Topfield 5800/Troubleshooting/USB invalid char

The Toppy can name recording files using characters that are not allowed on a Windows PC. Any one of these is likely to cause problems:

\ / : * ? " < > |

Simplistic tools like Altair may fail to retrieve such files, but often this failure won't occur until the whole contents of the file have been transferred, making it a particularly annoying problem. If you get one of the following types of error then check the filename for the above characters:

  • A 0 byte file following an apparently successful transfer.
  • "Cannot copy the selected file. Already used in the other process or unknown error occurred" (in a standard Windows error box).

The solution is to either use a better tool (like TopSet or an FTP setup), or rename the file on the Toppy before transferring it:

  1. Select the recording in native Archive
  2. Press the Blue button to select "Options"
  3. Select "Rename"
  4. Press Up to select the filename part
  5. Press Right repeatedly until the first "bad" character is highlighted
  6. Press Red to delete that character
  7. Repeat from 5 if necessary.

0 Byte files have also been reported associated with faulty USB cables and paticularly active USB extenders here