Windows 10 Freezes While Copying Files: No Data Loss

If Windows 10 freezes or gets stuck while copying files from the Windows PC to a new hard drive or an external device, stay calm. This page will offer you feasible methods with reliable file recovery software here to help you fix this issue without losing any data.

Applies to: Fix "Windows 10 freezes/stuck when copying files" error without losing data.

• If you lost files or data because of Windows 10 freezes while copying files, professional EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard like EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard will restore all lost files for you.
• If you are trying to fix Windows 10 stuck in copying files, read on and you'll find reliable solutions for this issue.

Problem: Windows 11/Windows 10 hangs and freezes while copying files

According to Microsoft community and the Google searching result, Windows 10, 8 and 7 can easily get stuck, freeze while copying files to another hard drive or an external storage device like the below cases:

Case 1. Windows 10 freezes while copying files from drive D: to E:

"Windows 10 keeps freezing and everything stops responding while copying files from D: to E:. I was trying to move my files saved in D: drive to E: drive. All the files saved on D: drive is about 6GB. Now Windows 10 has totally frozen up. Is there a way to remove this error without losing any data?"

Case 2. Windows 10 stuck while copying files from PC to the external device:

"My computer which runs on Windows 10 stuck in copying files from PC to an external hard drive. Any method to resolve this issue?"

If you are faced with this issue, follow the methods below to fix this issue without losing any files now.

Fixes for Windows 11/Windows 10 Freezes or Stuck Copying Files Error

In this part, you'll find two quick fixes and three manual methods for removing this error and offer you a smooth file transferring process on Windows 10:

Two Quick Fixes

# 1. Stop the file copying process and retry again

If your Windows 10 immediately gets stuck right after starting the copying process, you can directly stop the process and retry again:

Step 1. Click "Cancel" on the file copying taskbar or the close button at the right top corner.

Step 2. Click "Yes" to confirm that you want to abort the copying process.

Step 3. Select files to copy and save to your target hard drive or external storage device again.

Wait for the file copying process to complete in Windows 10.

# 2. Stop running programs and services that freeze Windows 10 on copying files

Step 1. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del and select Task Manager.

Step 2. Select the running programs and services that are taking high CPU or Disk usage.

Step 3. Click "End Task" to finish the process.

This will stop running programs and services that are taking high CPU or Disk usage causing Windows freeze issue in your PC. After this, you can retry to copy files to another drive again.

PLUS: If it stuck while copying files to an external storage device, check if the power supply and USB cable are connected correctly. 

Three Manual Methods

Method 1. Check Bad Sectors on Hard Drive or External Storage Device

When a hard drive or an external storage device contains too many bad sectors, it will become extremely slow and even stuck while executing some operations on Windows PC.

EaseUS free partition manager software - Partition Master Free Edition with its Surface Test feature can help you to check existing bad sectors on the hard drive or other storage devices. 

Step 1. Open EaseUS Partition Master. Right-click the disk that you want to check, and then click "Surface Test".

Step 2. The operation will be immediately performed and all bad sectors will be marked as red.

After this, you can check existing bad sectors to decide how to deal with the bad sectors on your disk:

• If the first sector on your device is marked as red, the whole disk is damaged. You can do nothing to the disk.
• If the existing bad sectors have already exceeded 10% of the existing data on your device, you may get stuck while running programs or executing operations on the disk.
• To resolve this issue, we suggest you upgrade the old disk to a new drive. 

Method 2. Disable Remote Differential Compression and Turn Off Thumbnail

# 1. Disable Remote Differential Compression:

Step 1. Type Windows Features in the Search box and open Turn Windows Features On or Off.

Step 2. Uncheck Remote Differential Compression box, click "OK". Then restart your PC to keep all the changes.

# 2. Turn off Thumbnail to speed up copying files in Windows:

Step 1. Open the File Explorer and click "View".

Step 2. Click "Option" and a new dialog Folder Option will open.

Step 3. Click View, check "Always show icons, never thumbnail", click "Apply" and "OK" to turn off the Thumbnail.

Method 3. Check and Delete Desktop.ini File

Mostly, Desktop.ini file is invisible and not very big. However, when a Desktop.ini file is very big, more than 100MB, it will slow down your device performance.

So the other way that you can try is to check and delete the Disktop.ini file:

Step 1. Open Windows File Explorer, go to the View Tab and click "Options".

Step 2. On Folder Options, go to the View tab.

Check "Show hidden files, folder, or drives" and uncheck "Hide protected operating system files", click "OK" to confirm.

Step 3. After this, locate and check the Desktop.ini file. If it's very big more than 100MB, delete the file and restart your PC.

When you finish the process, you can retry to copy files to another storage device again on your Windows 10 PC.

Extra Tip: Restore Lost Files If File Copying Fails in Windows 10/11

If you lost files since 'Windows freezes on copying a file' or Windows 10 copying files failed, don't worry. Professional data recovery software provided by EaseUS software can effectively help you out with simple steps:

Step 1. Select a location and start scanning

Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard and choose the partition where you lost data. Then, click "Search for Lost Data".

Step 2. Filter and preview files

Use the file format filter on the left or upper right corner to find the files you need. If you remember the file name, you can also search in the search box, which is the fastest way to find the target file. Then, you can click the "Preview" button or double-click a file to preview its content.

Step 3. Recover lost data or files

Click the checkbox next to the file and click "Recover" to restore the lost data to your local storage or Cloud drive.

To sum up, on this page, you've learned the solutions to resolve Windows 10 stuck or hangs while copy files with two quick fixes and three manual methods.

When you lost files due to copying file failure on Windows PC, deletion, formatting or other reasons, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is always ready to help and bring your files back.