Copying executable files from a network drive?

I'm setting up a new Win11 laptop and have run into an issue with a network drive. Specifically, I am unable to copy executable files from the network drive onto the laptop's internal drive. I get an "unexpected error" message with the error code "0x8007003a". The file I'm trying to copy very briefly appears in the target folder before vanishing and the error message popup appears. I am able to copy the files off a USB drive physically plugged into the laptop. I can also copy executable files from the laptop *onto* the network drive.

I'm guessing it is a security setting, but I'm running out of things to check. I have checked the anti-virus (ESET) log and there are no events recorded, so I'm presuming it is a windows security feature specific to copying files from a network drive. Any suggestions for what I can try?

Probably ESET blocks all executables comping from the network or internet as a precaution. Either exclude the network location or temporarily disable ESET, copy the file and enable again.

unsorted42 said:

I'm setting up a new Win11 laptop and have run into an issue with a network drive. Specifically, I am unable to copy executable files from the network drive onto the laptop's internal drive. I get an "unexpected error" message with the error code "0x8007003a".

Click to expand...

Welcome to Eleven Forum.

Exactly what is sharing out this network drive? "Error 0x8007003A: The specified server cannot perform the requested operation". This error is typically a server side error, not the client (your laptop).

The problem seems to be seen most often when the OS doing the sharing is something other than Windows. Routers and NAS typically run on a variant of Linux. I myself have seen this intermittently on an external HDD being shared on the network by plugging it into my router's USB port. It particularly affected large files.

Other examples:

When I try to copy or move a file that is stored on my DS411+ to my computer's local drive or to an external drive connected to my laptop, I get the following error: "Error 0x8007003A: The specified server cannot perform the requested operation".....

Click to expand...

https://community.synology.com/enu/forum/17/post/52598

In my case the problem went away when I changed my ISP. The new router had no sharing options. My solution was to set up a PC to do the sharing. Exactly the same external HDD now plugged into this Windows PC has no sharing issues.

spapakons said:

Probably ESET blocks all executables comping from the network or internet as a precaution. Either exclude the network location or temporarily disable ESET, copy the file and enable again.

Click to expand...

It's not ESET. Apart from nothing showing up in the logs I'd already tried disabling it and that made no difference. I also have ESET running on my other computer, running Win10, and the network drive works fine on that.

Bree, the network drive in question is plugged into the modem router. The os on it is probably some form of linux. Copying exe files to and from the network drive works fine on a Win10 machine, but fails copying from the network drive onto the Win11 laptop, so the issue is specific to Win11.

When I try to copy a exe file from the network drive onto the laptop the file starts to transfer, as evidenced by it showing up in the target folder, but before the transfer can be completed something interferes to stop the rest of the file transfer and the error message appears.

Other files such as text and zips all seem to transfer both ways fine. It's just exe (and maybe msi & other executable formats, although I've not tried them).

I'll follow up the links you've sent tomorrow.

Try the suggestions here: Error 0x8007003A, The specified server cannot perform the requested operation

unsorted42 said:

Bree, the network drive in question is plugged into the modem router.... I'll follow up the links you've sent tomorrow.

Click to expand...

Good luck. I'm not promising that they hold any solutions, just that they confirm that it's most likely the routers fault.

The only 'workaround' I found for copying these 'problem files' was to eject the HDD from my router, then temporarily plug it into my PC.

In retrospect, one possible solution I didn't get round to testing was to change the format of the external HDD plugged into my router. I wonder if Linux had issues with NTFS? Perhaps ExFat would have worked better?

Academic now, I no longer have that router, and the HDD sharing works fine now its on a Windows PC...

LeLibran said:

Try the suggestions here: Error 0x8007003A, The specified server cannot perform the requested operation

Click to expand...

Been there .. done most of those (apart from the restore - it's a new pc, there's no restore point) or they are not relevant ... transfers work fine with files of any size. It's just executable files where something is interfering. The error is, I suspect, a generic error, that is, it is just stating the obvious that the file transfer failed. There's a Win11 security setting somewhere that is blocking the copying of exe files from the network drive onto the laptop. What and where the setting is, is a mystery.

I tried two identical files ... program.exe and the same file renamed as program.exe-. The first failed, the 2nd worked. Thus something is detecting and blocking the exe transfers.

unsorted42 said:

I tried two identical files ... program.exe and the same file renamed as program.exe-. The first failed, the 2nd worked. Thus something is detecting and blocking the exe transfers.

Click to expand...

Try temporarily plugging the HDD into your PC. If it's something on your PC that's blocking it, then you'd expect to still see the same problem. If not, then it's most likely an issue with the router's OS.

Bree said:

Try temporarily plugging the HDD into your PC. If it's something on your PC that's blocking it, then you'd expect to still see the same problem. If not, then it's most likely an issue with the router's OS.

Click to expand...

Physically accessing the network drive is possible, but not easy. The file copies over fine when using another USB drive. As for blaming the router, it works fine with two WIn10 devices, it's just the WIn11 one that fails.

