Safest rsync command options

backuppermissionrsync

What are the safest commands to use with rsync to copy from one hard drive, all its content to a new hard drive, both external through my Mac.

The important thing is I want to be sure permissions and privileges won't risk denying me access in the future if I try to access files on a different computer with a different user account for ex.

Is rsync -a the answer ? Because I read it conserves permissions and privileges :/.

Thanks !

Best Answer

rsync -a preserves permissions as far as your current computer/account is concerned. Accessing files from a different user/different account is controlled by a lot of parameters outside of rsync's influence (mainly by the access protocoll and its options used when mounting the drive).

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Can’t do anything with external hard drive, “.Trashes” is probably the boogyman

I had the same problem today. After trying everything sudo I could do under the sun, manually trying to remove the .Trashes file through finder, etc I wound up just reformatting the drive.

The reformat took significantly less time than me trying to figure out how to get the drive empty. Probably better for the drive, anyway.

MacOS – Fastest and safest way to copy massive data from one external drive to another

remote sync, rsync, is a reliable choice for copying large amounts of data. You can prepare the command and perform a dry-run before committing to the copy; add --dry-run to simulate the copy.

Your final command will be fairly simple:

sudo rsync -vaE --progress /Volumes/SourceName /Volumes/DestinationName

The flags are:

v increases verbosity.
a applies archive settings to mirror the source files exactly, including symbolic links and permissions.
E copies extended attributes and resource forks (OS X only).
--progress shows progress during the copy.

sudo, is used to ensure rsync has appropriate rights to access and read all files on your drive regardless of owner. This also allows rsync to write the files to the new drive recreating the original owner information.

rsync is likely the best choice because it can be rerun in case of problems, offers detailed logging, and is as fast as can be while remaining safe.

There are numerous guides for getting the most from rsync, rsync command examples provides relevant examples. Take care with the trailing slashes; these can make a world of difference if your copy starts with a folder.

Alternative tools include ditto and cp. Both are reasonable choices but offer differing syntax.

Best Answer

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Can’t do anything with external hard drive, “.Trashes” is probably the boogyman

MacOS – Fastest and safest way to copy massive data from one external drive to another

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