[Bug]: codex_transfer.backup.BackupError: Copy failed for C:\Users\xxxxxxxxxxx.xyz: [WinError 87] The parameter is incorrect

[mgoulisheva]

Codex Lifeboat version

3.4.2

Windows version

Windows 11

Operation

Backup

What happened?

That's what I see in the logs:

Microsoft Store did not provide a comparable version number; continuing with the installed version
Microsoft Store did not provide a comparable version number; continuing with the installed version
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "codex_transfer\gui.py", line 2605, in worker
File "codex_transfer\gui.py", line 2731, in work
File "codex_transfer\backup.py", line 1882, in build_backup
File "codex_transfer\backup.py", line 215, in check_codex_not_running
codex_transfer.backup.BackupError: Codex draait nog (codex.exe, chatgpt.exe). Sluit de app volledig af en start opnieuw.
Codex draait nog (codex.exe, chatgpt.exe). Sluit de app volledig af en start opnieuw.
Microsoft Store did not provide a comparable version number; continuing with the installed version
Temporary package: D:\codex.building-Codex-PortableBackup-20260827-074744-0a826ffd
SQLite snapshot is consistent; found 57 conversations.

FAILED. Temporary directory retained: D:\codex.building-Codex-PortableBackup-20260827-074744-0a826ffd
Foutlog: D:\codex.building-Codex-PortableBackup-20260827-074744-0a826ffd\reports\backup-error.txt
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "codex_transfer\backup.py", line 398, in copy_tree
File "codex_transfer\backup.py", line 364, in copy_file
File "shutil.py", line 449, in copy2
File "shutil.py", line 380, in copystat
OSError: [WinError 87] The parameter is incorrect

The above exception was the direct cause of the following exception:

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "codex_transfer\gui.py", line 2605, in worker
File "codex_transfer\gui.py", line 2731, in work
File "codex_transfer\backup.py", line 1908, in build_backup
File "codex_transfer\backup.py", line 1071, in copy_portable_codex_profile
File "codex_transfer\backup.py", line 405, in copy_tree
codex_transfer.backup.BackupError: Copy failed for C:\Users\MariaGoulisheva.codex\plugins\cache\openai-curated-remote\windsor-ai\2.0.0\assets\logo-dark.png: [WinError 87] The parameter is incorrect
Copy failed for C:\Users\MariaGoulisheva.codex\plugins\cache\openai-curated-remote\windsor-ai\2.0.0\assets\logo-dark.png: [WinError 87] The parameter is incorrect
Running system checks…

Steps to reproduce

Start a backup with everything selected, after closing Codex.
The referenced failing file is existing.

[mgoulisheva]

Might be related to the Plugin Cache folder beding locked even when ChatGPT is not running:

[dkwolf1]

Thank you for the detailed report.

The traceback shows that the file-content copy reached shutil.copystat(), where Windows rejected the file metadata with WinError 87. This makes a file lock less likely. The destination filesystem may not support a timestamp or another metadata value from the source file.

Could you please provide the following information?

1. Destination filesystem

Run this in PowerShell:

Get-Volume -DriveLetter D | Select-Object DriveLetter, FileSystem

2. Metadata of the affected file

Run this in PowerShell:

$file = Join-Path $env:USERPROFILE ".codex\plugins\cache\openai-curated-remote\windsor-ai\2.0.0\assets\logo-dark.png"
Get-Item -LiteralPath $file | Select-Object Length, CreationTimeUtc, LastWriteTimeUtc, Attributes

3. Local-drive test

Please let me know whether creating the same backup in a normal folder on the local C: drive succeeds.

You may redact usernames or other personal information. No project contents or authentication data are needed.

The failed temporary .building-... folder is not a valid completed backup and should not be used for restoration.

[mgoulisheva]

Deleting the plugin cache fixed it, but it better be skipped by default. It was difficult to delete as extension-host.exe spawned again after being killed.

Btw, after that there was another failure:

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "codex_transfer\backup.py", line 2057, in build_backup
File "codex_transfer\backup.py", line 1319, in copy_attachments
File "pathlib.py", line 1267, in is_file
File "pathlib.py", line 1013, in stat
PermissionError: [WinError 5] Access is denied: 'C:\Users\MARIAG~1\AppData\Local\Temp\tmpj_beiqvz\imgs\slide-10.png'

Maybe this should not be fatal errors.

[dkwolf1]

Thank you for confirming both failure cases. They are addressed in Codex Lifeboat 3.4.3:

https://github.com/dkwolf1/Codex-Lifeboat/releases/tag/v3.4.3

Fixes included

• The machine-specific .codex/plugins download cache and active plugin runtime are no longer copied into new backups. This prevents locked or incompatible plugin-cache metadata from aborting the backup.
• Plugin configuration and user-created skills remain included and portable.
• Plugin-runtime data found in older backups is ignored during restore, while the destination computer's local plugin runtime is preserved.
• A temporary historical chat attachment that Windows no longer permits reading now produces a non-fatal notice instead of stopping the complete backup.
• Existing backup formats remain supported.

You should no longer need to delete the plugin cache or stop a repeatedly respawning extension-host.exe manually.

Could you please test version 3.4.3 by:

1. Downloading Codex-Lifeboat-Windows-x64-Portable.zip.
2. Extracting the ZIP completely.
3. Fully closing Codex/ChatGPT.
4. Creating a new backup with the same selection.
5. Running Verify backup afterward.

Historical temporary attachments that are no longer readable may still be listed as unavailable, but that should not invalidate the rest of the backup.

If it still fails, please share the new backup-error.txt and, if possible, the anonymized diagnostics report. Please do not upload an actual backup package or private project data.

I will keep this issue open until the fix is confirmed on your computer.