Why does copying a file to the same computer take so long?

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Can’t the file stay in the same “spot” in storage and be just linked to?

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4 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

What you refer to is a ‘move’, which is instant. Copying means you explicitly want a second copy, so you need to duplicate everything.

A file system consists of two items, a directory (which acts like a table of contents like in a book) and the actual files (across the many pages of the book). the directory contains the pointers (or links, as you called them) to the files.

If you move a file, it stays at the same place on the storage device, but the pointer in the directory changes in the directory, while still pointing to the same location.

If you copy a file, your goal is to actually have a second file, probably to change that file while keeping the original at a safe location. So this time, you need to make a new file, AND make a second entry in the directory.

If you wouldn’t make the second copy, you would have two entries in the directory that point to the same file. Any changes to the ‘copy’ would immediately also affect the original, as physically, they are the same file.

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