ctrl+c on local machine terminates the file copy being done on RDP connection

Question

I have been getting this problem only recently(since two weeks ago).

I connect to a remote server on Remote Desktop connection. Then I copy some huge files (~40 GB in total) from the remote server onto the local machine. The copy process shows it might take 3 hours.

So I go back to some work I have been doing on the local machine with the copy going on in the background.(for ex: preparing a ppt etc)

Now the problem is, if I press ctrl+C to copy some text on the PPT application, the copy that was going on the remote connection gets terminated after showing an error message box. The error message box reads something equivalent to "Unable to identify the error". The case of selecting "copy" from menu or right click dropdown box gives the same outcome as mentioned above

Why is this ? Is there a way to avoid this from happening (other than not using the copy function as the remote file transfer is going on) ?

My local machine is windows 7 professional. My remote server is windows 10 pro

Answer 1

Ctrl-C is commonly used two different ways:

• In a GUI, it is used, as you state for Copy.
• In a terminal, it is often used as an abort signal, interrupting whatever task is running.

Evidently, Remote Desktop treats it as a signal to abort the copy. Why not use one of the many alternatives to using a shortcut key to copy? E.G. right-click on a block of text or an image and select Copy from the context menu.

Understandably, it would be rather irritating to have copied 39 GB and then accidentally hit the wrong key combination. My own preference is to walk away during the long operation and work on another task, but if you're determined to use the PC during the file transfer, put a bit of plastic foam underneath the Ctrl key(s). This will make it a bit harder to press the key down, serving as a tactile reminder (I do this with Caps Lock on my PC's).

Answer 2

Remote Desktop uses a feature called "clipboard synchronization" - it basically tries to synchronize the clipboards on the local and remote computer. When you ctrl-c a file, the file does not end up in the clipboard, but just a reference. Then, when you actually do a file paste, the file starts being copied and it goes through the clipboard synchronization.

If you change the local clipboard (source), then the file reference will be removed from the clipboard and then the file copy will stop.

The only alternative that I can think of is to redirect a folder or a drive to the remote machine and then copy it from there.