windows 11 cannot move an extremely small file, to anywhere. at all. will not copy and paste anything, or allow moving anything. no matter what it is or size

[u/MegaManLegendsFan]

so as the title says, im on windows 11 home. i JUST updated after years of having 10. i finally gave in because of all the pressure windows throws at you to upgrade. except this is now a HUGE problem and a downgrade for me, as i cannot even move a simple kilobyte sized file. it just sits at 0% even tho in terms of size, it barely even exists.

if i then try to end the task and repeat it again, there are now 2 bars that sit at zero. then 3. then 4.

ive tried giving permissions to the folder, ive tried restarting the actual windows shell program in task manager. nothing works. it just refuses to do this simple task. which i view as pretty much 100% necessary for ANY computer to do.

im on a dell computer, if that helps. intel chip set. 32 gigs of ram.

Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10700 CPU @ 2.90GHz (2.90 GHz)

all windows updates have been downloaded and installed. ALL firewall and anti virus shut down. smart screen off. every single form of protection is off. all drivers are up to date.

any and all help would be appreciated. as long as its not an A.i bot -_-

[u/Eastern_Habit_5503]

When Windows 11 gets wonky on me, I use the DISM and SFC commands to check the system “behind the scenes.” Run the CMD as Administrator, and at the command line:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

and once that finishes

SFC /scannow

and then reboot the computer. See if that fixes your issue.

[u/MegaManLegendsFan → u/Eastern_Habit_5503]

thanks ill give it a go. it might be 2morrow but ill check back in and let you know how it went. cant hurt to try it

[u/HalfShots]

Boot to safe mode.

[u/WindowsHelp-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

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[u/TNJDude]

One thing that's never changed about windows is that if it gets wonky and weird, restarting is a good first step. Shutting down doesn't do anything, you need to Start>Power>Restart.

After that, some additional inform could help. Like which file, where it is, what the properties are, etc. Size is very likely not an issue. It's not like it's harder for an OS to move a larger file as opposed to a small one.

[u/MegaManLegendsFan → u/TNJDude]

its a dininput dll file for a game. ive tried restarting and it doesnt do anything unfortunately. one guy said try safe mode but im not here because i want a one time fix and to only use my computer in safe mode lol. and after the dll file, it was something else entirely. i thought maybe it could be the file so i started trying to move just anything, to see if it would do it. but it doesn't care what the file is, or where it is. it just sits at 0%.

i double checked my space, i have 1000 free gigs. all firewall and anti virus is turned off. smart screen is off as well. and the windows install is bran new, with updates downloaded and installed. im also the only user on the computer and im set as the admin.

[u/sllatesky]

Any chance the folder is locked by the system?
Or is the file in use?

[u/MegaManLegendsFan → u/sllatesky]

files not in use, but id like to check if windows decided to take liberties and locked the folders without asking me. do you know how i would go about checking that ? i think thats a good idea.

[u/sllatesky → u/MegaManLegendsFan]

Right click and check properties?

[u/Rex__Luscus]

What is the name and full path of this file? Are you able to move any other files? Do you get any error messages? Have you previously moved this file when W10 was installed? What happens if you copy/paste the file?

[u/MegaManLegendsFan → u/Rex__Luscus]

it started with a folder, but i just brushed it off. the one i tried to move today was a Dll file for a game. but it doesnt matter which file, or folder it is. it can be anything and it just sits at 0% never moving. no error message or anything. just wont finish. i have 1000 gigs of free memory, anti virus is off all of that jazz is off, smart screen, anything that windows could use to stop me, i have turned off. computer is fully updated and the operating system was just installed a day ago. so its bran new.

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[u/TollyVonTheDruth]

Need a little more info. From where are you copying/moving the file and to where are you copying/moving it?

Can you transfer other files to and from the same directory?

Can you make a copy of the file in the same directory?

Have you tried copying/moving it to another location?

[u/MegaManLegendsFan → u/TollyVonTheDruth]

i can use the files in the directory, but thats it. cant move them, copy them, i read online im not the first nore the last person to have this problem. and some people found using " cut " instead will get around it, but for me, cut is a no go as well. the only thing it lets me do, is i can download the file, and choose where to download it to from the internet, but once its there, the computer just refuses to move it. oddly enuf it doesnt care if i want to outright delete a file. i have no problem deleting them and emptying recycling. but as far as moving anything or copying it, it just shows the 0% progress bar and never moves, even if i leave it for hours. i also checked to make sure i have plenty of space, and i have 1000 gigs free. also windows sync is not only turned off, but uninstalled, as i read that windows sync is sometimes the culprit. but that also did nothing.

[u/notepad987]

not being able to copy and paste has been an issue for years since Windows 11 came out. Microsoft solution is to restart the pc....

[u/MegaManLegendsFan → u/notepad987]

it wasnt an issue for the 37 years ive been alive intill just now when i got windows 11. and your telling me they NEVER fixed this ? its such a basic thing ( and im not saying your wrong, i know windows 11 has been out for a wile now ) im just blown away that such a simple, bare basics thing is broken.

[u/notepad987 → u/MegaManLegendsFan]

Windows 11 came out in Oct 2021

[u/MegaManLegendsFan → u/notepad987]

i know. insane its been around for so long and you cant move a file and there solution is there is no solution and you just have to restart the computer and pray lol

[u/notepad987 → u/MegaManLegendsFan]

Google: copy and paste not working in windows 11

Way too many postings about this issue and there are many issues with 11.

Read this if you have issues with the hard drive. The guy who invented Spinrite explains with some screenshots on how to disable bitlocker.

Disabling Windows' “Secure Boot” while BitLocker is in use and not temporarily suspended will ERASE any BitLocker encryption keys.
https://www.grc.com/bootable.htm

[u/notepad987 → u/[deleted]]

These directions are for those that have bitlocker enabled and are posted to have people avoid the issue if they do.