Life
How I verified a 98,285-document NAS migration
I kept the originals, copied the documents to the new NAS, recovered files missed by a permissions problem and verified the complete selection by checksum.
The problem
A completed copy command could not establish whether a large document move was complete.
My approach
I fixed the selection, preserved sources, repaired permissions and checked all selected files by checksum.
What changed
I moved 98,285 files; the comparison found zero missing files and zero mismatches.
BUILD DETAILS
Build details & ideas to reuse
01Define the selection before copying
I selected documents and document scans, excluding video, music, applications and dedicated photo archives. CAD and design sources went onto a separate review list. That manifest made completion something I could check file by file rather than infer from total size.
02Recover the copy, then verify the whole set
I copied without deleting sources. When permissions stopped the first pass, I corrected the destination and recopied the missing files. I then checked the entire selection and tested creating, reading and deleting files on the destination share.
03The figures that defined completion
The move covered 98,285 files across three shares, totaling 278.35 decimal GB. Full checksum comparison found no mismatches or missing selected files, and no sources were deleted. That established consistency at the time of the copy; continued preservation still needs backups.
04The sequence I would reuse
I retained the sequence: fix the selection, preserve the sources, copy, recover failures and verify the whole set. Next time I would also measure preparation, transfer, checking and correction separately. My finish condition is usable, complete data rather than an exited copy command.