The Windows API has a logical limit of 255 characters and the behaviour of the described problem is consistent with this.
Solution 1
· When mounting the recovery point the default mount path (C:\ProgramData\AppRecovery\MountPoints) forms part of the 255 limit. Attaching the mount point to a directory closer to the root of the drive letter (eg. C:\Mounts) may shorten the file path sufficiently to allow the copy.
Solution 2
· The Robocopy command line utility, which is natively deployed with Server 2008 and server 2012, will overcome the Windows API limit and allow the copying of files / folder paths longer than 255 characters.
A sample command is included below:
robocopy SOURCE(MountPoint) DESTINATION(Production data path) /E /ZB /COPYALL /DCOPY:DAT /log:C:\LOG.TXT /NJH /TEE
Explanation of Robocopy switches
/E to copy everything including empty folders
/ZB to copy files in restartable mode (to survice a network glitch), then if it fails uses backup mode
/COPYALL copies everything including ACLs
/DCOPY:DAT copies all directory information including timestamps and attributes
/LOG:C:\log.txt outputs all information into a log file
/NJH hides the job header
/TEE also outputs to the screen
