Windows 10: Error copying files to external drive – “There is not enough space on DRIVE. You need...

I am unable to add any further comment to this original question so raising again as a repeat: The issue seems to be lack of common sense in the way Microsoft/Windows copies files to external drives. In many and perhaps most cases the reason to add an external drive is to move files from the PC drive due to lack of space. It seems obvious then that the temporary area required to copy/move the files should be created on the external drive which inevitably would be much larger and therefore have plenty of free space. Perhaps it should give users the choice to switch to the external drive as the

:)

 

Cannot copy files from external drive

Hi,

Thank you for replying back to us.

1. Did you try to create a new user account and try to copy the files from your external drive to your computer?
   
2. What is the location that you are trying to past the file? For example, are you pasting the files from your external drive to your Desktop, Documents, or somewhere else?
   
3. Are you able to copy the same files from the external drive to the some other PC?
   
4. Are the files write protected on your external drive?
   

Meanwhile, try the below troubleshooting steps.

Step 1: Go to the destination folder on your computer, where you are trying to copy the files from your external drive. Let’s create a
New Folder on your desktop.

Step 2: Double click on New Folder from your desktop and
Right Click on some blank space and click on Properties
and go to General tab.

Step 3: Under Attributes, completely uncheck the
Read-only option. (The box should be blank, check it again if it has a checkmark or a small square inside it).

Step 3: Click on Apply and
OK.

Step 4: Now, open one of the files on your external drive and do the same, i.e.,
Right Click on a file (NOT THE FOLDER) >
Properties > General and under Attributes, uncheck
Read-only option.

Step 5: Click on Apply and
OK.

Now, see if you are able to copy this file from your external drive to your computer.

Hope it helps.

 

Regarding copying of files in external drive from pc

Hi,

The message that appeared on your screen may have occurred due to the possible missing files if you'll try to copy it that way. We suggest that you follow these steps on how you can copy the file together with it's properties:

• Right click on the application (Bully) and click Properties.
• On the application properties window, under the Shortcut tab, click
  Open File Location.
• The File Location window will open.
• Select everything. Copy and paste it to the external drive.
• The copying process may take a while depending on the type of files.

Let us know if you need further assistance.

 

Error copying files to external drive – “There is not enough space on DRIVE. You need additional XX GB to copy these files” (Windows 11)

Context: My internal SSD is partitioned into two drives, C and D. The OS and programs reside on C. The data resides on D which is labeled ‘DATA’. Currently D has a size of 308GB with 31.3GB of free space. I have a OneDrive folder on D whose size is 236GB, that I wish to copy to an external drive. It has about 13 sub-folders of various sizes. FYI... I just did the Feature update to Windows 10, version 1803 yesterday.

Problem: When I try to copy the OneDrive folder to my external drive (1.81TB with 813GB of free space), I get the following error message

“There is not enough space on DATA. You need an additional 205GB to copy these files

DATA

Space free: 31.3 GB

Total size: 308GB”

Notice that the space cited in the error message is for the originating drive (i.e. where the OneDrive folder resides) and not the destination drive.

I was able to copy several of the sub-folders individually. But a few that were large (e.g. one was 99.3GB and another was 80.1GB) showed the same problem. For example, when I tried to copy the 80.1GB file, I got the following error message

“There is not enough space on DATA. You need an additional 48.8GB to copy these files

DATA

Space free: 31.3 GB

Total size: 308GB”

Note: These problems manifested even when I tried to change the external drive (ensuring it had adequate free space)

How can we address this problem so I can copy the files to my external drive?