Dolphin is copying files (very!) slowly

[RonC]

I searched for "dolphin files" and "dolphin slow" and came up with nothing -- on the mint KDE forum -- but elsewhere on the 'net' came across references (going back to 2009?) that Dolphin apparently had, or perhaps still has, a file-copying problem.

This problem is seen with Dolphin Version 4.13.3 / Using KDE Development Platform 4.13.3:

The present example: before beginning this post, I began making a cut-and-paste of a Clonezilla folder, to give me a backup. This is within the same directory on a Seagate external USB drive. As the paste being started, I of course changed the name of the backup to be different from the original. Then I waited to see what was happening ... apparently nothing, or so it seemed, at first.

The original Clonezilla folder has 56 files, and at first I thought Dolphin was just losing all, or most of, the files, because they were so slow to appear, even after refreshing (F5) Dolphin's window.

During the time it seemed that nothing was happening, I just left the Dolphin window open and searched the 'net' -- only to find that other Dolphin users have filed reports saying Dolphin repeatedlyl loses files when copying very large folders.

Now, I wonder if this really happens, or is Dolphin just so slow it gives the impression it's losing files? Although I see no indicator that the copying is still in progress, over this time period of beginning the copy, deciding it was failing, then searching the web for problem reports, I occasionally go back to maximize the Dolphin window and am noticing that the file count is, in fact, incrementing, at a glacial rate.

What is the cure or a work-around for this behavior? This really isn't satisfactory, and I think if I just started the copy and closed the program's window, I'd also end up with 'lost files'.

I've only been on Mint for a few weeks, but what do experienced KDE users have to say about this??

[edit] I just opened Gnome's Disks utility and saw that this is happening in a NTFS-formatted partition. I wonder ... I didn't see the file system's name being displayed in Dolphin ... so it didn't hit me until now. Is this -- possibly -- the cause that copying my Clonezilla directory (still) has not finished? [/edit]

[DeMus]

It could be caused by the NTFS disk. On the other hand when you copy something on one disk you have to bear in mind the computer can either read something or write something, not do both at the same time, meaning it will take twice as long. Using 2 disks will make it faster, and I mean 2 physical disks, not 2 partitions on one disk.

[Flemur]

As the paste being started, I of course changed the name of the backup to be different from the original.

Does the mean you started the copy, then changed the name of either the source or dest while the copy was running?

[RonC]

That's a good question -- I think I changed it first, and then started the copying. My first thought is, if the copy had started, wouldn't the source file become locked -- and then refuse to accept a name change? If yes, there I definitely wasn't changing the name while the copying procedure was 'under way'.

I take it from the responses, that no one else is having a noticeable problem with this? If so, then perhaps it would work better if both source and copy were on a Ext-formatted partition. Does this go along with the experience of others?