Bumped into the “Unspecified error” while trying to copy files or folders from one place to another. You are not alone. Many Windows 11 and 10 users have faced this error. In this post, we’ll look at ways you can fix the issue. But, before you try out the steps mentioned in this post, we request you take a backup of the necessary files.
What Causes Unspecified Error in Windows –
- The target disk is corrupted or the file or folder is encrypted.
- Insufficient disk space.
- You don’t have ownership of the file or folder.
- File system limitations.
- The target disk is write-protected.
- There is a conflicting application is running on your computer.
1. Convert FAT32 to NTFS
If you have a file with the FAT32 file system and you are trying to transfer that, you might run into issues. For instance, if the file you are trying to transfer is larger than 4GB, the “Unspecified Error” may surface as the file size limit of each file is 4 GB.
1. In the Windows search bar, type cmd and click on Run as administrator from the right-hand side.
2. When the Command Prompt opens, type convert e:/ fs:ntfs and press Enter
You can even FAT32 to NTFS using a third-party tool like EaseUS Partition Master.
A little later in the post, we’ll also see how you can use EaseUS Partition Master to extend partitions which is also one of the workarounds to fix the issue.
2. Compress The File
Sometimes when the file or folder is large, the error in question may surface. Here you can try to compress the file and then try and perform the transfer. Additionally, you can even check the integrity of the file or folder you are copying using third-party file copy software.
1. Right-click on the problematic file/folder.
2. Click on Send to and then click on Compressed (zipped) folder
Want to give some other feature-rich file compression software a try, here are some options you can consider.
Now try copy-pasting this zipped file. This should hopefully resolve the issue and you will be able to successfully transfer files.
3. Use A Third-Party Tool To Extend the Partition
Insufficient disk storage is often the reason why the “Unspecified error” occurs when copying files and folders. Here you can try and extend the hard drive partition size of the disk that is creating issues. For this, you can use disk partition software.
Let’s take an example of EaseUS Partition Master and see how easy it is to extend partition –
1. Download, run, and install EaseUs Partition Master.
2. Locate the problematic partition and click on Resize/ Move from the right-hand side.
3. Extend your partition by dragging the slider to the right.
4. In case you find that your chosen disk doesn’t have enough space, you can borrow space from some other disk. To do that, right-click on the disk with the partition and click on Allocate space.
5. Click on OK.
4. Re-register jscript.dll & vbscipt.dll
To deal with the “Unspecified error” when trying to copy files or folders, one of the first things you can try is to re-register the jscript.dll & vbscipt.dll files. Here are the steps to do that –
1. Open the Command Prompt as shown above.
2. Copy and paste the below-mentioned commands one after the other separated by Enter.
regsvr32 jscript.dll
regsvr32 vbscript.dll
3. Restart your computer.
5. Disable Write Protection Using Registry Editor
Another way to remove write protection is to use the registry editor. Here are the steps to do that. But before making any changes to the registry, it is advisable that you take a backup of your existing registry so that in case something goes wrong, you can restore the backup.
1. Open the Run dialog box and type regedit and press Enter.
2. Head to the following path –
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies
3. Double-click on WriteProtect and change its Value data from 1 to 0.
4. Press OK.
6. Change Ownership or Permission
Another common reason why the “Unspecified error” may occur is that you don’t have ownership of the file or folder that you plan to copy. Here are the steps you can take –
1. Right-click on the problematic file or folder.
2. Click on Properties.
3. In the Properties window, head to the Security tab.
4. Click on Edit.
5. In the Security window, under Group or user names, select Administrators.
6. Click on all checkboxes under Allow.
7. Click on Apply and OK.
8. If you can’t modify the permission, click on Add.
9. Name the text field as Everyone and click on OK.
10. Now, select Everyone, and select all checkboxes under Allow.
7. Remove Read-Only Status
If the files or folder you are trying to copy have read-only status, you will encounter the error at hand. To remove the “Read-Only” follow the steps mentioned below –
1. Open the Administrative Command Prompt as shown in the above steps.
2. When the Command Prompt opens type Diskpart and press Enter.
3. Type List volume and press Enter.
4. Select the problematic volume and press Enter
5. Type attributes disk clear readonly and press Enter
Wrapping Up
If you have been able to get rid of the “Unspecified error” while copying files or folders, do share with us the method that worked out for you. Also, if you were able to fix the issue, using some other method, do let us know in the comments section below. For more such content, keep reading WeTheGeek. You can also find us on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram.