Trouble reading files error 3956 operation failed

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We're a community of IT professionals committed to sharing knowledge. Our experts volunteer their time to help other people in the technology industry learn and succeed. Plans and Pricing. Contact Us. Certified Expert Program. You use Windows Explorer to try to copy files or folders in order to paste them into some other folder.

In this scenario, the behavior of the copy operation is unreliable and fails because of the length of the file or folder path. Additionally, you may experience one of the following symptoms:. The copy operation fails and generates a message that states that the path file name is too long. The message also suggests that you shorten the file name and try to copy again. The copy operation starts, copies a few files or folders, and then fails without generating a message.

This problem may prevent some files or folders from being copied. You may not realize the the problem occurred if you do not receive an error message. Different symptoms may occur, depending on how the files are selected for copying. Note This problem can also occur when you try to copy files or folders from Volume Shadow Copy Service snapshots if the file or folder length in the snapshot exceeds the maximum path length.

To resolve this issue for Windows 8. To resolve this issue for Windows 7 and Windows Server R2, install the hotfix that is described in this article. Get the Windows RT 8. A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft Support. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article.

Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing the problem described in this article. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix. Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, go to the following Microsoft website:.

If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language. The English United States version of this hotfix installs files that have the attributes that are listed in the following tables.

The dates and the times for these files on your local computer are displayed in your local time together with your current daylight saving time DST bias. Additionally, the dates and the times may change when you perform certain operations on the files. Windows 7 and Windows Server R2 file information and notesImportant Windows 7 hotfixes and Windows Server R2 hotfixes are included in the same packages.

However, hotfixes on the Hotfix Request page are listed under both operating systems. Always refer to the "Applies To" section in articles to determine the actual operating system that each hotfix applies to.