Windows 11 long filename not working - Even after being Enabled


TCWindows

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Hello everyone.

I have recently noticed a problem with Windows 11, where:
  • I can't enter more than approx. 56 characters for folder names.
  • Windows throws an error when moving any previous folders with more than 56 characters.
So I followed a guide to enable this option in both Group Policy and in Regedit, which I did, but after restarting, I'm still getting the same error.

1651241816438.png
1651241879543.png


Can you please help?

Thanks
 

My Computer

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That's strange. On Windows 10 Home, I just made a folder with a 227 character filename... no problem.
And I can move it around, etc. And I didn't set up anything concerning long file names.

And I made a 223 character text file inside that folder, as well. Four characters for... .txt I assume.



In order to delete them, I had to give permission to delete folders/files with long filenames. :)
 
Last edited:

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    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦22631.3374 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦23H2
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    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?
Hello everyone.

I have recently noticed a problem with Windows 11, where:
  • I can't enter more than approx. 56 characters for folder names.
  • Windows throws an error when moving any previous folders with more than 56 characters.
So I followed a guide to enable this option in both Group Policy and in Regedit, which I did, but after restarting, I'm still getting the same error.

View attachment 27924
View attachment 27925


Can you please help?

Thanks
If the filename contains certain characters, it won't be accepted. See the article at the following link for more details.

 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Professional
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Microcenter B677
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-9400
    Motherboard
    ASRock H310CM-HDV/M.2
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Intel Kaby Lake - High Definition Audio / cAVS (Audio, Voice, Speech) [A0]
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Model: GSM59F1
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    2560x1080
    Case
    Lian Li 205M
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky AV
By default Windows 10/11 should let you use up to 260 characters in a file name. (That includes path and file name.)
I read that article over on thewindowsclub.com to be you should do either group policy or regedit, not both at the same time if default does not work for you. Try only one of them at a time to see if it makes a difference. Is this the article you used. How to Enable or Disable Win32 Long Paths in Windows 11/10
 

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System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
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    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
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    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
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    Integrated Realtek
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    2560x1440
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    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
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    500w
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    MT
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    Logitech wired
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    Logitech wireless
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    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
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    Firefox
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    Defender+MWB Premium
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    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
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    PC/Desktop
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    Dell Optiplex 9020
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    i7-4770
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    24 gb
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    2560x1440
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    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
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    500w
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    Dell factory
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    Logitech wireless
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    Logitech wired
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    still not telling
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    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
Thanks for your input everyone. It is very strange indeed, I don't use any special characters - only letters and I don't know how to fix it. Apologies about the confusion, but I only used group policy to enable the option, however, after restarting the pc, when I went into regedit, it showed that the option was now 1, which meant it was also enabled in regedit.

Not sure what else I can do.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-Built
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9GHz Hexa Core
    Motherboard
    MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI mATX
    Memory
    Crucial Ballistix RGB BL2K8G32C16U4BL 3200 MHz, DDR4, DRAM (32GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Vega
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP x34 Ultrawide
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    3440 x 1440
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    Samsung 980 1 TB PCIe 3.0 (up to 3.500 MB/s) NVMe M.2
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    Corsair CX650F RGB, 80 PLUS Bronze Fully Modular ATX PSU
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    DEEPCOOL MACUBE 310, White, Mid Tower Chassis w/ Tempered Glass Window
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    AM4 CPU Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB Black Edition + CF120 PLUS 3-in-1 120mm 18 A-R
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
    Mouse
    Anker Gaming
    Internet Speed
    Virgin M500
    Browser
    Google Chrome
I am also looking for a solution to the problem of large nesting of subfolders

in Windows 11 Home
It doesn't work nor is it intended to, I think

and without access to folder or file renaming, there is a theoretical limitation of 260 characters
there is information about this problem where they explain:

how to activate from:
regedit
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem
LongPathsEnabled to value 1,
and it doesn't work on Windows 11 Home

gpedit.msc:
Computer Configuration Policy
Administrative Templates
System
file system
Enable Win32 long paths: Enabled
restart the pc
and this solution does not work in Windows 11 Home either

maybe it's Windows Defender protecting the system
I don't know,

nice weekend : )
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home 22621.1778
Where you experience the issue? Some devices have different limitations than others. For example if you try that on a USB flash drive or an o local hard disk makes a difference. Also the lenght of 260 characters is for the full path. Are you at the root of the device or at a subfolder?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 64-bit (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
    CPU
    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Extensa 5630
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
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    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
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    1
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    1280x800
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    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50 Mbps
    Browser
    MICROSOFT EDGE
    Antivirus
    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro v23H2 (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
    Graphics card(s)
    Gainward NE5105T018G1-1070F (nVidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
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    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
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    Patriot Burst Elite 480GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
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    Thermaltake Litepower RGB 550W Full Wired
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    SUPERCASE MIDI-TOWER
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    Stock Intel CPU Fan, 1x 8cm fan at the back
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    Sunnyline OptiEye PS/2
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    Mitsumi 101-key PS/2
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4
Where you experience the issue? Some devices have different limitations than others. For example if you try that on a USB flash drive or an o local hard disk makes a difference. Also the lenght of 260 characters is for the full path. Are you at the root of the device or at a subfolder?
this problem is from a usb drive, is not root C:\
i need access to a usb drive with some nested folders,
with subfolders of about 10 levels,

i am studying and i need subfolders of an external usb drive to store
each content class in text files note_0x.txt (files) class_date (subfolders) category (more folders),

I have tried these two solutions without success.

there is a very marked limitation in the file explorer,
cutting the folder names, I can continue working,
but I cannot reflect all the necessary information,
it is inconvenient for work, I will wait for a solution
thanks for answering : )
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home 22621.1778
I'm afraid that you have to use shorter file names in a UDB flash drive if you want ten levels deep. Local hard drive doesn't have this limit. Anyone knows why?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 64-bit (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
    CPU
    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Extensa 5630
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
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    1
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50 Mbps
    Browser
    MICROSOFT EDGE
    Antivirus
    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro v23H2 (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
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    Gainward NE5105T018G1-1070F (nVidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Patriot Burst Elite 480GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
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    Stock Intel CPU Fan, 1x 8cm fan at the back
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    Sunnyline OptiEye PS/2
    Keyboard
    Mitsumi 101-key PS/2
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4
Hello everyone.

