Forum Discussion
Incomplete files copied to a remote host with Copy-Item
Hello! I tried to copy a file (of about 1 GB) from host1 to host2 through PowerShell's Copy-Item. host1 runs PowerShell 7.4.0 and Windows 11, host2 runs Windows 10 with its default version of Po...
Hi, Paige.
I'm honestly not sure what the issue might be, as since I cannot reproduce the issue, it leaves guessing as the only option I have.
So, you have two hosts that you've already tested with, which are:
| Label | Platform | PowerShell |
| Host 1 | Windows 11 | Has PowerShell 7.4 |
| Host 2 | Windows 10 | Only has Windows PowerShell |
If would be interesting to introduce a third host:
| Label | Platform | PowerShell |
| Host 3 | Windows 10 or 11 | Only has Windows PowerShell |
And then try the copy from Host 3 back to the original Host 2.
I have no idea if this would produce a different result but it could indicate what to focus on, insofar as:
- If the whole files copies, then I'd focus on Host 1;
- If the whole file only copies that same 3 MB then I'd focus on Host 2.
It's really just structured guesswork but if you have a third machine, it'd be quick and worth doing.
I also have a funny feeling this might come down to which options are chosen during the PowerShell 7.4 setup, too, as I seem to recall there's some options in there around defaults (which I always unselect), but that may have exactly nothing to do with this issue. It's just an isolated thought that if I were trying to diagnose this, I might come back to after running the Host 3 scenario above.
I'm hoping someone else might have seen this before and can provide some detailed insight, as guessing doesn't inspire much confidence.
Cheers,
Lain
Your table is correct: it perfectly depicts the scenario.
Unfortunately I don't have a host3 available, so my tests have only been between host1 and host2.
I installed in host2 PowerShell 7.4.1 (and during the installation no options were asked to choose, so maybe the PowerShell 7.4 setup you are mentioning can be done in a separate moment) and I enabled PSRemoting also there.
Then, I made several tests between host1 and host2 (trasferring not only files from host1 to host2 but also vice-versa), specifying either
$test_transfer = New-PSSession host2 -Credential host2-user -ConfigurationName microsoft.powershellor
$test_transfer = New-PSSession host2 -Credential host2-user -ConfigurationName powershell.7.4.1so selecting which PowerShell must be used in the destination host. I didn't cover all the possible cases, but many.
This way, all the file transfers were successful, except for one case: when running PowerShell 7.4 in host1 and selecting "-ConfigurationName microsoft.powershell", so using Windows PowerShell 5.1 in host2 as receiving program. In this case, even if the transfer of a huge file (hundreds of MBs) was completed, only a 3 MB file remained in host2, unreadable.
As you previously guessed, probably this was due to a compatibility issue between PowerShell 7.4 and Windows PowerShell 5.1, when the former is used as sender and the latter as receiver (vice-versa was instead ok, at least during my tests). So I suggest to use PowerShell 7.4 in both.
