Question Unable to move ANY files

[phaelax]

New harddrive, fresh win10 install. Have all current updates. Copied data from old harddrive to new harddrive, no problem. Then out of nowhere, I can no longer move any file on any drive. And I don't mean just between drives, I mean any file from any location. I can create and delete, just not move anything. There are no errors, just the red no icon when I try to move something. I am an admin account. I did create a restore point before I started reinstalling my apps and restored from there, issue persists. I'm at a loss on wtf just happened.

I created another admin user and switched accounts, problem follows. I'm also getting the following error when I try to open file explorer from the quick launch (but I can open it by right-clicking on start).

So quick recap, I can read, write, delete just not move. I can copy files within the same directory but not copy to another. I've also noticed a lot of files are now blocked because it came from another computer.

(writing this post as I continue to troubleshoot)

Virtually every folder has been marked as read-only. If I uncheck it then reopen a folder's properties it still says read only.

I can move files to subfolders, but not back up the hierarchy.

Ok, now I'm super confused. I can copy files through command line and I can cut/paste files through explorer. Just can't do the drag and drop in explorer.

 

[SkyNetRising]

So quick recap, I can read, write, delete just not move. I can copy files within the same directory but not copy to another.

Take ownership of your files/folders.

Note - you're not allowed to take ownership for C:\Windows. This will mess up OS and you'll have to reinstall.

I'm also getting the following error when I try to open file explorer from the quick launch (but I can open it by right-clicking on start).

Remove and re-add quick launch icon.

 

[phaelax]

I have ownership of the files. Given that I can perform all operations using other means than the explorer drag/drop method, I'd say the issue is starting to point towards a corrupted explorer or something.
I performed the following commands:

sfc /scannow
DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

The scan said it fixed corrupted files. I rebooted but nothing changed. I'll see if a windows repair resolves it.

 

[CountMike]

I have ownership of the files. Given that I can perform all operations using other means than the explorer drag/drop method, I'd say the issue is starting to point towards a corrupted explorer or something.
I performed the following commands:

sfc /scannow
DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

The scan said it fixed corrupted files. I rebooted but nothing changed. I'll see if a windows repair resolves it.

You may want to do this, it replaces all system files without loss of files, programs and settings.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ENjPL64wh0

 

[BFG-9000]

In short, your registry is corrupted and that's not something that can be restored by System Restore or fixed with sfc since there's nothing at all wrong with the files.

If you unpin the Explorer shortcut from the taskbar and re-pin it but it still doesn't work, or no desktop shortcuts work, that means the .lnk file association in the registry broke. You can look here for how to fix it in the registry under LNK. There's also a Folder association fix there which may help with the move problem, but who knows what else is broken so it's recommended to reinstall Windows. As for why it got corrupted, could be unstable memory or something.

Windows 10 also has a "Reset all default apps" feature under Settings > Apps > Default apps but I've never tried it.

 

[phaelax]

There was some registry entries missing that pertained to explorer. While I was able to resolve explorer not opening, I never managed to figure out how to fix the other primary issue. I attempted a repair on the installation but said it could not repair it. I decided the headache was no longer worth the effort given that this was already a new install, so I wiped the drive and reinstalled clean again. So far, no more problems.

 

[hussaj]

Where did you get the windows ISO?
Check the new hard drive with something like CrystalDiskInfo
Have you installed any third party copying app like teracopy