Copying and Moving Files
I tend to avoid using desktop file managers for bulk copying or copying large files. I long have suspected that many if not most GUI file managers share a common flaw with respect to file copying. This includes Windows and going back through decades of computer usage.
I think part of the problem might be that the Linux kernel is aggressive about using RAM for disk caching. A GUI file manager might report that copying is complete, but in reality the copied data remains in the disk cache.
Typically when I bulk copy files or large files I open a terminal window and use the cp and mv commands or midnight commander. From the command line I never experience hard disk sync issues. That includes copying to and from USB devices, which notoriously are slow with copying and having sync related issues.
I suspect the console commands and utilities automatically `sync`. Partly because in the old days of slower and less capable hardware, and when there were no desktop environments and only consoles, disk syncing was common practice to avoid data loss. Regardless, when console commands and utilities report the copy or move operation is complete, my experience is the operation truly is complete.
Posted: Category: Usability Tagged: General
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