Guarding against file transfer errors between media

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Is there a way to ensure error-free file transfers between different media -
especially between a computer and an external drive (USB2) ?

Using such drives here it is sometimes found that some files (not any
particular type) would be corrupt or damaged. This does not happen in any
alarming proportions but does happen. At random and not confined to any
particular machine or device.

All drives checked out okay physically as well as in CHKDSK. Does the USB2
process itself include an error percentage, BTW ?

Any insights would be highly appreciated. TIA.

Avatar
-------
 
"Avatar" <avatar@uinverse.brane> wrote in message
news:eg0P3MinIHA.6064@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Is there a way to ensure error-free file transfers between different
> media -
> especially between a computer and an external drive (USB2) ?
>
> Using such drives here it is sometimes found that some files (not any
> particular type) would be corrupt or damaged. This does not happen in any
> alarming proportions but does happen. At random and not confined to any
> particular machine or device.
>
> All drives checked out okay physically as well as in CHKDSK. Does the USB2
> process itself include an error percentage, BTW ?
>
> Any insights would be highly appreciated. TIA.
>

I would suggest that you have your external drives set up for 'Optimise for
speed' and are not stopping them before disconnecting them. This means that
no everything has been writen to the drive becore you disconnect it. You
need to open the 'Safely Remove Hardware' from the icon in the notification
area, select the external drive and stop it. This forces the cache to flush
and write the remaining info to the drive.
 
My response at bottom:
"M.I.5¾" <no.one@no.where.NO_SPAM.co.uk> wrote in message
news:4803460b$1_1@glkas0286.greenlnk.net...
>
> "Avatar" <avatar@uinverse.brane> wrote in message
> news:eg0P3MinIHA.6064@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>> Is there a way to ensure error-free file transfers between different
>> media -
>> especially between a computer and an external drive (USB2) ?
>>
>> Using such drives here it is sometimes found that some files (not any
>> particular type) would be corrupt or damaged. This does not happen in any
>> alarming proportions but does happen. At random and not confined to any
>> particular machine or device.
>>
>> All drives checked out okay physically as well as in CHKDSK. Does the
>> USB2
>> process itself include an error percentage, BTW ?
>>
>> Any insights would be highly appreciated. TIA.
>>
>
> I would suggest that you have your external drives set up for 'Optimise
> for speed' and are not stopping them before disconnecting them. This
> means that no everything has been writen to the drive becore you
> disconnect it. You need to open the 'Safely Remove Hardware' from the
> icon in the notification area, select the external drive and stop it.
> This forces the cache to flush and write the remaining info to the drive.


That seems to make sense. We shall do as suggested.

Regards and thanks.

Avatar
-------
 
Avatar wrote:
> Is there a way to ensure error-free file transfers between different
> media - especially between a computer and an external drive (USB2) ?
>
> Using such drives here it is sometimes found that some files (not any
> particular type) would be corrupt or damaged. This does not happen in
> any alarming proportions but does happen. At random and not confined
> to any particular machine or device.
>
> All drives checked out okay physically as well as in CHKDSK. Does the
> USB2 process itself include an error percentage, BTW ?
>
> Any insights would be highly appreciated. TIA.
>
> Avatar
> -------

Check the "COMP" command via the command prompt. There very well may be GUI
programs that do the same (compare one file, byte-by-byte, with another).
One of the hazards, of course, is that simple compare programs may be fooled
by Windows reading the file from a memory buffer instead of the actual file.
 
My response at bottom:
"HeyBub" <heybub@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:uG4ZP7jnIHA.4196@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> Avatar wrote:
>> Is there a way to ensure error-free file transfers between different
>> media - especially between a computer and an external drive (USB2) ?
>>
>> Using such drives here it is sometimes found that some files (not any
>> particular type) would be corrupt or damaged. This does not happen in
>> any alarming proportions but does happen. At random and not confined
>> to any particular machine or device.
>>
>> All drives checked out okay physically as well as in CHKDSK. Does the
>> USB2 process itself include an error percentage, BTW ?
>>
>> Any insights would be highly appreciated. TIA.
>>
>> Avatar
>> -------
>
> Check the "COMP" command via the command prompt. There very well may be
> GUI programs that do the same (compare one file, byte-by-byte, with
> another). One of the hazards, of course, is that simple compare programs
> may be fooled by Windows reading the file from a memory buffer instead of
> the actual file.


The compare functionality is totally new to me and very interesting. I shall
certainly explore this further!

Regards and thanks.

Avatar
-------
 
Avatar wrote:
>>
>> Check the "COMP" command via the command prompt. There very well may
>> be GUI programs that do the same (compare one file, byte-by-byte,
>> with another). One of the hazards, of course, is that simple compare
>> programs may be fooled by Windows reading the file from a memory
>> buffer instead of the actual file.
>
>
> The compare functionality is totally new to me and very interesting.
> I shall certainly explore this further!
>
> Regards and thanks.
>

You're welcome. Normally, files are checked as they are written and the
problem of a child-file differing from its parent is remote. Yet things can
happen after a file is written. For example:

1. The HD controller goes nuts and slings garbage into the middle of a file.
2. Bit rot.
3. Streaming neutinos from the Solar Wind.
4. A malovelent foreign diety.
 
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