Cancelled cut and paste, what happens?

Question

I cut and paste an 80GB worth of files and folders. At about 80% I cancelled it. Are some of the files deleted and gone forever? Does the files that were successfully transferred gets deleted? If yes, can I still recover them?

For future ref, I would just to a copy and paste and make sure that all files are copied correctly, then delete the old ones. This saves a lot of time with data loss. — Sandeep Bansal, Aug 26 '11 at 11:56
How did you cancel the paste operation? I didn't event know it was possible... — bbaja42, Aug 26 '11 at 14:38

score 15 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 12 '19 at 13:41

15

When you cut and paste the data, the data transfer proceeds one file by one from the location of transfer to the other location. Until the file transfer is completed, the files are not deleted from the original location(from where the files were cut). If by chance the transfer is interrupted the files which have not transferred yet will remain in the original location and you can again proceed with your transfer.

There is a very small chance of losing data if the transfer is interrupted by a power failure or a system hang. In my case I've never lost data when cutting and pasting, no matter the size.

edited Apr 12 '19 at 13:41

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answered Aug 26 '11 at 12:17

avirk

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when i cancelled the process at that time the file that was transfered from source to destination it will remain in original location but in my case it is also available in destination, when i again did the same process i.e. remaining file transfer it display a warning message - do you want to override, strange – Vishal Yadav Jan 14 '18 at 08:19

soandos · Answer 2 · 2011-08-26T14:14:55.003

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No file should be lost. Information that was copied will remain copied, and information that was not copied will remain where it was.

edited Aug 26 '11 at 14:14

answered Aug 26 '11 at 11:55

soandos

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What is "information" a bit, a byte, a file, a folder? Please be more precise. – Robert Aug 26 '11 at 13:34
Edited to answer. – soandos Aug 26 '11 at 14:15

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 26 '20 at 17:25

Hitting 'cancel' on a file transfer, using the built-in windows move, ends up deleting the file that's been copied over. If Windows had deleted the source file by then too (in my case, it deletes the file, then tells me it's unable to read that file, and gives me option to cancel etc), then you lose the file entirely...time to get out Recuva etc. then.

This is a critical bug in Win7, and possibly other versions (e.g. https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/cancelled-move-folders-on-external-drive-now-all/1dfd516a-800c-40f1-a95c-219acfd67383 - on Win8, https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/hit-cancel-while-copying-a-folder-now-files-are/1dd95bed-0c88-4cdc-b5ea-7e8652fc75a9)

Critical because...the file just vanishes!!! It doesn't accept your cancel request, it instead obliterates the file that it had successfully copied over, that after deleting the source file as well. How cool is that? I wonder how many potentially important files I've lost before I caught on to this bug last year...

Can someone confirm if this bug still exists in Win10?

Better to not use the built in Move. Try something like Ultracopier instead, which I've confirmed that under the same circumstance doesn't delete the copied file if you hit cancel.

Cannot reproduce in Win 10 Education 1909 – Mára Toner Jun 12 '20 at 06:02 — Mára Toner, Jun 12 '20 at 06:02

score -1 · Answer 4 · edited Feb 04 '23 at 22:20

It just happened to me, and I'm using windows 10, as of 2/1/2023. I was moving over a file containing home movies transferred from VHS to DVD, and I realized I was moving to the wrong location hit cancel and bam all the videos but 1 were wiped.

I did a full system scan of the files in case I was confused about the location. Once I realized it was a big, I decided to look it up sure enough lots of reports of the issue. And if Microsoft refuses to acknowledge this big I can easily recreate it for them any time may just make a video to post to show it exists or at least how it happens.

I wonder how many files I've lost over the years. It's sad to think about. But it is a shame I'll have to copy and paste and no longer use cut and paste. The future of infinite copies is finally here..... No, I better not delete this source folder or the copy folder one or more items may or may not have been cut and pasted properly. ‍♂️

Cancelled cut and paste, what happens?

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