Nautilus can leave half-copied files on the target on error or cancel

Bug #67691 reported by Rocko
84
This bug affects 15 people
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
Nautilus
Confirmed
Medium
nautilus (Ubuntu)
Triaged
Low
Ubuntu Desktop Bugs

Bug Description

If a file move/copy is stopped half way through (eg due to pressing cancel or volume full error), Nautilus advises there was an error but does not try to delete the half-copied file, leaving the impression to a user on the target file system that the file was successfully copied.

When you do the copy again and press "Skip all existing" this will lead to data loss.

Revision history for this message
Sebastien Bacher (seb128) wrote :

Thank you for your bug. I've forwarded it upstream: http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=389828

Changed in nautilus:
assignee: nobody → desktop-bugs
importance: Undecided → Low
status: Unconfirmed → Confirmed
Changed in nautilus:
status: Unknown → Unconfirmed
Changed in nautilus:
status: Confirmed → Triaged
Revision history for this message
Rocko (rockorequin) wrote :

This bug should now be expanded to include the case where you cancel the copy/move command (see bug #216610). I think this is a regression - it didn't happen when I originally reported this bug - only errors like volume full were causing it.

The half-copied file is left whether you are copying within the same partition, or copying/moving to another partition.

This happens in nautilus 1:2.22.2-0ubuntu6.

Revision history for this message
tgpraveen (tgpraveen89) wrote :

Please dont completely remove this "feature".
My use case, when i have a slightly corrupted CD/DVD/usb disk and i am copying a big video file from it to my pc, on windows it gets stuck in middle gives error and i cant view any of it.
In ubuntu, atleast some part of the file is copied and then error is given out, and i can still view a portion of the video which is great i think.

Revision history for this message
Volodya (volodya) wrote : Re: [Bug 67691] Re: Nautilus can leave half-copied files on the target

tgpraveen пишет:
> Please dont completely remove this "feature".
> My use case, when i have a slightly corrupted CD/DVD/usb disk and i am copying a big video file from it to my pc, on windows it gets stuck in middle gives error and i cant view any of it.
> In ubuntu, atleast some part of the file is copied and then error is given out, and i can still view a portion of the video which is great i think.
>

This should be done with something like:
dd if=/media/cdrom/file.in.avi of=/home/user/file.out.avi

Graphical interface should really *not* leave half-made copies.

               - Volodya

--
http://freedom.libsyn.com/ Echo of Freedom, Radical Podcast
http://www.freedomporn.org/ Freedom Porn, anarchist and activist smut

  "None of us are free until all of us are free." ~ Mihail Bakunin

Revision history for this message
The Wind Blows (zachanimerulz) wrote : Re: Nautilus can leave half-copied files on the target

Wishlist item.

Changed in hundredpapercuts:
status: New → Invalid
Revision history for this message
The Wind Blows (zachanimerulz) wrote :

As Volodya states. It is quite annoying in most cases to think your file is there. As such a specific tool should be used if you truly want the old functionality way, as exampled by Volodya with dd (which is a very rigorous applications for the task ).
Admitted a PyGTK front end that makes it easier for files should exist.
Though dd is simple as long as you keep in mind 'if' is like input file and 'of' is like output file, along with the fact you can use tab for auto-complete in a terminal.

Revision history for this message
tgpraveen (tgpraveen89) wrote :

maybe the best way is to do it intlligently
if user explicitly cancels then dont leave copy
but if it runs into a error or something like that then do leave a copy with a message stating this if necessary.

Revision history for this message
Volodya (volodya) wrote : Re: [Bug 67691] Re: Nautilus can leave half-copied files on the target

tgpraveen пишет:
> maybe the best way is to do it intlligently
> if user explicitly cancels then dont leave copy
> but if it runs into a error or something like that then do leave a copy with a message stating this if necessary.
>

Only if the error is on the reading.

Use case:

disk: 102 meg free
file1 to be copied: 92 meg
file2 to be copied: 10 meg

we are copying both files in sequence to the disk
while the file is being copied other file writes 12 meg to the disk

what user would have expected is to be able to copy the 10 meg file only after
the error, but that would be impossible if 90 meg of the first file is still
sitting there.

              - Volodya

--
http://freedom.libsyn.com/ Echo of Freedom, Radical Podcast
http://www.freedomporn.org/ Freedom Porn, anarchist and activist smut

  "None of us are free until all of us are free." ~ Mihail Bakunin

Changed in nautilus:
importance: Unknown → Medium
summary: - Nautilus can leave half-copied files on the target
+ Nautilus can leave half-copied files on the target on error or cancel
description: updated
Revision history for this message
Volodya (volodya) wrote : Re: [Bug 67691] Re: Nautilus can leave half-copied files on the target onerror or cancel

On 11.11.2010 20:27, Jakob Unterwurzacher wrote:
> ** Description changed:
>
> - If a file move/copy fails half way through (eg due to volume full
> - error), Nautilus advises there was an error but does not try to delete
> - the half-copied file, leaving the impression to a user on the target
> - file system that the file was successfully copied.
> + If a file move/copy is stopped half way through (eg due to pressing
> + cancel or volume full error), Nautilus advises there was an error but
> + does not try to delete the half-copied file, leaving the impression to a
> + user on the target file system that the file was successfully copied.
> +
> + When you do the copy again and press "Skip all existing" this will lead
> + to data loss.
>

This actually is a different error report. The fact that existance of the file
with the same name but different content leads to the data loss is not
necessarily related to the fact that pressing cansel leaves half copied files.

                    - Volodya

--
http://freedom.libsyn.com/ Echo of Freedom, Radical Podcast

 "None of us are free until all of us are free." ~ Mihail Bakunin

Changed in nautilus:
status: New → Confirmed
Revision history for this message
Johan Boule (johan-boule) wrote :

My doubt confirmed. I'll have to use rsync to fix the partial copies.

Revision history for this message
Johan Boule (johan-boule) wrote :

And now rsync reveals another problem... nautilus doesn't preserve mtime while copying!

Changed in nautilus:
status: Confirmed → Invalid
Revision history for this message
Volodya (volodya) wrote :

Why was this changed to 'Invalid'. Was there some information that wasn't provided? If so what else is needed?

Revision history for this message
Paul White (paulw2u) wrote :

"Invalid" was shown as report marked a a duplicate of #403652.
Updating link as issue still appears to be current.

Changed in nautilus:
importance: Medium → Unknown
status: Invalid → Unknown
Changed in nautilus:
importance: Unknown → Medium
status: Unknown → Confirmed
Revision history for this message
Hasan Merkit (hasanmerkit) wrote (last edit ):

Not Medium, VERY HIGH IMPORTANT.
Bug realy needs fix.

Revision history for this message
Paul White (paulw2u) wrote :

Re comment #14, the upstream bug status is irrelevant as
the issue was closed by GNOME on 2021-06-18 as Bugzilla
is no longer used to track their bug reports.

Anyone wanting this fixed should file a new bug report at
https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/nautilus/-/issues/
and post the link to GitLab here so any further development
can be tracked.

no longer affects: hundredpapercuts
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