Can using cp command corrupt files transferred across different filesystems? Should I be using something like rsync instead?

Question

I am trying to copy files from one hard drive to another in my home server using the cp command. I am copying from an NTFS-formatted partition to an ext4 partition on a new hard drive I have installed.

Is it possible for the cp command to corrupt the transferred files?

Should I be using something like rsycn to verify file integrity is checked upon completion instead?

Once the filesystem is mounted is should make no difference what it is from the commandline's perspective. — Boris the Spider, Mar 09 '13 at 14:54

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 09 '13 at 16:39

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rsync should be better than cp when copying files.

answered Mar 09 '13 at 16:39

Xiaowei Song

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score 0 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:13

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I would use rsync.

rsync can give you additional checksums, but the real power is the ability to resume after interruptions. This really helps for large files like VMs.

This really is more a serverfault question - See copying-a-large-directory-tree-locally-cp-or-rsync.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:13

Community

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answered Mar 09 '13 at 16:40

Josh

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*facepalm* Yes, should have been asked on ServerFault. Thanks for the help! – toolshed Mar 31 '13 at 19:47

Can using cp command corrupt files transferred across different filesystems? Should I be using something like rsync instead?

2 Answers2