Knowledge Base

Windows Explorer Error: Unable to Copy Disk on This Drive

Article ID: 166791

Article Last Modified on 11/1/2006

Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition
Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition

This article was previously published under Q166791

SYMPTOMS

While using Windows Explorer to copy a disk, the following error is returned:

COPY DISK - error: unable to copy disk on this drive.

CAUSE

While the drive is selected in the left pane in Windows Explorer, there is an open handle to the drive to display its contents in the right pane. This causes a conflict between the two processes, as each tries to access the same resource.

RESOLUTION

Use one of the following workarounds:

Use My Computer instead of Windows Explorer to copy the disk. -or-
While in Windows Explorer, double click the My Computer icon in the left pane and then use the floppy (A:) drive in the right pane to copy the disk.

Either of these two procedures allows you to copy a disk, if the drive is not in use by any other process or application.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 4.0. We are researching this problem and will post new information in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

Keywords: kbbug kbui KB166791