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I heard that Ext4 Was more stable in these conditions, but how can I be sure that my files didn't get corrupted in the process? I heard that because of Ext4 journaling file that the files aren't very easy to get corrupted as compared to NTFS (which is what I switched from).

Anyone to help me out with any of this?

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2 Answers 2

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I agree with mikewhatever. Additional this might help:

The source shouldn't be damaged. The destination could be incomplete or so. If you want to see what was copied correctly and what not you can use diff or rsync. Type

rsync -nrcv source destination

To get a list of files which haven't been copied correctly. Leave out the parameter c to actually copy the data again.

To check a linux file system you can use fsck (NTFS should be better checked by windows itself). To check all ext3 and ext4 partitions during next system boot you can use:

sudo touch /forcefsck

Don't use fsck on mounted partitions!

Graphical tool

You can use the Disk Utility (run it form System / Administration or ALT + F2 and palimpsest). This is a graphical tool for hard disks and other storage devices. You'll find your harddisk there. Unmount it (there is a button there) and click Check Filesystem.

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  • alright, so, basically, ext4 isnt as easily corrupted from incomplete data transfers like how NTFS is? and say my external is mounted on sdb1 - How would I go about checking it and making sure I can repair whatever files? Last time this happened to me with my NTFS external, I lost over 40,000 songs and files due to Ubuntu freezing during transfer, how will I make sure that Ext4 wont do that like NTFS?
    – Alex Poulos
    Dec 26, 2011 at 21:13
  • Could you give me an example of how to use the fsck command? in my case?
    – Alex Poulos
    Dec 27, 2011 at 0:46
  • I expanded my answere. The graphical tool might make things easier. If you want to use fsck you'll have to find out the device path of your harddisk (e.g. /dev/sdb).
    – lumbric
    Dec 27, 2011 at 1:01
  • would I be able to use Gparted to check and repair corrupted files? Also, would it be better from now on to copy files over to the device instead of moving them to prevent the source files from corruption?
    – Alex Poulos
    Dec 27, 2011 at 1:07
  • @AlexPoulos You got already an answere from mikewhatever one hour ago, why do you need 2 answeres? If you have further questions, it would be better if you edit and expand your original question rather than writing comments.
    – lumbric
    Dec 27, 2011 at 10:19
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Any file system with journaling is less prone to corruption, including NTFS. That said, it has nothing to do with freezing when copying. If the data has only been copied partway, there is nothing a file system can do. Just copy the files again, overwriting the files that had already been copied.

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  • Well the reason I ask is because I switched from NTFS to Ext4 on my external drive because it got corrupted when copying files and ubuntu locked up and I had to turn it off. Lost all 40,000 songs... :( sad day. So, you're saying that with a file system like Ext4, they don't get corrupted like how that of an NTFS would in this situation?
    – Alex Poulos
    Dec 26, 2011 at 21:11
  • I don't really see the point of comparing NTFS and EXT4. Both can get corrupted, especially if the system hangs or freezes regularly when copying files. Does it happen regularly? You shouldn't loose anything when copying, because the source files are not changed.
    – mikewhatever
    Dec 26, 2011 at 23:13
  • Well I was also trying to move the files over too. And it froze
    – Alex Poulos
    Dec 27, 2011 at 0:40
  • So, overall, the best way to avoid corruption is to "copy" these files to the device instead of "moving" them to it, so I still have the source files? Also, can I use Gparted to check and repair any corrupted files on my external Ext4?
    – Alex Poulos
    Dec 27, 2011 at 1:05
  • Yes, copying is less destructive, and yes, you can use Gparted, but checking the file system would not create the files you wanted to move.
    – mikewhatever
    Dec 27, 2011 at 1:46

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