! GIMME
> FIVE!")
> >>inputbox.vbs echo MsgBox (Input)
> cscript /nologo inputbox.vbs
> del inputbox.vbs
>
>
>
> "MaryL" <-OUT-THE-LITTER> wrote in message
> news:...
>> Thanks. One final question: Can you please explain where/how I would
>> type in the batch file? I used to write batch files in DOS (many years
>> ago), so I recognize what you are saying -- but I don't know where to
>> enter this information in Vista.
>>
>> MaryL
>>
>>
>> "Bob" <> wrote in message
>> news:. ..
>>>I don't know why you got the "copy a file over another message" but you
>>>can use the Vista Backup program, or you can write a simple batch file
>>>like this:
>>>
>>> xcopy /y [path]\[filename] [drive letter:\folder name]
>>>
>>> To copy all of the files in a folder use *.* instead of filename.
>>>
>>> The "/y" switch will replace existing files without a confirmation
>>> prompt.
>>>
>>> "MaryL" <-OUT-THE-LITTER> wrote in message
>>> news:eH$...
>>>>I have several external hard disks. Three of them were FAT32, and I
>>>>have now formatted them as NTFS. That provided "partial" success. I no
>>>>longer get the error message that says "The file...has properties that
>>>>cannot be copied to the new location." So, the formatting seems to
>>>>have been the solution for that one. I continued to get the message
>>>>that said I was about to copy a file over another. I still don't
>>>>understand what would cause that, especially since these were
>>>>newly-formatted disks. On the positive side, though, I now only
>>>>received that message for 9 files, and it was always the same 9 files.
>>>>I located the files on drive c:\. In each case, the file names had been
>>>>changed and were truncated to 8 characters plus "~" (like the old DOS
>>>>files). All were old and none were important, so I simply deleted them
>>>>instead of renaming them. I have since copied everything to one of the
>>>>external disks -- and there were *no* error messages. So, whatever
>>>>caused the problem, it may be that it has been solved. (I certainly
>>>>hope so!)
>>>>
>>>> Thanks for the help.
>>>>
>>>> MaryL
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>

As long as your batch file contains the correct path all you need to do is
click on it. If your keyboard offers user defined hotkeys you can assign a
hotkey to the file.


"MaryL" <-OUT-THE-LITTER> wrote in message
news:%...
> Thanks again! I see that my question wasn't clear, though. I really
> meant, how do I run the batch file? In DOS and even in earlier versions
> of Windows, I would run batch files from the command line. What about
> Vista?
>
> MaryL
>
> "Bob" <> wrote in message
> news:. ..
>> Open NotePad.
>> Enter your batch file text and choose "all files" not "text" when you
>> save it. Be sure to save it with the .bat extension. If done correctly
>> the file will display a gear icon.
>> Have some fun and copy and paste the following to the end of your file.
>>
>> @echo off
>> > inputbox.vbs echo Dim Input
>> >>inputbox.vbs echo Input = ("GOOD JOB MARY! COPY COMPLETE! GIMME
>> FIVE!")
>> >>inputbox.vbs echo MsgBox (Input)
>> cscript /nologo inputbox.vbs
>> del inputbox.vbs
>>
>>
>>
>> "MaryL" <-OUT-THE-LITTER> wrote in message
>> news:...
>>> Thanks. One final question: Can you please explain where/how I would
>>> type in the batch file? I used to write batch files in DOS (many years
>>> ago), so I recognize what you are saying -- but I don't know where to
>>> enter this information in Vista.
>>>
>>> MaryL
>>>
>>>
>>> "Bob" <> wrote in message
>>> news:. ..
>>>>I don't know why you got the "copy a file over another message" but you
>>>>can use the Vista Backup program, or you can write a simple batch file
>>>>like this:
>>>>
>>>> xcopy /y [path]\[filename] [drive letter:\folder name]
>>>>
>>>> To copy all of the files in a folder use *.* instead of filename.
>>>>
>>>> The "/y" switch will replace existing files without a confirmation
>>>> prompt.
>>>>
>>>> "MaryL" <-OUT-THE-LITTER> wrote in message
>>>> news:eH$...
>>>>>I have several external hard disks. Three of them were FAT32, and I
>>>>>have now formatted them as NTFS. That provided "partial" success. I
>>>>>no longer get the error message that says "The file...has properties
>>>>>that cannot be copied to the new location." So, the formatting seems
>>>>>to have been the solution for that one. I continued to get the message
>>>>>that said I was about to copy a file over another. I still don't
>>>>>understand what would cause that, especially since these were
>>>>>newly-formatted disks. On the positive side, though, I now only
>>>>>received that message for 9 files, and it was always the same 9 files.
>>>>>I located the files on drive c:\. In each case, the file names had been
>>>>>changed and were truncated to 8 characters plus "~" (like the old DOS
>>>>>files). All were old and none were important, so I simply deleted them
>>>>>instead of renaming them. I have since copied everything to one of the
>>>>>external disks -- and there were *no* error messages. So, whatever
>>>>>caused the problem, it may be that it has been solved. (I certainly
>>>>>hope so!)
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks for the help.
>>>>>
>>>>> MaryL
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>