updating TeXLive packages exceeds Windows path length limit

[Markus Hoenicka <markus dot hoenicka at mhoenicka dot de>]

Hi,

I've just downloaded the latest setup-x86.exe to update my Cygwin 
installation on a Windows XP box. While setup downloads the required 
packages, it stops with a message saying:

Can't open 
\\servername\path\to\Downloads\[url_of_mirror]\path\to\texlive-collection-documentation-base-20130529-1.tar.bz2.tmp for writing: No such file or directory

Problem is, if I try to create a file with the same name manually in 
Windows Explorer, I apparently hit the maximum allowed path length just 
after the 't' in 'tmp'. In other words, the package filename is exactly 
two characters too long on my system and using my closest mirror. Setup 
exits without updating the system.

Is there a way to fix this? I know that I can try and find a mirror with 
a shorter URL, but I expect others to bump into the same problem sooner 
or later.

regards,
Markus


--
Markus Hoenicka
http://www.mhoenicka.de
AQ score 38


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