Possible corrupt file will not transfer/copy.

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2kreate

Reputable
Apr 15, 2015
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I have a 17GB .mkv file that I was attempting to move onto an external drive (WD Passport) from my Windows 8 laptop. I had several other mkv files of similar sizes transfer without issue. This one slows to a rate of 0 and hangs for several minutes before it pops up with a "1 interrupted Action" error window that states "Can't read from the source file or disk". The file still plays through without issue. I have attempted to copy and paste it into the same hard drive, and it hangs at the same spot (8%). Is there anyway I can salvage this file and get it onto my external? I do not have a backup or any other way to recover the video. It would mean a lot to me (and my family) if I could get some help solving the issue. Let me know if I can provide any additional information. I have tried rebooting. I have also tried moving the file to a different location on the drive, which works fine (obviously it doesn't rewrite the file in this circumstance). I have also tried copying to a separate internal SSD. It currently resides on the main HDD internally on my laptop.

Thanks for listening.
 
Solution
D_Know_WD
Hi there 2kreate,

What is the file system of your external drive? Some file system limitation could prevent you from copying a large file to your external(Fat32 can hold up to a 4 GB file). You can check that out when you go to Disk Management.
Though, this does not explain why you can't transfer the file to another location on the same hard drive. This is why, you can try running the disk error checking feature of Windows: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/check-your-hard-disk-for-errors

If the issue persists, it may be a good idea to test your internal drive with some brand specific testing tool and check out its health status.

Hope this will help,
D_Know_WD
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D_Know_WD

D_Know_WD

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Jul 30, 2014
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Hi there 2kreate,

What is the file system of your external drive? Some file system limitation could prevent you from copying a large file to your external(Fat32 can hold up to a 4 GB file). You can check that out when you go to Disk Management.
Though, this does not explain why you can't transfer the file to another location on the same hard drive. This is why, you can try running the disk error checking feature of Windows: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/check-your-hard-disk-for-errors

If the issue persists, it may be a good idea to test your internal drive with some brand specific testing tool and check out its health status.

Hope this will help,
D_Know_WD
 
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Solution
2

2kreate

Reputable
Apr 15, 2015
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4,510
It's the file that's corrupt. All other files transfer without issue -- even larger files than the one I am having troubles with. I ran the error checking Windows feature as you suggested, which said that all is well.

Also, I did find out that the file does freeze at around 11:36. In order to continue playing the file, I must restart it and skip to 11:38. Is there any way to just splice these two positions together, and cut out the spot in the video causing the error? Does anyone have any suggestions on how I could accomplish this?
 
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J

johnbl

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Nov 4, 2012
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how are you trying to move the file. That is what interface are you using? USB 2.0, USB 3.0, firewire, wireless ethernet, wired ethernet, bluetooth?


You may find that using a different interface may work.

you may find that starting cmd.exe as an admin, then use
robotcopy.exe with the /J switch to copy using unbuffered IO might help.
the file is pretty large so I would also use the /Z switch so the copy can be restarted
because you are likely getting error during on part of the copy this tool will try 1 million times to get any bad clusters copied. (you can reduce the number with the /r:n switch were n = then number of retries)

Note: if you fail getting a copy with one interface, you can try another or update the drivers for that interface.
ie, update SATA drivers if it is a SATA interface, update USB 3.0 drivers for USB 3.0, ...,

the most likely remote interface to work will be A wired LAN interface.

you can crudely splice files with the copy command. Something like
copy.exe /b file1.txt + file2.txt outfile.txt

it takes the two files and appends them together to make the output file.
I don't remember the order so you should try it first. /B switch is to use binary copies or you may find the file truncated if it has a control z character in it somewhere. /B will tell the copy command to ignore embedded control characters.


 
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2kreate

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Apr 15, 2015
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4,510


Thank you for the response. As I mentioned in my post, I tried copying to an external drive -- this was via both USB 2 and USB 3 -- as well as attempting a transfer within the drive itself (meaning I tried a copy/paste to another location on the drive) which also failed -- meaning it's not the interface that is the issue. Not to mention I can copy other files of similar size and type to my external without issue.

I will, however, attempt a copy using the robotcopy method you mentioned here. I appreciate the help. How would I cut the file into pieces in order to splice it back together? any way to do this without destroying the integrity of the .MKV file?
 
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