How to Fix “The Parameter Is Incorrect” Error When Copying Files on Windows

Whenever you attempt to copy giant recordsdata to an exterior laborious drive or USB storage, a “can not copy file, the parameter is wrong error” can happen. This error mostlyn happens when you’ve got formatted the vacation spot drive because the FAT32 file system. Nevertheless, there are different explanation why you are encountering this complicated error.

On this information, now we have listed a couple of strategies that can assist you repair the “the parameter is wrong” error when copying recordsdata to exterior drives.

What Causes “The Parameter Is Incorrect” When Copying Information on Home windows?

Whenever you attempt to copy recordsdata bigger than 4GB, Home windows might present this odd error. If you happen to examine additional, chances are you’ll discover that your vacation spot drive is formatted as FAT32 and inflicting all the difficulty.

FAT32 format suffers from a 4GB file restrict for particular person recordsdata. In consequence, if you attempt to transfer giant recordsdata, chances are you’ll encounter the parameter is wrong or the infamous “file is just too giant for the vacation spot file system” error.

Associated: NTFS, FAT, exFAT: Home windows 10 File Methods Defined

Different causes for this error embody laborious drive corruption, disk errors, malware an infection, and {hardware} points. Luckily, you’ll be able to repair this error with a fast reformat or verify disk utility scan.

1. Convert Your Drive From FAT32 to NTFS

A straightforward option to repair this drawback is to transform your vacation spot drive from FAT32 to NTFS. This fashion, you’ll be able to change the file system with out deleting the info in your drive.

To transform the vacation spot drive file system to NTFS:

1. Press Win + E to open File Explorer. Then, click on on This PC to view all of the units and drives.
2. Find your USB drive or exterior drive and word down the drive letter assigned to your vacation spot drive.
3. Subsequent, press Win and kind cmd. Then, right-click on Command Immediate and choose Run as administrator.
4. Within the Command Immediate window, sort the next command:

   convert I: /fs:ntfs

5. Within the above command, exchange I: with the vacation spot drive letter famous in step one.
6. Press Enter and watch for the method to finish. As soon as accomplished, shut Command Immediate and attempt to transfer the recordsdata once more to see if the error is resolved.

2. Reformat the Vacation spot Drive as NTFS

One other fast answer to repair the parameter is wrong error is to reformat your vacation spot drive as NTFS. Home windows OS comes with a built-in format utility to carry out a fast format. Comply with these steps to reformat the drive:

Notice that the reformat course of will erase all the info in your drive. So, again up your information earlier than you proceed with the steps beneath.

1. Open File Explorer (Win + E) and click on on This PC.
2. Subsequent, right-click in your vacation spot drive and choose Format.
3. Within the Format window, click on the drop-down for File System and choose NTFS. Depart every thing else as default.
4. Click on the Begin button after which click on OK to verify the motion. As soon as the format is full, you’ll be able to transfer giant recordsdata with none error.

3. Scan for Drive Errors With Chkdsk

If reformatting or changing the vacation spot drive to NTFS format didn’t assist, search for disk error with Chkdsk. It’s a Home windows utility to look at file system integrity and file corruption.

Notice that Chkdsk can delete some information through the restore try. So, create a backup of all of your recordsdata on the drive earlier than following the steps beneath.

1. Press the Home windows key, sort cmd, and click on on Run as Administrator beneath Command Immediate.
2. Within the Command Immediate window, sort the next command:

   Chkdsk I:/f/x/r

3. Within the above command, exchange I: with the drive letter related together with your exterior drive.
4. Then, press Enter to execute the command. Chkdsk will scan the disk for errors and repair any points with file integrity. Relying in your drive dimension, it could take a while to finish the scan. So, wait till the method is full to see if the instrument has mounted any points.
5. As soon as completed, restart your PC and verify if the error copying recordsdata is resolved.

Alternatively, you can even run the Chkdsk utility from the exterior drive’s properties. Right here is methods to do it:

1. Open File Explorer and right-click in your exterior drive.
2. Subsequent, choose Properties.
3. Within the Properties window, open the Instruments tab.
4. Then, click on the Verify button within the Error checking part.
5. To provoke a scan, click on on Scan and restore drive.

Home windows will scan the drive and repair any points. If no errors had been discovered, click on Shut.

4. Replace Your Exterior Drive’s Drivers

Lacking or outdated gadget drivers could cause your laborious drive to malfunction. With an exterior drive, driver points are much less widespread. Nevertheless, if Chkdsk did not detect points together with your drive, search for and set up pending driver updates to see if that helps.

To replace your exterior drive driver:

1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog.
2. Kind devmgmt.msc and click on OK to open Gadget Supervisor. Alternatively, press Win + X to open the WinX menu and click on on Gadget Supervisor.
3. Within the Gadget Supervisor window, increase the Disk drives part.
4. Proper-click in your exterior drive and choose Replace driver.
5. Then, choose Search mechanically for drivers. Home windows will scan for brand new drivers and set up them if accessible.

Lastly, restart your PC and verify for any enhancements.

5. Search for {Hardware} Failure

Disconnect and join your exterior drive to a different USB port accessible in your PC. If the problem persists, verify for laborious drive failure. Typically, frequent freezes, decreased efficiency, system error, and information corruption are signs of a drive that’s about to go kaput.

To be taught extra, try our information on the indicators your laborious drive is failing. If you happen to decide the error is because of {hardware} failure, contemplate changing the drive to keep away from full information corruption.

Fixing “The Parameter Is Incorrect” Error When Copying Information on Home windows

Many exterior drives nonetheless use FAT32 because the default file system format. Nevertheless, because of the limitations related to the format, you usually tend to encounter errors when copying giant recordsdata. To repair this, convert or reformat the drive as NTFS. Moreover, search for drive errors resulting from dangerous sectors or {hardware} failure.

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