Windows 8 What does "sync all format error" mean?

[heatblocker10]

My boss purchased a new desktop last year and transferred files from a backup drive to the new system. The new desktop has a folder where all of the backed up files are located. When transferring some files from the backup folder to the desktop, a message will pop up that says "sync all format error." It is still possible to transfer the files but not without going through a number of unnecessary steps first. Can someone please offer some clarity to this issue? I've tried doing a few web searches for answers, but based on the keywords, nothing specific shows up that can solve my problem. Thank you for your help.

 

[heatblocker10]

bump.......

 

[Trouble]

Hello heatblocker10..... welcome to the forum.
I'm relatively certain that most of us are as stumped as you.
Is there anything you can tell us specifically about what method is being used to "transfer" the files?
Copy and paste, cut and paste, drag and drop, etc., or any type of software involved? Maybe something like TeraCopy?
Usually "sync" might indicate a proprietary software program might be involved.
Is there anything unique about the type of files that produce these errors?
Is there anything unique about the source drive format or the destination drive format (ntfs, fat32, etc.,)?

 

[heatblocker10]

Thank you for the response, Trouble. The files are being transferred by "drag and drop." There is a backup file on the desktop that contains all the files from the previous computer. When dragging a file from the backup folder and dropping it to either the desktop or the other folder, the "sync all format error" pops up. I believe we may even have tried to copy paste the files or folders to the desktop and received the same error message. As far as I know there is nothing unique about the software, files, folders, etc. We are simply trying to take the files from one folder and move them to the desktop or another folder. This error message does not pop up when trying to move any other files, it is just the backup folder that is causing these problems. Maybe there is some sort of bug or internal issue with the backup folder? I was wondering if there could possibly be a corrupt file within the backup folder that is causing this error.

 

[MikeHawthorne]

Hi

This is a weird one, I don't find any reference to "sync all format error." anyplace on the net, except this forum, and the Techno Lapo forum, (also your question).

I can't find this listed as a Windows error message.

Does it do this for every file in the folder, or a certain percentage like one in ten etc?

Does it do it for any specific file type?

Are you trying to move the files one at a time or in batches?

I assume that you were able to copy the entire folder with all the files in it to the new computer without any error messages?

Were these copied from a USB External hard drive?

What are the steps that your are having to do in order to get the files to move?

And do you still have the original files on the old computer available?

Are they all in one folder on the old computer, or external hard drive prior to moving them or in various locations?

What operating system is on the old computer?

I don't know if this will help but the more information we have the better.

What I would try is to make a new folder, on the new computer, copy some of the files from the backup drive to it, in a batch, i.e. copy 6 files (not the whole folder at once).

Then see if you can copy these files to new locations without getting the error messages.

Also try copying the same files you are having a problem with directly from the back up drive to where you want them on the new computer and see if you still get the errors?

Mike

 

[Trouble]

There is a backup file on the desktop that contains all the files from the previous computer.

I assume you mean backup folder that contains all the files?
How was this folder created? How does / did the contents (back up files) get placed in this folder?
Is this a live folder? Are backups still being created and added to this folder? Does the file / files that you are attempting to copy from one place to the other have any unique attributes? Especially a proprietary archive attribute placed on it by some backup software?

 

[heatblocker10]

Thank you for the responses. Here is a follow up to the questions you asked, Mike.

Does it do this for every file in the folder, or a certain percentage like one in ten etc? most files

Does it do it for any specific file type? all file types

Are you trying to move the files one at a time or in batches? mostly one at a time

I assume that you were able to copy the entire folder with all the files in it to the new computer without any error messages? Not sure, Geek Squad did the transfer

Were these copied from a USB External hard drive? Yes and small usb storage devices

What are the steps that your are having to do in order to get the files to move? Move to a stick, move to desktop, etc.

And do you still have the original files on the old computer available? No- however, files transferred are the same ones

Are they all in one folder on the old computer, or external hard drive prior to moving them or in various locations? Multiple folders

What operating system is on the old computer? Windows 7 (had same issue*)

*One thing I did not know until recently is that this has been an issue on the previous 3 computers, which leads me to believe there is a corrupted file/virus buried somewhere among the files that was transferred from the 1st to 2nd to 3rd and now 4th computer and may be the source of the issue. That being said, is there any way to target the file or would we end up having the wipe the drive and all the files in an effort to locate the virus? The files consist of tons of important documents spanning about 5-6 years worth of work, so deleting the files isn't really an option.

 

[MikeHawthorne]

Hi

I seems that if there were only a few corrupted files, that copying them a few or one at a time would avoid the problem.
Can you create a folder on a USB stick, copy say 20 files to it, and then transfer them back to the computer?

Another option might be to create a Ubuntu boot disk and use Ubuntu to copy the files to where you want them.
I'm not sure what the result would be after you boot back into Windows if some of the files were corrupted but it might be an easy way to move them.

Have you run CCleaner, and Malwarebytes?

I don't know of software that would scan the files for errors of some type, that would just look for irregularities but maybe someone else here does.

But the fact that it is a recurring problem does seem to indicate that the files are damaged in some way or were created under some settings that don't exist in the newer computers.

Have you tried opening the files in what ever program will open them and then saving them to the new location.
While this would be time consuming, if you changed the names of all the files slightly when you did it, maybe it would solved the problems with the files permanently.

For example open all the document files in Word and save them to the new folder, open images in Photoshop or whatever you use the then use Save As to make new files in the new folder, etc.

Mike