Jan 24, 2024 • Filed to: Recover Files • Proven solutions
Lots of Windows 10 users report a freezing issue during the file copy process. Sometimes, this issue results in the loss of transferred data. Therefore, you need a powerful data recovery solution to rescue your data. Other times, Windows 10 hangs while copying files problem introduces no change for a quite long time. In this scenario, you need methods that can help you fix this issue.
Here, you will find all possible solutions to resolve Windows Explorer freezes when copying files problem. Along with that, you will learn how to retrieve your lost data.
Before you proceed to solutions to fix the problem that Windows 10 stuck copying files, have a look at all possible scenarios of this issue you can encounter.
Case 1: Transfer Files from One Drive to Another Drive on Your PC
Your Windows Explorer freezes when copying files from one hard disk drive (for instance, D:) to another hard disk drive (for instance, E:) on your PC.
Case 2: Transfer Files from PC to External Hard Drive
Your Windows 10 freezes when copying files from a PC to an external hard drive or storage device such as a USB drive, memory card, and more.
Case 3: Transfer Files from External Hard Drive to PC
Your Windows PC hands and freezes while transferring data from an external hard drive to the PC.
No matter in which scenario you find yourself, try the solutions below to resolve this Windows 10 file transfer freeze issue.
In this part, you will find all plausible methods to get rid of this issue. You can proceed through the solutions one by one and find out which one works for you.
In case your Windows PC gets freeze after commencing the file transfer process, we recommend stopping this process and retrying again.
Step 1: Tap “Cancel” on the file copying or transfer taskbar or simply click on the “Close” icon at the right top corner.
Step 2: Click on “Yes” when a confirmation message appears.
Step 3: Select files you want to copy and paste to your target internal or external hard drive again.
Let the file copying process complete and, in the meantime, avoid doing any other operation.
If an external hard drive freezes when copying files on your system, ensure that the USB cable you are using to connect your external drive to Windows PC is connected correctly. Most importantly, a USB cable is not damaged. We recommend trying another USB cable to figure out whether USB is the culprit behind the issue. Also, you can consider using a faster USB (3.0) port.
Running programs and services consuming high CPU/Disk usage may result in this file transfer that stops Windows 10 problem. Therefore, to get rid of this issue, stop them.
Step 1: Press” CTRL + ALT + DEL” and choose “Task Manager”.
Step 2: Choose the running programs and services that are consuming high CPU/Disk usage.
Step 3: Tap “End Task” to stop the process.
After stopping the running programs and services which result in this issue, you can try again to copy data to another drive or external device.
If an external hard drive freezes when copying files on Windows 10, you can resolve this problem by simply turning on write caching in Device Manager. You should know that write caching is turned on for internal hard drives and disabled for external drives by default.
Step 1: In Windows 10 search box, enter “device manager” and open it.
Step 2: Locate the external hard drive, right tap on it, and choose “Properties”.
Step 3: Under the “Policy” tab, select “Better Performance” or “Enable write caching on the device” option and hit “Ok”.
When an external hard drive has too many bad sectors, it will then become extremely slow. This, in a result, freezes while performing some operations such as transferring data on Windows PC. Therefore, to get rid of Windows 10 stuck copying files problem, you need to check and repair bad sectors on the frozen external hard drive.
Step 1: In the Windows 10 search box, enter “cmd”.
Step 2: Right-tap on the command prompt and choose “Run as administrator”.
Step 3: Enter the “chkdsk G: /f /r /x” command in the command prompt. Ensure to replace the drive letter “G” with your frozen external hard drive.
Step 4: Hit “Enter”.
Step 5: Upon the successful scan, restart your system and try again to copy the files.
Unfortunately, Remote Differential Compression can consume a lot of time and lead to congestion. Therefore, it may result in the problem that Windows 10 freezes when copying files. Try to disable Remote Differential Compression as it may help you get rid of this issue.
Step 1: Launch Control Panel and select “Programs”.
Step 2: Tap on the “Turn Windows features on or off” option Under the “Programs and Features” option.
Step 3: Locate the “Remote Differential Compression API Support” option and uncheck it.
Step 4: Tap “Ok” to apply the changes.
If you lost data due to Windows 10 file transfer freeze issue, no worries!! All you need is a powerful data recovery solution like Wondershare Recoverit to rescue your lost files.
Whether it’s about recovering lost data from an internal or external hard drive, this data recovery software can help get the job done with ease. The best part is that it requires no advanced technical skills and knowledge from you to use it.
Here’s how to recover lost data using Wondershare Recoverit . To begin, download and install the software on your Windows 10 PC and follow the below steps:
Step 1: Select the target location to scan
Launch the software and select the target hard disk drive you would like to scan for lost files. After that, click on the “Start” button.
Step 2: Scanning the chosen drive
The software will perform the scan on the selected location. Let the software complete the process.
Step 3: Recover lost data
After the successful scan, you can preview all the files you can rescue. The final step is to select files you want to retrieve and hit the “Recover” button. The software will also let you choose the location on your system to save recoverable data.
All you need is a little bit of patience and your hands on the workarounds mentioned above to fix Windows 10 freezes when copying files issue. Even if you end up losing some important files due to this problem, no need to fret. With Recoverit data recovery software, you can retrieve and restore your lost data in no time. Above all, it can help you get back all kinds of files, be it photos, videos, audios, documents, and more. Give it a try!!
1. How do I stop Windows 10 from copying files?
2. Why does copying files take so long Windows 10?
3. Why is Windows file transfer so slow?
4. How do you skip files when copying?
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