Path too deep error when using USB memory devices

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Guest

I am using a variety of different memory devices through my USB 2.0 ports
(USB flash memory keyes, USB hard drives). Whenever I try to write to the
USB drives from my C: drive, I get an error "Cannot Copy (filename): the path
is to deep"

I am trying to copy from my directory C:\Archive\ to the root directory of
the USB memory device. There doesn't seem to be any indication that there
are other issues with the computer (P4 3.0ghz, 1gb memory, WinXP Pro with
regular updates, SATA hard drive, USB 2.0).

There was another article about this on the newsgroup, that mentioned
turning off Power Management for the USB hubs. I have done this, and
rebooted with no change. I have used different ports, ranging from USB Hubs,
to direct ports on the computer, all are exhibiting the same behavior.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Your HDD is formatted in NTFS. It allows directories more than 8 deep.

Your thumbdrives are formatted in FAT32, which does not support directories
more that 8 deep.

You need to change the directory depth on the HDD, or format the thumbdrives
in NTFS.

Bobby
 
I am using a variety of different memory devices through my USB 2.0 ports
(USB flash memory keyes, USB hard drives). Whenever I try to write to the
USB drives from my C: drive, I get an error "Cannot Copy (filename): the path
is to deep"

I am trying to copy from my directory C:\Archive\ to the root directory of
the USB memory device. There doesn't seem to be any indication that there
are other issues with the computer (P4 3.0ghz, 1gb memory, WinXP Pro with
regular updates, SATA hard drive, USB 2.0).

There was another article about this on the newsgroup, that mentioned
turning off Power Management for the USB hubs. I have done this, and
rebooted with no change. I have used different ports, ranging from USB Hubs,
to direct ports on the computer, all are exhibiting the same behavior.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

I wonder if you're running into a limit on the USB drives. Are the files
just loose on the drive? Or in folders? Try putting them into folder(s) so
that the number of individual items in the root of the USB drives is
reduced.
 
As a follow-up, what are the benefits of one format system over the other?
I'm using a fair number of networked computers (for a home user), and if I'm
going to start changing things, I'd rather do them the right way.

Also, none of the path's that I'm running into problems with are more than
two deep. Does FAT32 only work with path depths less than 8 deep combined?
(IE: The C drive path is 5 deep, and the USB path is 4 deep, would FAT32 not
allow a file transfer between the two?)

Thanks again,
 
On some of the devices (USB Hard Drives), I have a couple of hundred files in
a path two folders deep. On the USB keys, there are three folders located on
the drive, with all further files or folders in those initial three.

I'm going to do a re-format and re-install of Windows on my root drive, and
make sure that my file formats agree.
 
On some of the devices (USB Hard Drives), I have a couple of hundred files in
a path two folders deep. On the USB keys, there are three folders located on
the drive, with all further files or folders in those initial three.

I'm going to do a re-format and re-install of Windows on my root drive, and
make sure that my file formats agree.
Click to expand...

Don't think reinstalling Windows is necessary. The issue that I'm
speculating about is the file format on the USB drives. Not the structure
of the folders and subfolders but the number of objects/names in the root.

If there are only 3 objects in the root of the USB key drive, then you're
well within the limit that I was referring to. On FAT* drives there is a
maximum number of entries for the root (drive letter:). The use of long
filenames can reduce that maximum number. When the limit is reached, the
error message is similar to what you're seeing. No more objects can be
added to the media unless the number of objects in the root is reduced.
Placing loose items into folders accomplishes that objective.

"Path too deep" could also be literally correct. Have seen this with some
burning software. The programs balk at very long paths (too many characters
in the entire string). There are documented limitations for the various
file systems. Solution here is to shorten the paths. Example: You can't
change "Documents and Settings" on a Windows drive to another name but you
could create a "DocSet" folder on your removable media. That eliminates a
huge number of characters right off the bat.getting.
 
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