Error Creating Copy in Google Drive: How I Get Make a Copy Working Again

You click Make a copy in Google Drive, a small box says it’s copying, and a few seconds later the copy gives up. The message usually reads:

Error creating file

Most of the time, I fix it when I check Google’s status page, free up storage, and then retry in a clean browser window.

In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through an error creating copy google drive problem in the order I’d check it, from outages and storage to the owner settings that block copying on purpose.

Why Make a copy fails

A copy is a brand-new file in your Drive, so anything that stops new files can stop a copy. Here’s how to tell which cause you have:

• Every copy fails, even your own files: an outage, full storage, or a browser problem.
• Only big files fail: the daily copy limit on work accounts, or storage running low.
• Only someone else’s file fails, or Make a copy is missing: the owner has probably turned copying off for your role.
• A “Working…” box never finishes: refresh the page and try again before anything else.

That last one happened to me on October 31, 2026. I pressed Ctrl+C then Ctrl+V on a PDF, and the toast just sat there. A refresh and a retry sorted it. If Drive also keeps disconnecting, read why Google Drive keeps going offline.

Check Google’s status dashboard first

I always start here. If Drive itself is having trouble, nothing on my computer will fix it. Google’s Drive help points to the Google Workspace Status Dashboard, and it works for personal accounts too.

1. Go to google.com/appsstatus.
2. Read the banner at the top: no incidents, or a list of affected services.
3. Scroll to the Google Drive row and look at today’s column.

An orange or red icon means Google is on it, so wait and try later. My guide to the failed server error in Google Drive covers outages in more detail.

Make room if your storage is full

Google says that once you reach your storage limit, you can’t upload or create files in Drive. A copy counts as a new file, and it uses the same space as the original.

A free account has 15 GB, shared across Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. To check yours:

1. Open drive.google.com and click Storage in the left menu.
2. Read the amount used at the top.
3. Compare it with the size of the file you’re copying. If the copy won’t fit, delete or move something big first.

My demo account is on a 5 TB plan, so space isn’t the issue there. If yours says full and you can’t see why, here’s where to look when Drive storage is full with no files.

Check the 750 GB daily copy limit

On Google Workspace accounts, Google’s admin help says each user can upload and copy 750 GB to Drive within 24 hours. Once you hit that, you can’t upload or copy more files until the limit refreshes.

Copies count toward it, not just uploads. A file larger than 750 GB can’t be copied at all, so you’d have to download it and upload it again.

If you’ve been moving a lot of video today, wait a day and retry. My notes on how to upload large files to Google Drive help you plan big transfers.

Make the copy from inside the file instead

When my right-click copy keeps failing on a Google Doc, Sheet, or Slides file, open the file and copy it from the menu. It gives you a few more choices, too.

1. Open the file.
2. Click File > Make a copy.
3. Type a name, then click the folder button to choose where it goes.
4. Pick Exact copy if you see that option.
5. Check Copy comments and suggestions only if you need them.
6. Click Make a copy.

For other files, like PDFs or Excel files, go back to Drive, right-click the file, and choose Make a copy. The menu also shows the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl+C then Ctrl+V.

Google Docs files max out at 1.02 million characters, and other files at 5 TB. If you need a copy of a file you can’t open, request access in Google Drive first.

Clear the cache and test a private window

A stale cache or a fussy extension can break copies while everything else in Drive works. The quick test is a private window: press Ctrl+Shift+N in Chrome, sign in, and try again.

If the copy works there, I clear Chrome’s data:

1. Click the three-dot More menu, then Delete browsing data.
2. Choose a time range, such as All time.
3. Check Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files.
4. Click Delete data and sign back in.

Still failing? Turn off ad blockers and other extensions, and disconnect any VPN, then retry. My guide to clear the cache in Google Drive covers phones as well.

When the owner has turned off copying

If the file belongs to someone else and you’re a viewer or commenter, the owner can stop you from copying it. In that case, Make a copy is missing or fails every time, and that’s on purpose.

Here’s what I see as the owner, in Share > Settings. With Commenters and viewers unchecked, they can’t download, copy, or print.

Don’t hunt for a way around it. Ask the owner to tick that box or give you edit access. For the matching download side, see whether viewers can download Drive files. On a work or school account, your admin’s settings can also limit copying, so ask them.

Still failing? How to prevent it next time

• Keep an eye on the Storage page before big copies.
• Copy fewer files at once, so a failure is easy to retry.
• Keep Chrome updated and leave cookies on for Drive.
• If you own a file others need to copy, check its Share settings before you send the link.

If a shared file won’t print either, my post on printing is disabled for this file explains the same owner setting.

If Drive is giving you other trouble, these might help:

• the download quota exceeded error
• cannot download files from Google Drive
• turn off downloading for your own files
• error accessing folder contents

More about this error