Windows file system (NTFS) experts please advise

I accidentally dragged a folder into the folder i was in and before it started moving i hit cancel, i tried hitting Ctrl-Z and it didn’t do anything, so i tried moving the folder back myself, but it says the folder or file is open in another program (its not) so i restarted the computer then tried to move it back but i still get the same error

It says the folder has two files but when i go into it it has all the files and subfolders (many gb) and i can use each one but i can’t move the folder back to where it should be. I ran a scandisk on the drive there were no errors, its a 3 year old WD drive, i didn’t do a physical disk check but i can’t see that being a problem, it should only be a directory entry in the file table (am i right?)

I’m using Windows 8.1, i just disabled the once a day backup, not sure what would happen if i let it run.

Try renaming the folder then move it back,or copy the folder back to where it was then delete the original, if that don’t work re-boot into safe mode and try moving it again.

If the above doesn’t work for you then restore the system to a earlier date than this problem occurred.

Sounds like maybe “thumbnail caching which locks hidden files” You also say many GB which might be related to lots of caching?

See here >> windows 7 - Action can't be completed - open in another program - Super User <<

^—— This

When it tells you a file is in use, is that file named “thumbs.db” ? If it’s the scenario I’m thinking of, you’re most likely moving the files you want, and the ones that are getting an error are the hidden ones you don’t care about, and can go back and delete the empty folder. This happens to me all the time when I move stuff across the network. Really annoying.

With ProcessExplorer from Sysinternals you can find processes that have a specific file open with the Find Handle function. You might be able to figure out which process to stop, so you can move the files again.

Last resort before restoring a backup is to startup in Safe Mode which prevents a great number of services from starting.

PPtk

Try Unlocker its free, easy and works fine.

I am surprised this is still an issue in Windows 8.1. Oh, Microsoft. >.<

+1
I also use Unlocker . It will tell you if any process locked this folder. Usually it will move or rename files/folders. Even though,with windows you never know. Once I had files that nothing could move them…

It happens to Mac users too!

When I was SM for a B&M Mac store, this was a common complaint. Usually expressed as “I was dragging a {folder or file} and suddenly this OTHER folder just disappeared! Now BOTH are lost!”

The User would start to drag a file or folder, then ‘bounce’ the lone mouse button while pointing at some other folder, which acted as a “Drop” and a “Pick Up For Dragging” in the same moment.

It’s impossible to fix without seeing the screen, since you can’t see what they were dragging over.

IF the “Undo Move” command failed (or you did other things after your accident), you’ll have to get in there and slog through it file-by-file.

The only possible Good News is, if you stopped the process early enough, there probably aren’t any deletions in the Source Folder. Unless the process has changed in 8.1, the order of business is Copy, Verify, THEN Delete the source. As Chloe mentioned, very little of any consequence changes from one version of Winders to the next (new makeup, same old pig)…

I am notorious for making many copies of everything. Cleaning up my messes is quite a chore! I found a program called Duplic8 which works very well. It is slow as {insert very-slow metaphor here} but it deletes to the Recycle Bin so you have an “Ooops” up your sleeve.

If Windows denies you access to the ‘bad’ folder, you may need to take Ownership (and Full Control) of it under Properties. That’s for another post, as it’s non-trivial.

If Duplic8 (or any other duplicate file finder) doesn’t fix it, LMK & we’ll move on to Round 2.

Good luck!

PS: Top Tip for drag-n-dropping: Use the Right Mouse Button (or “Alternate” if you prefer to call it that) so than when you Drop, you get a Menu which lets you choose “Move”, “Copy”, or my favorite, “Cancel”.

I re-read this part… If you do a Move on the same drive, the only thing that should happen is to rewrite the Master File Table (MFT) entry & refresh your Explorer view. It’s so instantaneous (even on this weak old laptop) you’d have a hard time even seeing it, much less clicking the [Cancel] button. If you’re working on one drive, I’d guess your AntiVirus software has intervened to check everything upon access…

That means you may have something that LOOKS LIKE two copies, but they’re really only a single set of bits on disk with two entries in the MFT.

Unless your AntiVirus program has interfered.

This is where you would need to use Safe Mode.

That sounds like a typical MFT problem. Scandisk doesn’t compare pointers so it wouldn’t see an error.

Well, TWO entries if I’m right, but yes, it’s not likely a file-content problem.

You can do backups?? Yay! Back up both folders, VERIFY THE BACKUP!!!, then delete both folders from disk, then restore the “good” one. Then see if all your files came back, and if not, restore the missing files from the “bad” one to a temporary folder & move them individually.

It sounds like you have an Ownership/Rights problem with the “bad” folder, though… That would keep you from deleting it.

LMK?

And in a 90’ style webpage. :bigsmile:
Bort is using the latest Windows 8.1.

careful with unlocker.
the installer is packed with lots of shitware offers.use care in installing so you decline them all.

Quand j’ai écrit “nouveau rouge à lèvres, même vieux cochon”, je voulais dire que les différences superficielles n’ont pas d’importance dans ce cas.
(When I wrote “new lipstick, same old pig”, I meant that the superficial differences do not matter in this case.)

Obviously I’m most worried that he did the Move on the same drive. That’s strange behavior, which (given Microsoft’s tradition of new bugs with each release), might not be able to be fixed at all (until Service Pack 3 replaces the entire Windows folder). Unfortunately, even in the 21st Century, “Format C:” is still ultimately the best solution for most Microsoft problems, on a pure cost-benefit basis.

I agree, i have been using microsoft since Dos 5 and i have to agree with this

I was able to rename the folder and then move it back to where it was supposed to be, and the ‘missing’ files showed up, thanks for the advice everybody!

Now i am going to compare the files to my backup to make sure nothing was lost

Btw, its not so instantaneous, just viewing folders contents or changing locations on the MFT takes a measurable amount of time, even on the SSD, since windows 95 it has gotten longer and longer, and i can’t explain how, hard drives are faster, the processor is probably a hundred times faster, the SSD can read over 550mb/s, so it has to be stupid windows bloat
My personal favourite is the preparing to copy which can take minutes if you have thousands of small files, i can use a command prompt and xcopy it before the preparing to copy is ready.

For file/directory compare, use ‘file sync’ utility or dual window file explorer like Total Commander.

i’m using something called winmerge, its running now, probably another 3 hours to get through 1.5TB

Didn’t realize you are comparing whole drives! 3 hours for 1.5TB sounds fast. Still you are paying for your little gotcha :slight_smile:

you have no idea, it turned out there is a bunch of files that won’t compare, i assume windows wants admin permissions to open some .avi files or something stupid like that, i still have to look into it, i hate windows