WinErr 100038 — Unable to read/copy file — When folder was read-only

[davidesp]

A cautionary/GOTCHA tale: Unexpected "Read-error" (really a write-error?) due to a parent folder being Read-only
Worked-around, by setting Read&Write, but is there a better way?

A sync from a source drive to a target drive failed for all the files within a certain parent folder.
The reported error was Read error `WinErr 10038`

The issue turned out to be that (only) the parent folder had read-only permission.

Syncovery succeeded in copying that folder across, as an item it its own right
The result of that folder-only copy-operation was an empty folder with read-only permission.
Consequently, subsequent attempts (by Syncovery or any other means, e.g. file-dragging) to put any files in that folder were refused (by the OS).

My quick-fix workaround was to change the source folder to `Read & Write`.

Ideally, I'd have preferred Syncovery to have treated such situations as a special case, such that when a read-only folder was encountered, it and its contents were together added to the target via a single "atomic" operation (e.g. via a temporary image-file).

Is a better fix/workaround possible? Any advice welcome.

[tobias]

Thanks for the interesting report!

Was this on macOS? And how was the folder read-only exactly? There are multiple ways, such as via Unix permssions or ACLs etc.

[davidesp]

It was on macOS (10.15.7, on an old macbook — must update someday!), and read-only (to everybody, including owner) in terms of unix permissions (that were probably set — long ago— via macOS-Finder's "Get Info"), no ACL.

[tobias]

Thanks, I will consider if Syncovery can be made to handle this situation somehow.

Of course you can let it not copy permissions, but then you'd have to anticipate the problem before starting the job.