Solved The file is too large for the destination file system


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klim6870

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I just upgraded to the Windows 11 OS on Dell Latitude 5410. Whenever I copy a file, regardless of the size, I get the file is too large for the destination file system. The hard drive is NTFS. Any suggestions?
 

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klim6870 said:
I just upgraded to the Windows 11 OS on Dell Latitude 5410. Whenever I copy a file, regardless of the size, I get the file is too large for the destination file system. The hard drive is NTFS. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Are you copying from the OS HDD to another HDD in the PC or to an external drive?
 

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    windows 11 22631.5039Core i9 12th gen 12900HK 2.9 MHz (overcloked:...32 Gigs DDR5-4800nVidia RTX 3070 Ti / 8 Gigs DDR6
    OS
    windows 11 22631.5039
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    MSI Raider GE76
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    Core i9 12th gen 12900HK 2.9 MHz (overcloked: 3890.48)
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    MSI
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    Windows 10 22H2Intel Core i7 7820HK 2.9 Ghz16 Gigs DDR4 2400 MhznVidia 1070 8GB RAM
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    MSI GT73 7RE VR Titan
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    Intel Core i7 7820HK 2.9 Ghz
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    MSI
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    16 Gigs DDR4 2400 Mhz
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klim6870 said:
I just upgraded to the Windows 11 OS on Dell Latitude 5410. Whenever I copy a file, regardless of the size, I get the file is too large for the destination file system. The hard drive is NTFS. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Welcome to Eleven Forum.

I have been running Windows 11 on my Dell Latitude 5410 since October 2021 and have seen no such issues. The only time you should see such a message is when trying to copy a file that is larger than 4GB to a Fat32 formatted partition (typically found on a USB memory stick).

Where exactly are you copying the file from and where to? A screenshot of disk management that shows both the source and destination drives may help us diagnose you problem.
 

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System One System Two Other systems

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
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    Radeon Graphics
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    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
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    Edge, Firefox
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    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to mechanical deterioration this PC has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

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    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
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    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
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    Firefox, Edge
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    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.

    In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround.
    Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Dev, and Canary builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
Agree with @Bree, it depends upon the Destination drive, if using USB Thumb/Flash drives they usually come formatted as FAT32 which has a single file size limit of 4GB. Windows has a limit of 32GB on FAT32 partition size. I reformat larger drives using Linux with GPARTED program. I have some USB Thumb drives at 62GB, 128GB and one at 256GB, all factory-formatted at FAT32.
 

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    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz12GB
    OS
    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe M.2

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    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz16GBOnboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA a...
    Operating System
    Win11 Pro RTM Version 24H2 Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
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    512GB SSD NVMe, 4TB Seagate HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
I am simply copying a file in C drive (NTFS) from one folder to another folder in C drive. Not copying/pasting from an external drive.
 

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There is a file limit to saving to the Root of the C: drive. Try creating a folder on the C: drive or another location and saving the file to there
 

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Windows 11 Pro Insider 64 bit 25H2 26200.5742Intel Core i7 9700K 3.6016 GBnVidia GEForce RTX 2060 Super
OS
Windows 11 Pro Insider 64 bit 25H2 26200.5742
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Gigabyte Z390 UD
CPU
Intel Core i7 9700K 3.60
Motherboard
Gigabyte Z390 UD
Memory
16 GB
Graphics Card(s)
nVidia GEForce RTX 2060 Super
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onboard
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Two 27" Dell 4K monitors
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3840 x 2160
Hard Drives
M.2 NVME SSD, 500 GB; Two 2TB Mechanical HDD's
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850w PSU
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Cyberpower PC
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Water cooled
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Backlit Cyberpower gaming keyboard
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Backlit Cyberpower gaming mouse
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1 GB mbps
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Brave
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Windows Security
This thread has been marked as solved, but I don't see a clear answer.

@Spunk suggested there is a "file limit" saving to the root of C, but I am not aware of any file size limit that applies to that location. Attempting to save directly to the root of C will normally cause a permission prompt to pop up, but not a "too large for destination" error. And, anyhow, the OP said they were copying "from one folder to another folder", so this still remains a mystery to me.

I would really like to know the root cause and solution.
 

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Windows 10/11
OS
Windows 10/11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Acer
Thinking outside the box here but how much free disk space do you have on the C: drive?
 

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Win 7/10/11
OS
Win 7/10/11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Other Info
I'm a computer enthusiast so have quite a few systems that I run. More like an advanced hobby.
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