Files being changed when moving them

I had a folder called 'Walks' that was located as F:/Pictures/Walks
I then moved this folder to the drive root so it was F:/Walks

After moving it, it seems that many (not all) of the files in that folder have been changed. The file sizes are different, and last modified date is the date I moved the files.

Comparing one of the moved files with a file from a backup before I moved the folder, the only difference I could see was that the OWNER had been set as NETWORK SERVICE on the moved file. The filesizes are a few Kb different.

At a quick glance it appears to have affected many (but not all) .jpg files and probably all .mov files that were in the folder.

Any ideas what's going on here?

I have only checked a few of the files, but the images and .mov files I did check looked the same visually. Some data must have changed though to account for the file size difference.

If I do a binary compare between one of the files in my backup software, you can see most data is the same, see attachment.

If no-one knows, I think I'll be safest by restoring the files from a backup. With 19711 files that got modified when I moved the folder, it looks like it will take a long time to restore though!

If you just left-clicked and dragged the folder into the root, it will change the creation time on all the files. However, if you do a right click and drag and select copy or move, it shouldn't change any of the date and time stamps on the files.

FliGi7 said:

If you just left-clicked and dragged the folder into the root, it will change the creation time on all the files. However, if you do a right click and drag and select copy or move, it shouldn't change any of the date and time stamps on the files.

I just cut the folder from its current location and then pasted it in the root.

As far as I'm aware, left click dragging to move a folder has exactly the same effect as right-click dragging or copy-pasting so long as the current location and destination are on the same partition. If they're not, then left-click dragging should copy the files instead.

Unfortunately, in Windows 7, users have reported different file metadata changes depending on whether the files were dragged somewhere or right clicked and copied. Why, I have no idea, but there have been a couple threads on here about it.

Your screenshot shows the picture on two different partitions, although you said you just moved it to the root of the same partition. What's the discrepancy there? Doing that will change the modification date on the files.

FliGi7 said:

Unfortunately, in Windows 7, users have reported different file metadata changes depending on whether the files were dragged somewhere or right clicked and copied. Why, I have no idea, but there have been a couple threads on here about it.

Your screenshot shows the picture on two different partitions, although you said you just moved it to the root of the same partition. What's the discrepancy there? Doing that will change the modification date on the files.

Thanks for the clarification. If other users are having problems with cut and paste (albeit different problems to me), it sounds like cut and paste in Windows 7 is just buggy.

The reason the screenshot shows one of the folders on a different partition is because I was comparing the moved folder with a backup of the folder, and the backup is on a different partition. It would be kind of difficult to compare the moved folder with itself before I moved it

1Bowtie said:

Another thing always be careful with important data when moving by cut and paste, because when you cut it and you make a mistake it's gone, i always copy and paste then make sure it's where i put it then delete from the original place. Also there is no problem copying and pasteing between partitions or drive's that i know of.

If you cut a folder, then don't paste it anywhere, it will stay in the same location, not disappear. At least, that's how it works on my PC.

I always do right-click, drag, and move if I want to move things so that they maintain as much original metadata as possible.

Gotcha on the file comparison. I was wondering what was going on there. Just keep in mind that metadata will certainly differ from backup to the originals for various reasons (due to the program accessing the files to move them and/or them being relocated to at least a different partition if not drive which will change the properties as well). I don't think you were confused about this, but wanted to put it out there in case.

Bottom line, I have no clue why anything should have been modified to the point of changing file size amidst the move, regardless of how it was done. This still remains a mystery to me. What A/V and backup programs are you using? It might be a case where another piece of software grabbed it mid-move to analyze it or modify it for whatever reason.