SyncFolder
Error Messages
This page lists the status and error messages SyncFolder shows on the Tasks page, on the Status page and in notifications, what they mean, and what you can do about them. Messages are grouped by cause.
For most problems the Actions and Issues panels on the Status page give more detail, such as the exact file or folder involved. If a problem keeps coming back, switch on Log files on the Settings page, run the task again and contact support with the log files.
Successful Results
| Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Success, copied: …, deleted: … | The run completed without errors. For copy tasks: Success, copied: … |
| Success (simulation), to copy: …, to delete: … | A simulation completed. Nothing was copied or deleted. |
| Some folders were not accessible. Click Actions to find out more. | The run succeeded, but some folders could not be read — usually protected system folders or folders without permission. They are listed under The following folders are not accessible. Exclude them with a filter if you don't need them. |
| … (needs attention!) | A 2-way sync task found conflicts that you must resolve. See Resolving Conflicts. |
| Awaiting first run | The task is new or was reset and hasn't run yet. |
The Task Needs Your Decision
| Message | Meaning and what to do |
|---|---|
| Waiting for confirmation to delete files and folders | The first run of a 1-way sync task would delete files at the destination. Check them under Actions and click Continue, deletion is allowed on the Status page. See Task Status. |
| Attention - fewer files than expected, sync paused | A location suddenly has far fewer files than expected, for example because a drive was not connected. Choose Restore or Proceed on the Status page. See deletion protection. |
| Attention - Storage location A appears to be empty (or B) | Same as above, for a location of a 2-way sync task that is completely empty. |
| Task is waiting to resolve conflicts... | Conflicts are being resolved, or are waiting to be resolved, on the Resolve Sync Conflicts page. |
| Resolving conflicts failed | One or more conflicts could not be copied. Correct the cause and try again from the Status page. |
Location or Device Not Available
For these errors, a scheduled task is retried automatically later. SyncFolder notifies you only after several failures in a row (see Background failure threshold in Performance Settings).
| Message | Meaning and what to do |
|---|---|
| Source device is not specified · Target storage device is not specified · Storage device is not configured | The task has no location yet. Open the task and select the drive or folder. |
| Source device is not available · Target storage device is not available · Storage device A (or B) is not available | The drive, USB device, phone or server is not connected or not reachable. Connect it and run the task again. For a USB drive with another drive letter, see Actions with Removable Devices. |
| Source folder is not available · Destination folder is not available | The device is there, but the folder doesn't exist anymore (renamed, moved or deleted). Select the folder again. |
| Can't scan source folder · Can't scan destination folder | The folder could not be listed, for example because the connection was lost. Check the connection and try again. |
| The task has been interrupted unexpectedly · The connection with the storage device is broken | The device or connection was lost during the run, for example a USB cable was pulled or Wi-Fi dropped. Run the task again. |
| Task has been interrupted by Windows | Windows stopped the task, for example when going to sleep or shutting down. It runs again at the next opportunity. |
| Sync failed: Server unreachable | The task needs the network but there was none, or the server name could not be resolved (Network is not available. / Server(s) … could not be found on the network.). The task was not run and will be retried. This happens typically for tasks that run while the PC is locked — see At Sign-In and Lock. |
| USB device is locked | The phone is locked. You have a maximum of 3 minutes within which you must unlock the device. |
| Mobile device could not be found using … | The Android device with the Mobile Sync server was not found. Open SyncFolder on the phone, start the server, and check that both devices are on the same Wi-Fi. See SyncFolder Mobile Sync. |
| The configured folder no longer exists on the server: … · …is no longer available on OneDrive / Google Drive: … | The folder was deleted or renamed in the cloud or on the server. Select the folder again. |
Access and Sign-In Problems
| Message | Meaning and what to do |
|---|---|
| The shared network folder in the source location is not accessible (or target location) | SyncFolder can't sign in to the network share. Store the user name and password in the task with the Network button, or save them in Windows. See The Network Share Dialog. |
| Username and/or password not configured | The location needs credentials that are missing. Open the task and enter them. |
