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I had trouble moving the AppData folder from one disk to another. The error I got was

Unspecified error

The bad thing about this error is: it does not only interrupt the move action, but it will prevent it from going on with the remaining items, even if you choose "Do this for all items" and "Skip".

The path is X:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\History\History.IE5 where X: is not my current system disk, so it must not be in use. It's a disk from a different PC where I try to copy the user data from. The files in the Windows directory of that disk are dated 2019. I believe it was a Windows 10 system.

My system where I use Windows Explorer is Windows 10 Pro 21H1. In order to see the folder, I need to deactivate the option "Hide protected operating system files (recommended)" and let Windows show hidden files and system files.

Hide protected operating system files

Finally, I found FastCopy, which was able to move the folder completely. I chose to move it without ACL and without Alternate Data Streams.

Accidentally, I moved it into a wrong folder on the destination disk, so I used Ctrl+X and Ctrl+V in Windows Explorer to move it again (same drive letter). Yet, I got the same error as above.

What's so special about the "History.IE5" folder that Windows Explorer has such severe issues moving it?

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  • What operating system? I do not have a history.ie5 folder on any of my machines.
    – John
    Nov 27, 2021 at 14:07
  • If the folder is contained within AppData, and your using another windows machine, you simply have no permissions to the folder. The files are used by Internet Explorer 11
    – Ramhound
    Nov 27, 2021 at 14:10
  • @John: I have added the full folder name and Windows version info to the question.
    – Thomas Weller
    Nov 27, 2021 at 14:14
  • Thanks. No such folder (double checked). I expect it is a carry over from some OS upgrade. You might try running Disk Cleanup (admin tools), select Clean up system files and select all categories. Complete, close out, restart and see if the folder remains.
    – John
    Nov 27, 2021 at 14:17
  • @John: to see the folder, you must disable "Hide protected operating system files (recommended)" in the Explorer options
    – Thomas Weller
    Nov 27, 2021 at 14:22

1 Answer 1

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The special property of the History.IE5 folder and files is that they are marked as both System and Hidden. Windows very weakly protects such files against standard (non-administrator) users, mostly requiring conformation for deletions.

In your case, the problem was compounded by the fact that their owner on the originating computer was not yourself. So you could copy but not delete them.

Once copied, you became the new owner of the copied folder and its files, so you had no problems with manipulating the copies.

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    I think you missed a piece "I got the same error as above" even after copying and ACLs removed. I can delete the folder, but I still can't move it.
    – Thomas Weller
    Nov 27, 2021 at 16:25
  • Also: if I create other files not belonging to me, with attributes system + hidden, the move operation asks for permissions but completes successfully. The History.IE5 aborts the move process.
    – Thomas Weller
    Nov 27, 2021 at 16:34
  • The owner property is not an ACL. Regarding FastCopy, I have once studied its code and it uses very low-level API functions, and especially not the same API as Explorer, so I can't predict what is its result.
    – harrymc
    Nov 27, 2021 at 17:46
  • I think I'm close: the desktop.ini of the parent folder History seems to play an important role. I could replicate the behavior in another folder by adding a desktop.ini file as well. I need to reproduce it again to get the steps right.
    – Thomas Weller
    Nov 27, 2021 at 21:08

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