Windows – Does Windows Move command delete the file only on successful completion

batchcommand linefile-transferwindows

This may be a stupid question, but I'm erring on the side of caution here.

If I'm using Windows command line/batch files to Move a file from one server to another and we have a network failure, what will happen to the original file?

I would assume it remains untouched until fully moved, and then deleted, but I need to be sure. My fear is that it deletes bytes as they are moved, which would be bad.

If that isn't the case, is there a better way than Copying the file and Deleting after the copy completes?

Thanks for your help.

EDIT: I suppose super user would have been better. This is part of a job kicked off by code, so my first thought was to come here.

Best Answer

Moving on the same logical disk: Windows simply moves the file-system references atomically. Very fast.

Moving on different logical disks: Windows performs a copy from one disk to the other, then deletes the file from the first disk, once successful.

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