How To Fix 0x80004005 File Copy Error in Windows

Jamie Read more August 22, 2021

There are two kinds of 0x80004005 errors with Windows. One was a legacy issue with a faulty update in 2015, and one is connected to file copying or decompressing a file. The former was related to there being one or more faulty update files present, and Microsoft addressed it by releasing a corrected update. So if you’re looking at how to fix 0x80004005 update errors, just download an updated ISO and install from there. But if you’re experiencing 0x80004005 file copy errors in Windows, that’s what we are going to tackle right now.

How To Fix 0x80004005 File Copy Error in Windows

Errors with the 0x80004005 designation are ‘unspecified errors’ according to Microsoft and appear during a range of tasks from upgrading Windows as above, to moving or deleting files, extracting files from an archive, or other random happenings. There are simply too many examples of this error to cover them all in one tutorial. As unzipping, moving, and deleting files seems to be the most common occurrence, let’s tackle those.

Fix 0x80004005 File Copy Errors in Windows

As far as I can tell, in the context of moving, deleting, or extracting files, error 0x80004005 is about permissions. It can mean that the files being used are not regarded as valid by Windows or that you as the user do not have sufficient permissions to perform the action you’re trying to perform.

Fixing 0x80004005 Errors From the Command Line

As mentioned in the comments by Akhil, you can run the chkdsk utility to attempt to resolve the issue for you. If you have some time to wait for a built-in Windows utility to do its task, then this might be your simplest solution.

Note, if you’re having issues with the error code popping up while attempting to extract a zipped file, then you’ll want to skip this section.

Open up Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell as an administrator, they’ll both work the same for this.
Now, type in “C:” and hit Enter. Where it says [C:], type in the drive that holds the folder or file giving you the error.
Next, type in “chkdsk /f” and hit Enter. This will scan your drive for errors and fix them, it will take quite some time.

If you don’t feel like waiting for this program to finish or the above method didn’t work, then keep on reading.

Fixing 0x80004005 Errors When Extracting an Archive

Extracting an archive, or unzipping is something many of us do all the time. Compressing files makes transporting, sending, or storing larger files much more efficient. Compressing is also referred to as zipping because an archive usually has the suffix .zip.

Windows has a zip utility built-in, but what Microsoft won’t tell you is that there are some compression types that it cannot handle with the default software. If you come across one of these file types, it can throw up a 0x80004005 error. So let’s deal with that first.

Download 7zip or WinRAR remembering to select either x32 or x64 depending on your system. Both programs are safe and work seamlessly within Windows. 7zip is free, but WinRAR will eventually start hassling you to pay for it.
Install your program of choice and allow it to run with all file associations.
Retry the file you’re trying to extract.

Fixing 0x80004005 Errors When Moving or Deleting Files

If you’re seeing 0x80004005 errors when moving or deleting files, it is usually a user permissions issue. Even if you’re using your computer as an administrator it isn’t always enough. That means we need to take ownership of the folder.

Right-click the file or folder in question and select Properties.
Now, navigate to the Security tab.
Then, highlight your user account in the top pane of the window and click Edit.
Highlight your user account again and the boxes in the bottom pane should now be selectable. Check the box next to Full control and click OK.
Finally, retry the file you’re trying to move or delete.

If that still doesn’t work, try this:

Again, right-click the file or folder in question and select Properties.
Navigate to the Security tab and click Advanced.
Then, click the Change text link in the Owner line.
Type your account name where it says ‘Enter the object name to select’ and click Check Name. If you typed it correctly, it should become underlined.
Select it once more and click OK. The window should now close.
Depending on your configuration, if you’re changing a folder or drive, you may see ‘Replace owner of subcontainers and objects’ and a check box. Check it to change the permissions to all files and folders within the folder you’re changing so you won’t need to repeat this process for every individual file.
Retry the file you’re trying to move or delete.

Additional Solutions to Resolve the Error

Some users have reported the issue resulting from files starting with an “.”, which can cause problems in Windows but not in Linux. If you’re having issues with a file or folder and know how to live boot from a flash drive, then you should boot into a Linux distro and check the name of the file or folder on the drive in question.

Resolving Windows 10 Errors

Although the most common causes for 0x80004005 errors have been covered above, they can also less commonly be related to activation issues, device driver issues, or corrupted Windows files.

Were you successful in resolving the issue? Do you know of a different solution? Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences with the 0x80004005 errors in the comments below.