I have recently noticed a problem with Windows 11, where:
  • I can't enter more than approx. 56 characters for folder names.
  • Windows throws an error when moving any previous folders with more than 56 characters.
So I followed a guide to enable this option in both Group Policy and in Regedit, which I did, but after restarting, I'm still getting the same error.

View attachment 27924
View attachment 27925


Can you please help?

Thanks
I had the same problem. I noticed that editing the file name in the Explorer got stuck after 248 characters, but opening a DOS-box and entering "ren <short file name> <long file name>" succeeded
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-11700 @ 2.50GHz
    Memory
    32,0 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2
    Hard Drives
    C: 1Tb / D: 2Tb
I had the same problem. I noticed that editing the file name in the Explorer got stuck after 248 characters, but opening a DOS-box and entering "ren <short file name> <long file name>" succeeded
Please see:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10/11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer
I've recently had long folderfile name issues and I thought I'd make a post of my "fun" times. It all started as I recently moved to a new PC and one of the last actions was to transfer my files from old to new PC. I use Syncback Pro for data backup and my method of data transfer to the new PC consisted simply of copying the appropriate folders contained on my Syncback backup disk (no fancy disk encryption) to my new PC.

What have I learnt? First of all I now realise I haven't been good in keeping my filename names under the 255/260 character limit. PathLengthChecker (GitHub - deadlydog/PathLengthChecker: Path Length Checker is a stand-alone app that returns the paths and length of all files and directories in a given directory.) soon informed me that some folder paths exceeds 300 characters. It is interesting that Syncback Pro mirrored every file correctly regardless of the filename size, that is, the original drive on the old PC and the Syncback drive are identical. Of course, this doesn't mean that there isn't some limit, which I haven't reached, that may cause Syncback Pro some issues.

My new PC didn't have LongPathsEnabled, so as I began to move folders from the backup drive to the drive in my new PC errors stated popping up regarding filenames being too long. My cheat to get around such issues is to copy a group of folders to the root of my data drive then move them once they have been transferred from the Syncback drive to my new PC data drive. Explorer seems to allow you to create filenames exceeding 260 characters by cutting/pasting folders on th esame disk. However, Explorer seems to get upset when you attempt to access files with names exceeding 260 characters. Anyway, this method got me out of a few sticky situations but ultimately even this method failed to copy some files from my backup drive to my new PC, those with filenames above about 300 characters.

At this stage I enabled LongPathsEnabled and expected all my problems would be solved. Nope, Windows Explorer still chocked on the files exceeding about 300 characters. I do not know why LongPathsEnabled did not work, although a MS page does indicate that some copy operations are still stuck with the 260 character limit, regardless of the LongPathsEnabled setting. BTW, the old PC didn't have LongPathsEnabled enabled.

I was comptemplating the arduous process of shoretening folder and file names on my backup disk to move the files to my new PC. That would have been a chore, fortunately I came across Long Path Tool Pro (LPT) (Long Path Tool 5 – advanced long path files manager) and Long Path Fixer (LPF) (Long Path Fixer for Windows. "Path Too Long" Error? This free tool can copy, move, rename and delete files and folders with VERY Long Paths!). To cut a long stroy short, LPF worked like a charm and copied all the files from my backup drive to my new drive (without the need to envoke any other tricks). I admit is was slow but it worked beautifully. LPT also promised to do copying for you too, but it failed to live up to expectations and reported errors with those files having more than about 300 characters in their name. I'm not certain if the results for these two programs would be different if I handn't envoked LongPathsEnabled.

I hope these notes help other people having copying issues.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win10 Win11
At this stage I enabled LongPathsEnabled and expected all my problems would be solved. Nope, Windows Explorer still chocked on the files exceeding about 300 characters. I do not know why LongPathsEnabled did not work, although a MS page does indicate that some copy operations are still stuck with the 260 character limit, regardless of the LongPathsEnabled setting.
The LongPathsEnabled setting makes no difference with Explorer. Regardless of that setting, Explorer can only navigate long paths. It cannot add to, remove from, or edit long paths in any way. This is true even in the latest Explorer in Windows 11 23H2.

The LongPathsEnabled setting does make a difference for the command line. Without that setting, you will find that you cannot CD into a folder beyond the normal 260 character path limit, or perform any other action on a long path (unless you prefix the long path with \\?\).

BTW, here's a list of file managers that support long paths:


Out of the ones I tested, I thought Directory Opus was the best. YMMV.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10/11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer
The LongPathsEnabled setting makes no difference with Explorer. Regardless of that setting, Explorer can only navigate long paths. It cannot add to, remove from, or edit long paths in any way. This is true even in the latest Explorer in Windows 11 23H2.

The LongPathsEnabled setting does make a difference for the command line. Without that setting, you will find that you cannot CD into a folder beyond the normal 260 character path limit, or perform any other action on a long path (unless you prefix the long path with \\?\).

BTW, here's a list of file managers that support long paths:


Out of the ones I tested, I thought Directory Opus was the best. YMMV.
Thanks for the list, LesFerch. I'll take a look and some and probably move to it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win10 Win11

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