Trouble copying files
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Thread: Trouble copying files

  1. #1
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    Trouble copying files

    I'm copying a bunch of movies from place to place. At first I had problems with permissions on my own disks but I got that sorted out. This time 'the semaphore thing times out' on about every 10th movie. This error is supposed to occur when the the system can't read from the source but there's nothing wrong with the source.

    One of the problems this causes is I can't let it run at night, it will stop at the next error and because I have terabytes of stuff to move back and forth (into smaller partitions so that my TV can see the drives) it means I've got to sit here for the whole length of the job - which is days!

    I'm copying movies from disk to disk but "the semaphore timeout period has expired" fixes are all about networking. Can I bypass the semaphore thing? Is the error true? It might be the best the system has to describe a different error.

    Thanks - rev

  2. #2
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    Semaphore timeout is a network issue. Are you copying files over the network or not?

    If so, you'll have to give us more info. Source computer and drive, router/wifi info, and target computer and drive.

  3. #3
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    no network is involved, I'm simply copying from one disk to another. I've tried taking ownership but no difference.

  4. #4
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    You'll need to give us more specs about the computers and drives. How are the computers and drive connected? What OS and file systems are you using?

  5. #5
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    A four gig Toshiba external is the source, a 2 gig WD is the external is the destination. Both are CBT and NTFS.
    I know for sure nothing is wrong with either disk. The error is the same every time.

  6. #6
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    CBT as in Macrium? Where do you see CBT?

    Do you mean TB or GB? 4GB is small even for a flash drive.

    How do you know there is nothing wrong with either disk? Did you run diagnostics on them? What about chkdsk?

    Did you update your USB drivers?

  7. #7
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    Apologies, I'm losing it. I meant TB and I meant GPT but they're not, they're both MBR.

    So that's a 4 TB and a 2 TB, both MBR and both NTFS.

  8. #8
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    Did you run diagnostics or chkdsk?

    Did you update your USB drivers?

    Did you try any other drives?

  9. #9
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    >Did you run diagnostics or chkdsk?
    Yes, even though the dialog said I don't need to. No problems found.

    >Did you update your USB drivers?
    Yes, they are up to date.

    >Did you try any other drives?
    No. I will just to rule out issues with the drive but if there are no problems on another drive, we still need to know where the semaphore thing fits in, why it's occurring.

    If chkdsk reported problems, what would it have to do with the semaphore thing. I would be getting 'cannot read from source.'

  10. #10
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    Chkdsk would check if there are errors with files. That could cause problems while copying. You could also try uninstalling and redetecting the USB controllers
    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...3-97faf514f44d

    You don't know if it's the source drive or target drive that could be causing the timeout, that's why I suggested trying a different drive.

    What build/version of Win10 are you using?
    https://www.howtogeek.com/236195/how...s-10-you-have/

  11. #11
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    What was the exact chkdsk command that you ran?

    https://www.minitool.com/data-recove...s-expired.html
    Type in chkdsk *: /f /r and press Enter. Here, * stands for the target drive letter.

  12. #12
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    Attached is what happened after I disabled the firewall and the antivirus and then tried to copy the same folder again.

    The system remembered where it was when the first failure occurred and tries to carry on. The second attempt (below) starts with the problem. You normally see the transfer rate but in this case you can see 0% and 'calculating' - after quite a while of trying I'll get the same error again.

    Since it's a networking error and absolutely nothing to do with copying files from A to B, I updated the WiFi driver. No change.

    I'm going to finish the task on Windows 7 but I'd really like to know what this error is all about.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  13. #13
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    Version: 1903
    Build: 18362.900

    Problem does not occur on another destination disk. Semaphore is an abstract data type used to synchronize network transfers or copying between external devices.

    I say the disks are fine the semaphone isn't working.

    Edit: I ran MBAM and it got stuck, just churned in the same place. I don't know if that's related. MBAM used to fix stuff between boots if it was being used by a process, it doesn't anymore. PUP.Optional.MaxUtilities is removed but it has already duplicated itself and it starts up again next boot.

    Edit: I ran System Maintenance but it went forever without returning a result. I ran fsc /scannow and it found no violations.
    Last edited by Reverend; June 13th, 2020 at 12:12 AM.

  14. #14
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    Problem does not occur on another destination disk
    Do you mean on a drive other than the WD 2TB? If so, maybe there's a problem with that drive.

    Did you run MBAM with the external drives connected?

    Are there any errors in Event Viewer?

    Did you try uninstalling/reinstalling the USB controllers like I mentioned before?

  15. #15
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    >If so, maybe there's a problem with that drive.
    Could well be - but not on Windows 7 so I say it isn't the disk.

    >Did you run MBAM with the external drives connected?
    Yes.

    >Are there any errors in Event Viewer?
    1 kernel-power
    2 kerne-tracing
    45,000 disk errors but they are the retries

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