February 20, 2003

Error! Error!

So I was trying to copy a file at work. That's not normally a particularly difficult task, what with the clicking and dragging and all. Even back when computers still had a command line interface, copying files was just a matter of typing, well, "COPY". But I got an error, because computers don't like you to get too cocky.

The error was "Cannot Copy File: The Path is Too Deep". Well! If you ask me, that's a pretty philosophical message to get in the middle of an error. The path is too deep? What is that supposed to mean? The computer doesn't want to get involved with copying my file because it's afraid of what it might lead to? I'm not here to criticize its feelings; I think we've all worried that we might be on a path that was too deep. But that's no excuse for my computer not doing its job.

My favorite error message ever was from the TRS-80. Once things got more rigorous, there was a thing called a "Syntax Error", which meant that you'd done something so wrong that the computer had no idea what to do. But back in 1977, a Syntax Error just made the TRS-80 say "What?"

That's all. Just "What?" The idea, I guess, was that the TRS-80 wasn't for real programmers, so it didn't need any information in its error messages. So if you typed something that didn't fit into the TRS-80's tiny little brain (I have remote controls with more memory than my TRS-80 had) it would just say "What?"

I like that because it's direct. It's like talking to someone (let's say it's someone on the bus) who just has no idea at all what you're talking about. "Is this the bus to downtown?" "What?" "Does this bus go downtown?" "What?" Eventually, you give up and talk to someone else. Or, to drop out of the metaphor, you go try to find a computer that's not so tiny and helpless. Which is to say, almost any computer. Even 25 years ago, the TRS-80 wasn't a shining example of mighty computing power.

But at least I could copy files if I wanted to. I mean, I had to do it on a tape drive, but I could do it.

i've got your problem few minute ago with
my Windows XP pro, and i have a solution for it.
jsut go to your network connection --> tcp/IP -->
advanced --> add in your WINS server IP, and that's it.

Posted by: Cockorach at June 23, 2003 11:30 PM

"What?" is pretty good. As I remember it, the old ICL mainframes (we're talking late '70s here) had a terminal operating system called MAXIMOP which used to be even terser : "Eh?".

Posted by: Iain at July 4, 2003 12:01 PM

You know, I've gotten that error "path too deep" and I thought it was talking about how deep the shit has gotten in Windows. I've been in deep shit, but nothing I couldn't work my way through. Its a matter of persistence. Someone had a solution to that error and I bet it works if the error is network related. I'm going from one hard drive to another. What really kills me is that sometimes the copy works, and sometimes it doesn't. Same path length +- 10 characters, same folder depth. Its as if Lucy actually let Charlie Brown make contact with that football once in great awhile. Just enough to keep a flicker of hope to make the anguish of missing that much more painful.

Posted by: Dennis at March 23, 2004 01:29 PM

The issue is that the path name exceeds the maximum number of characters that the OS can handle. Path too deep is just telling you that the path name extends too deep for the OS to read it correctly and process it.

Posted by: Rob at July 15, 2004 10:15 AM

I've had the same error copying large files between drives using either USB2 or Firewire. If I plug the external USB2 drive into a USB1 slot on the computer, the whole file copies slowly but without the error message. Go figure! So, is there a philosophical moral to the story? I'll leave it to you.

Posted by: Ingmar at August 5, 2004 05:31 PM

I get the same problem. And im trasfering on a home network. I cant transfer movies/music anymore however other files work fine. I'm inclined to belive that windows has been updated in some way to cause this error, many people seem to be getting it now. I will have to check the windows archive for recent updates.

As far as fixing it the above mentioned fix does not seem to work for me. And I have found no way to fix the problem short of creating a whole new network which takes 45 mins or so. Seems like thats the way it always is.

