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  1. #1
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    Default What happens if I interrupt a drive?

    I have a folder on an external drive called D:\Download folder.

    I'm just wondering what would happen if I:
    1. suspend anything that is downloading into it (which I can do successfully)
    2. Copy the Download folder to a new drive
    3. rename the old drive to (say) E:\
    4. Rename the new drive to D:\
    5. reactive the downloading procedure into D:\Download folder

    I forecast that the download should pick up where it left off. Can anyone confirm or deny that please?
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  3. #2
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    Can't say definitively, but I suspect it won't work if you're halfway through a file as the physical location of the data on the new drive may not match the location on the old drive, so it won't know where it left off to complete the file.

  4. #3
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    I see what you're saying Elan, but if I interrupt the download - even with the folder in the same place - it just picks up where it left off, so how would it know where it was physically up to? I have shut down the pgm a number of times, either by a restart or sleeping, and it just carries on where it left off.
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    The crux of this will actually be the question of what application you're talking about.

    Some apps put their temporary downloaded component in a location that isn't the same as where the final file will end up (although many more don't, they use the same place and a temporary name).

    But as @elan was hinting at, the drive letter may actually not be the thing that this app is using for its' identifier of where the drive is. Again, different apps will behave differently, and if it's just relying on the OS "Downloads" location then you should be fine as long as the OS still recognises that location....

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    Quote Originally Posted by FenceFurniture View Post
    how would it know where it was physically up to?
    I'd assume the downloading program keeps an internal record of what it's doing so it knows where to resume from.

    Resuming on a new drive probably also depends on how the program keeps track of the file location; if it's simply saying "resume d:/Downloads/file at the end of the existing file", that might work, but if it's saying "resume d:/Downloads/file at sector xxxxx", then it'll look at that location and not find what it's looking for.

    As poundy mentioned as well, temporary names/locations might also pose an issue.

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    Ok, just asked a couple of tech mates and was told that it should work. There's one way to find out...

    EDIT: You might need to re-select the download location in your program just to make sure it's identifying the drive properly.

  8. #7
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    Rightio, thanks chaps. I'll not be deleting the old folder until all is well anyway.
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    After 40 years in computers I have deduced that they have the same traits as females..... the answer to your question is the same as what happens when you interrupt a female?
    You can never tell....
    Do you feel lucky?
    Cliff.
    If you find a post of mine that is missing a pic that you'd like to see, let me know & I'll see if I can find a copy.

  10. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cliff Rogers View Post
    Do you feel lucky?
    Yep, always.

    Lucky with putas too.
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    So how did it go?

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    I haven't done it yet Elan - just a few other priorities at the minute.
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  13. #12
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    Well, as it turns out there is a much sweeter way to do it from within the software involved (which moves the folders for me, and frees up the old drive).

    Thanks for the inputs though.
    Regards, FenceFurniture

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    Your answer will depend on:

    What software are you using to do the downloading
    What operating system are you using
    What format is the disk
    Disk hardware (cache size and strategy)
    What is the definition of "interrupting" (using pause functionality in the download software, or killing a process etc.)
    What software is at the other end, feeding the download
    and probably other factors.

    Many applications which do downloads have developed to be resilient to deliberate or inadvertent interruption, and will gracefully recover and continue, but there are too many variables to be able to give anything other than a "it probably might".

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