Errors copying files

[Guest]

"Error copying license_en-US.txt: System Error. Code: 53.
The network path was not found"

I get this when copying subdirectories with small files in them. It only seems to happen when a right to left (where left is a share on another XP box) which includes subdirectories is taking place. It's almost as though BC falls over itself in its haste to copy the next file. Copying, say, a 100MB file never, ever, fails, only tiny files.

This becomes very tedious when copying subdirectories containing dozens of small files as I then have to go and select all the ones which didn't get copied, and copy them. Sometimes almost 50% of the files in a subdirectory fail to copy due to this error, yet the rest compare 100% using a binary comparison.

If I recopy the whole lot, then some files are incompletely transferred, not necessarily the same ones which didn't copy the first time, but often ones which copied successfully the first time.

Also, over time, BC starts to stall after copying a number of files, the longer it has been running, the more frequently it stalls. In this case, after 15-20 seconds, it resumes copying until it either finishes or stalls again. While BC is stalled there is no I/O activity on either system, and BC isn't consuming CPU.

I'm using a giga-bit LAN connection between the two systems, so I'm wondering if there's some timing issue which this fast link is exposing.

[Guest]

Re: Errors copying files

One thing I forgot to mention: if I use Explorer to copy/paste the directory containing all the subdirectories, it copies successfully, and a whole lot faster than BC does it too.

[Chris]

Re: Errors copying files

Are you using the latest Beyond Compare, version 2.4.3?

Does it make a difference if you map the drive to a letter instead of using a UNC path?

It might also help to try setting BC to use the old copy method from BC 2.0. To set the old method, use the OldCopyMethod tweak from our tweaks page at: http://www.scootersoftware.com/suppo...=kb_tweaks.php

If you set the registry value to 0, it uses the newer method, if you set it to 1 it will use the copy method from BC 2.0.

This also might be the Windows Firewall or other firewall software blocking a network connection.

[Guest]

Re: Errors copying files

Yes, I'm using the latest version. I will try both of the things you have suggested.

Graham.

[Guest]

Re: Errors copying files

A question about OldCopyMethod. I didn't have one of these in Settings (but I do now). The tweaks page implies that setting it to zero causes the old copy method to be used, but I would expect it to be 1 to make it use the old copy method or 0 to use the standard method (assuming 0 is false and 1 is true). Please clarify.

Graham.

[Chris]

Re: Errors copying files

Sorry for the confusion.

Setting it to 1 will use the Old Copy Method. Setting it to 0 will use the newer (default in 2.1+) method.

[Guest]

Re: Errors copying files

I've tried using OldCopyMethod=1. This is better, but still not quite right.

Of 1600+ files, two are showing on the target as having no time stamp. They do, in fact have time stamps on the target system, although the created date is arguably incorrect: it is today's date on the target system and earlier in the month on the source system. The modified date is correct, and the accessed date is today in both cases. This looks like a problem of BC2 not correctly reading back the time stamp after it's written the file. Hitting refresh (not full refresh) in BC2 corrects this. (Note: all files compare equal.)

This is using a UNC file spec as the target. I've not tried mapping the target to a drive letter yet.

[norrisg]

Re: Errors copying files

I followed this up by deleting the target (on the target system), emptying the recycle bin, setting OldCopyMethod to 0, restarting BC2 and copying the set of files again. 12 got error 53 and did not copy at all.

[Chris]

Re: Errors copying files

I'm still not sure why this happening. I think this error can show up if Windows Firewall is blocking a connection, but in that case it isn't possible to copy any files.

I searched for the "The network path was not found" error message, and one suggestion I found is that it might be due to network card settings. It might help to set your network cards to auto sensing, or from full duplex to half duplex, or even drop the settings to 100 megabit.

http://www.asksomeone.net/forums/ind...showtopic=1591

[norrisg]

Re: Errors copying files

I'm still not sure why this happening. I think this error can show up if Windows Firewall is blocking a connection, but in that case it isn't possible to copy any files.

Exactly. This is not a normal symptom of a firewall problem. It would require the firewall to be randomly blocking an occasional packet for no good reason. Not actually impossible, but it would affect other things too.

I searched for the "The network path was not found" error message, and one suggestion I found is that it might be due to network card settings. It might help to set your network cards to auto sensing, or from full duplex to half duplex, or even drop the settings to 100 megabit.

Not quite sure what you are suggesting here. I think it is change whatever my network cards are set to to something different and see if it makes any difference.

Apart from the fact I'm not keen to do this, as I observed in my second post, if I use Explorer to copy this stuff, there are no errors and the files compare afterwards. Therefore I have to conclude the network is working properly and BC2, or the Windows API it is using, isn't.

http://www.asksomeone.net/forums/ind...showtopic=1591

Not sure the relevance of this link. It pertains to not being able to see another system, which is not the case here. In my case, it is only BC2 which loses sight of a network path, not the whole connection, and only using the new copy method.

Isn't it possible for BC2 to log why it gets the error 53?

Graham.

[Chris]

Re: Errors copying files

I discussed this with our lead developer, and he thinks it is a timing issue. It's tough to say if this is something in your network hardware, a firewall or windows software issue, or if it's a timing issue in Beyond Compare.

The quickest way to check this is to change your network settings so your computer connects to the network at 100 Mbit/s instead of at Gigabit speed. I think you might be able to set your PC to use the slower speed somewhere in your network card settings.

If you try setting your network card to run more slowly, please let me know if it clears up the problem.