This is about accessing a shared printer, but It might be relevant, see this thread and put the mentioned keys in Registry. See if that works in your case.

unsorted42 said:

it works fine with two WIn10 devices, it's just the WIn11 one that fails.

Click to expand...

Windows 11 24H2 introduced tighter security checks, in particular 24H2 by default does not allow an insecure network login.

Bree said:

Windows 11 Pro 24H2 by default will not let you use an insecure login to connect to a remote share. As I generally have no password for my local accounts that caused me some grief at first.

Click to expand...

Bree said:

To allow insecure outgoing connections, open Regedit and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters. Create a new DWORD, name it RequireSecuritySignature and set its value to 0.

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Microsoft said:

1. Select Start, type gpedit.msc, and select Edit group policy.
2. In the left pane under Local Computer Policy, navigate to Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Network\Lanman Workstation.
3. Open Enable insecure guest logons, select Enabled, then select OK.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll have a look tomorrow ... off to bed now. I understand Win11 has stricter security, so the issue was where that setting is and how to change it. I'll check the RPC settings (I've not yet tried to set up the network printer on the laptop) and the lanman setting. For the last would it be better to use the GP or registry method, or would both have the same effectiveness?

The network drive is setup to work as an insecure connection and it does connect and I can transfer files to and from it, just not exe files.

unsorted42 said:

For the last would it be better to use the GP or registry method, or would both have the same effectiveness?

Click to expand...

They are the same. Registry is the only option available for Home as it lacks Pro's gpedit.

An update to this issue. It only seems to affect some exe files. I can copy the thunderbird exe installer but not the firefox one.

Checking the event log I notice repeated entries each time I get a copy fail, one in system, and two in applications. Neither mention ESET and instead both appear to be windows security:

In System:
Secure Trustlet Id 6 and Pid 15160 stopped with status STATUS_SUCCESS.
- System
- Provider
[ Name] Microsoft-Windows-IsolatedUserMode
[ Guid] {73a33ab2-1966-4999-8add-868c41415269}
EventID 2
Version 0
Level 4
Task 0
Opcode 0
Keywords 0x8000400000000000
- TimeCreated
[ SystemTime] 2025-07-23T04:31:58.1508699Z
EventRecordID 3801
Correlation
- Execution
[ ProcessID] 15160
[ ThreadID] 11060
Channel System
Computer <deleted>
- Security
[ UserID] S-1-5-19
- EventData
TrustletIdentity 6
NormalProcessId 15160
Status 0

In Application:
1. Offline downlevel migration succeeded.
- System
- Provider
[ Name] Microsoft-Windows-Security-SPP
[ Guid] {E23B33B0-C8C9-472C-A5F9-F2BDFEA0F156}
[ EventSourceName] Software Protection Platform Service
- EventID 16394
[ Qualifiers] 49152
Version 0
Level 4
Task 0
Opcode 0
Keywords 0x80000000000000
- TimeCreated
[ SystemTime] 2025-07-23T04:32:07.0400655Z
EventRecordID 1919
Correlation
- Execution
[ ProcessID] 16756
[ ThreadID] 0
Channel Application
Computer <deleted>
Security
EventData

2. Successfully scheduled Software Protection service for re-start at 2125-06-29T04:32:37Z. Reason: RulesEngine.
- System
- Provider
[ Name] Microsoft-Windows-Security-SPP
[ Guid] {E23B33B0-C8C9-472C-A5F9-F2BDFEA0F156}
[ EventSourceName] Software Protection Platform Service
- EventID 16384
[ Qualifiers] 16384
Version 0
Level 4
Task 0
Opcode 0
Keywords 0x80000000000000
- TimeCreated
[ SystemTime] 2025-07-23T04:32:37.3298591Z
EventRecordID 1920
Correlation
- Execution
[ ProcessID] 16756
[ ThreadID] 0
Channel Application
Computer LAPTOP-7DLROH3H
Security
- EventData
2125-06-29T04:32:37Z
RulesEngine

I'd already made the LanmanWorkstation change in registry, so I've done the one in gpe for good measure. Made no difference.

Use WinRAR or other archiver to create a .rar (or .zip or whatever) copy of the executables. Rather than copy th original files copy the .rar file and extract on the target computer. Without any archiver installed you can create a .zip file by right-clicking and select Sent to Compressed folder.

I'd already worked out that zipping the file (my go to is 7zip) will bypass the problem. I can even rename the extension to ".exe-" and I can copy that. So I have work arounds. I would however like to be able to actually fix the problem.

unsorted42 said:

I'd already worked out that zipping the file (my go to is 7zip) will bypass the problem. I can even rename the extension to ".exe-" and I can copy that. So I have work arounds. I would however like to be able to actually fix the problem.

Click to expand...

Doesn't this prove a security product is deleting EXE files as soon as they're copied from the network? Windows itself doesn't care about file extensions, that's the role that Defender or your 3rd-party ESET plays.

It would, except it isn't showing up in the ESET detections/actions logs.