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What's up guys, I'm trying to backup some Ubuntu files to my Windows machine. I have all the files in one folder and when I click "Properties" in Ubuntu it says 696 items, 742.6 MB. When I copied that SAME folder over to Windows it shows as 687 Files, 88 Folders and 708 MB. What's the difference here? I'm assuming one is counting folders and files differently, but the numbers still don't add up. Is there anyway to account for this difference?

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The trick is . . . hidden dot files( the ones that have leading dot in the name, e.g. .file1.txt ). They are included in the total count of files and folder size , but are not shown by default. Observe the example bellow: I've a folder /home/xieerqi/EXAMPLE where I copied contents of my /etc/passwd file. In the properties you can see total count of two, but without .test1 being shown , you will only see test2.

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What you want to do is open file manager's View menu and ensure Show Hidden Files is checked, or press Ctrl+H to have the same effect. Alternatively , if you are not shy of using command line, you can use rsync -a SOURCE_DIR DESTINATION_DIR

 rsync -a /home/user/Pictures /media/user/usb_drive
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  • Alright thanks that must be it. So Windows doesn't even count them at all then? Are those hidden dot files necessary for anything? I'm assuming it's extras like thumbnails or something Mar 23, 2016 at 7:39
  • @noobasaurus they are settings/configuration files. They are sort of important. What's your goal in copying the directory ? System backup ? Mar 23, 2016 at 7:41
  • yea, just wanna back up the files and reformat my ubuntu machine and then copy them back. The files themselves are the most important Mar 23, 2016 at 8:08
  • OK. So depending on whether or not you want just your personal data or personal data plus your settings , you may or may not want to keep those files. Read up on What's a good backup strategy, and give an upvote to that post and some of the answers if you find those useful Mar 23, 2016 at 8:10

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