Posted by: Fangs at August 14, 2004 05:23 PM



	« Does This Look Weird? \| Main \| Recent Reading » February 20, 2003 Error! Error! So I was trying to copy a file at work. That's not normally a particularly difficult task, what with the clicking and dragging and all. Even back when computers still had a command line interface, copying files was just a matter of typing, well, "COPY". But I got an error, because computers don't like you to get too cocky. The error was "Cannot Copy File: The Path is Too Deep". Well! If you ask me, that's a pretty philosophical message to get in the middle of an error. The path is too deep? What is that supposed to mean? The computer doesn't want to get involved with copying my file because it's afraid of what it might lead to? I'm not here to criticize its feelings; I think we've all worried that we might be on a path that was too deep. But that's no excuse for my computer not doing its job. My favorite error message ever was from the TRS-80. Once things got more rigorous, there was a thing called a "Syntax Error", which meant that you'd done something so wrong that the computer had no idea what to do. But back in 1977, a Syntax Error just made the TRS-80 say "What?" That's all. Just "What?" The idea, I guess, was that the TRS-80 wasn't for real programmers, so it didn't need any information in its error messages. So if you typed something that didn't fit into the TRS-80's tiny little brain (I have remote controls with more memory than my TRS-80 had) it would just say "What?" I like that because it's direct. It's like talking to someone (let's say it's someone on the bus) who just has no idea at all what you're talking about. "Is this the bus to downtown?" "What?" "Does this bus go downtown?" "What?" Eventually, you give up and talk to someone else. Or, to drop out of the metaphor, you go try to find a computer that's not so tiny and helpless. Which is to say, almost any computer. Even 25 years ago, the TRS-80 wasn't a shining example of mighty computing power. But at least I could copy files if I wanted to. I mean, I had to do it on a tape drive, but I could do it.
	« Does This Look Weird? \| Main \| Recent Reading »
	Comments i've got your problem few minute ago with my Windows XP pro, and i have a solution for it. jsut go to your network connection --> tcp/IP --> advanced --> add in your WINS server IP, and that's it. Posted by: Cockorach at June 23, 2003 11:30 PM "What?" is pretty good. As I remember it, the old ICL mainframes (we're talking late '70s here) had a terminal operating system called MAXIMOP which used to be even terser : "Eh?". Posted by: Iain at July 4, 2003 12:01 PM You know, I've gotten that error "path too deep" and I thought it was talking about how deep the shit has gotten in Windows. I've been in deep shit, but nothing I couldn't work my way through. Its a matter of persistence. Someone had a solution to that error and I bet it works if the error is network related. I'm going from one hard drive to another. What really kills me is that sometimes the copy works, and sometimes it doesn't. Same path length +- 10 characters, same folder depth. Its as if Lucy actually let Charlie Brown make contact with that football once in great awhile. Just enough to keep a flicker of hope to make the anguish of missing that much more painful. Posted by: Dennis at March 23, 2004 01:29 PM Just started happening to two of our machine on our network today, possible virus me thinks. Posted by: Andrew at April 25, 2004 10:38 PM the path is too deep and too dark for my pc to venture into :o Posted by: at June 22, 2004 04:20 PM The issue is that the path name exceeds the maximum number of characters that the OS can handle. Path too deep is just telling you that the path name extends too deep for the OS to read it correctly and process it. Posted by: Rob at July 15, 2004 10:15 AM I've had the same error copying large files between drives using either USB2 or Firewire. If I plug the external USB2 drive into a USB1 slot on the computer, the whole file copies slowly but without the error message. Go figure! So, is there a philosophical moral to the story? I'll leave it to you. Posted by: Ingmar at August 5, 2004 05:31 PM I get the same problem. And im trasfering on a home network. I cant transfer movies/music anymore however other files work fine. I'm inclined to belive that windows has been updated in some way to cause this error, many people seem to be getting it now. I will have to check the windows archive for recent updates. As far as fixing it the above mentioned fix does not seem to work for me. And I have found no way to fix the problem short of creating a whole new network which takes 45 mins or so. Seems like thats the way it always is. Posted by: Fangs at August 14, 2004 05:23 PM Syndicate this site (XML)

Error! Error!

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