Windows 11 is Not Asking to Replace or Skip Files When Copying

Try resetting Windows File Explorer to factory settings

3 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

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Key notes

If Windows is not asking to replace files when copying new content, that may turn into a big problem that you won’t even notice until too late.

Why isn’t Windows 11 prompting duplicate files? Usually, that happens because the Folder options in File Explorer were modified.

However,according to a Microsoft Support Specialist, you should also know that the duplicate file dialogue only appears when you copy something from one partition to another. For example, from C: to D:.

If you are pasting from an external source or from the same drive to the same folder and the file has an identical name, the system will add a copy of the destination file with an additional identifier like (Copy) to the new file to differentiate it.

What can I do if the Replace or Skip dialogue box no longer appears?

1. Restore the Folder options to default

This is the quickest solution for the Windows 11 no file overwrite prompt issue. If some modifications have been made to File Explorer, this method should restore everything to normal.

If thecopy/paste function is not workingat all, the highlighted guide will help you fix the problem.

2. Tweak the Folder Options in File Explorer

This should reenable the file dialog box when attempting to overwrite a folder with the same name as the destination directory.

3. Reset File Explorer

The Replace and Skip dialogue should also appear when you extract some files from an archive to the same destination folder from which the files originated.

By default, when you use the Extract all option in Windows 11, the app creates a new folder but if you have changed the settings and set it to paste the file in the same folder, you will have to see the replace or skip options.

How do I restore a file or folder to the earlier version?

In case you have overwritten a file or a folder by mistake or due to this file conflict, here’s how you can undo the action.

This concludes our guide, hoping that our solutions helped you get over the file dialog bug and you still have the original files intact.

You might also be interested in our guide abouthow to move files in Windows 11and avoid such problems.

If you have any other questions or suggestions, feel free to use the comments section below and leave us a note.

Windows 11 is Not Asking to Replace or Skip Files When Copying#

What can I do if the Replace or Skip dialogue box no longer appears?#

1. Restore the Folder options to default#

2. Tweak the Folder Options in File Explorer#

3. Reset File Explorer#

How do I restore a file or folder to the earlier version?#