Windows Networking Is Still Crap

I will allow this much:

Networking Windows computers has gotten much easier. Anyone who tried to network Windows 3 computers together will testify that it was a complete nightmare. The batch files! The weird drivers! The frequent re-boots. Yuk.

So, Windows XP is a freakin' cakewalk in comparison. But it's still crap.

One aspect of it that annoys and mystifies me is the "Error Copying File or Folder" error message that I frequently get when trying to transfer files across a LAN. It goes like this:

"Cannot copy [filename here]: Access is denied.
Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use."

Often this occurs on a network that has previously been quite happy to transfer files. Then it suddenly decides not to.

Of course, this error message is wholly useless as (1) the disk is not full or write-protected and (2) the file is not currently in use. And if you Google this error message or go to Microsoft's so-called "Knowledge" Base you'll find that numerous users have this problem and that there is no one, reliable solution.

Or wait, there is one solution:

Acknowledge that Windows networking is still crap, get a flash drive, put the files on it and carry it from one computer to the next.