"Out of Memory" message while transfering files.

I have a Windows Vista pc w/ 4GB of ram. I have been transferring files from my internal hard drive to my external but every time I try to transfer than 20GB, I keep getting a message that my computer is out of memory. Now this not referring to hard drive space but physical memory.

I am trying to transfer a total of around 240GB to an external hard drive. When I get this message I check my Task Manager and my physical memory is almost down to zero. I can't transfer anything else during that time because I keep getting the same message even when trying to transfer 3MB. So I have to reset my system to get it back to normal.

I have read online a while back explaining this and saying how Windows Vista has a different way of using up memory but this is just plain annoying having to transfer around 4GB at a time so that I don't get that message.

Can anybody share some input on this?

This hotfix might solve your problem.
http://support.microso​ft.com/kb/942435/en-us

Thanks. Will look into it when I get home.

Tried this hotfix over the weekend and no go. I still get the same error when I transfer a large file(s).

Any other suggestions?

Are you dragging and dropping or using software for the transfer? What brand/model of external HD?

I am usually using <ctrl>+C and <ctrl>+V to copy and paste the files. I am not using the move option in case the transfer drops half way. I am using an HP computer running Vista. I have tried to transfer files to the following drives: Seagate Free Agent 500 and 750, also to a Western Digital.

I dont think copy/paste is ever suggested for that size of move. If you are backing up, try SyncToy from Microsoft. it is a free utility that is made for transferring large files and stuff.

My Free Agent 500 came with "Drive Manager" software that works great for transferring files. I don't know if using that will get around your issues or not, I'm still running XP, with 2MB of RAM.

Have you tried just dragging and dropping the files rather than copying and pasting? I've always had better luck doing that for large data sets.

alduin wrote in post #5598358
Have you tried just dragging and dropping the files rather than copying and pasting? I've always had better luck doing that for large data sets.

I think that is what I did when I first got my FA HD. I believe it leaves a copy of the file on the original HD also (when copying between different drives), so you don't need to worry about interruptions making you lose data. I may be wrong though?

I've been using SyncToy and it works great.
Mike

DDCSD wrote in post #5598425
I think that is what I did when I first got my FA HD. I believe it leaves a copy of the file on the original HD also (when copying between different drives), so you don't need to worry about interruptions making you lose data. I may be wrong though?

Yep. If you're dragging/dropping between different partitions, the default action is to just copy rather than move.

alduin wrote in post #5598539
Yep. If you're dragging/dropping between different partitions, the default action is to just copy rather than move.

Thanks for the clarification. I knew it worked that way from a memory card to HD, but I don't have my external set up to test it HD to HD.

I know someone mentioned Synchtoy, so I'll add Replicator, its part of Karen's Power tools its a free download. You can set it up to auto synchronize folders with a lot of nice options. Its great for moving large amounts of photos I just backed up 110GB of photos this weekend without a hitch.

I second Replicator, that is what I use to backup my photos and docs to another external. I am not trying to create a backup of the information. I am trying to transfer the information from one drive to another.