| Account for the target location is not registered (or source location) | Register the account again by opening the task configuration page and re-selecting the location/folder. Typical for OneDrive after the sign-in expired. |
| Access revoked for … | Access to the cloud service was withdrawn or has expired. Open Task Configuration and re-assign the drive/server. |
| Access to your Google account was withdrawn or has expired. Sign in again. | Open the task and sign in to Google Drive again. |
| Could not authenticate | The server refused the sign-in. Check server address, credentials and, for FTPS, the encryption mode or Force encryption using TLS v1.2. |
| Untrusted server certificate · Untrusted server key | The server's certificate or SSH host key is not trusted (yet), or has changed. Open the task, click Select drive/folder, check the details and accept them if you trust the server. See Trusting a Server. |
| Server doesn't support TLS | The FTP server doesn't support encryption. Choose FTP - Unencrypted only if you accept that. |
| Storage device access error | The device refused access. Check that it is unlocked, not write-protected and that you have permission. |
Copy and Delete Problems
| Message | Meaning and what to do |
|---|---|
| The task has finished with one or more errors | Most files were processed, but some failed. Open Issues on the Status page to see which files and why (Failed to copy file, Can't delete file, Can't delete folder, Can't synchronize folder, Failed to rename). Files that are open in another app are a common cause. |
| Can't create folder | A folder could not be created at the destination. Check permissions and free space. |
| Insufficient disk space available | The destination is full. Free up space or choose another destination. |
| Not copied, not supported (this is reported again only when it changes) | Items that can't be copied to this destination, with the reason: names that can't be used on Windows, paths that are too long, files too large for the file system (FAT32: 4 GB), several items with the same name in one folder, shortcuts, or Google documents without file content. |
| … files with prefix 'S' have at least 1 invalid character in their name … | Those files are copied with the invalid characters replaced by _. |
| The following folders have at least 1 invalid character in their name … | Folders with characters that Windows doesn't allow. They keep being reported until you rename them. |
| Warning: Compared with the corresponding source files all target files have the same size but a different 'Modified on' property. | All files are copied again on every run because the destination doesn't keep the modification time (common with some NAS, FTP servers and FAT drives). For FTP, check the timestamp setting; otherwise choose another File change detection method in Synchronization Actions. |
| Destination must be empty for Smart Split | Smart folder split requires an empty destination at the first run. |
| Smart Folder Split size is too small | A file is larger than the maximum part size. Increase Maximum size of each subfolder. |
| … Google document(s) are too large to export (over Google's 10 MB export limit) | These documents can't be exported. Choose Link to them (.url) or download them manually. |
Other Messages
| Message | Meaning and what to do |
|---|---|
| The task has been stopped by the user · Task has been stopped | You (or Stop all tasks) stopped the task. |
| Another task is/was active · The request is rejected because another task is currently running. | Tasks run one at a time. Wait until the running task has finished. |
| PowerShell command has failed | The pre- or post-run PowerShell command returned an error. Test it with Test in the advanced task settings. See Pre- and Post-Run Actions. |
| An error has occurred (group) | One of the tasks in the group failed. Open the Status page of each task in the group. |
| Cache file format error · Can't read cache file holding files and folders to be deleted | The task's cache is damaged. Reset the task and run it again. |
| An unexpected error occurred | Run the task again. If the error keeps repeating, switch on Log files on the Settings page, run the task once more and send the log files to SyncFolder support (see Show files in Explorer). |
Notifications
| Notification | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Task has ended with an error | A task failed. Click the notification to open the app and check the Status page. |
| Task requires your attention | A task is waiting for a decision (deletions to confirm, conflicts, fewer files than expected). |
| Scheduled backup/sync has failed more than … times in a row. | A background task keeps failing. Check whether its drive or server is available. |
| You must connect or reconnect the drive or the device that you have configured in the app. | A drive used by a task is missing. SyncFolder will retry a failed copy operation every 15 minutes. |
| Insert USB drive … in the computer. SyncFolder will retry after 15 minutes. | The USB drive of a task is not connected. |
| Task … has ended / Task has ended without an error | Shown for tasks you started yourself when this notification is switched on in App Settings. |
Related topics: Task Status · Permissions · App Settings