'INVALID PATH' Message Following 'DISK IS FULL' Message (77463)


The information in this article applies to:
    • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 5.0
    • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 5.0a
    • Microsoft MS-DOS operating system 6.0
This article was previously published under Q77463

SYMPTOMS

When you use the MS-DOS Shell COPY command to copy a file or files to a disk, the following message may be displayed:

DISK IS FULL
This message indicates that the destination disk is full. If you replace the disk with a new disk and then continue the COPY operation, the following error message is displayed:

INVALID PATH
This message is located in the Copy File window. This window also gives the following options:
    • Skip this file or directory and continue. -or-


    • Try this file or directory again.
This message persists if you make any attempt to copy other file(s) to the new disk.

WORKAROUND

    • Record which file(s) was not copied and CANCEL the operation. You can then recopy the recorded file(s) (that is, the file(s) that was not copied previously) onto the new disk.
    • If you want to copy all the files in a certain subdirectory, do the following:

      • Cancel the operation and return to MS-DOS.
      • Use the ATTRIB command to add the archive attribute to all the files located in the specific directory. For example:

      attrib +a *.*


      • Use the XCOPY command (with the /M switch) to copy all the files in the specific subdirectory to the destination disk. For example:

      xcopy *.* /m <destination>

      where <destination> identifies the destination disk.
    The XCOPY /M command copies all of the files with the archive attribute to the destination disk. As the files are copied, archive attributes are removed, so the original and copied file do not have the archive attribute.

    NOTE: The reason this can be an effective workaround is because as XCOPY copies the files from the subdirectory to the destination disk, it removes the archive attribute, so when the destination disk becomes full and the "Disk is Full" message occurs, you simply need to reenter the XCOPY *.* /M <destination> command. This command only copies those files that still have the archive attribute, (that is, those files in the subdirectory that have not yet been copied to the destination disk).
Modification Type: Major Last Reviewed: 10/14/2003
Keywords: KB77463
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.