Backing up iTunes data to external HDD resulted in a smaller file than the original. cp -pr worked fine. Wondering what command or utility is deployed for the drag and drop.

That makes sense (about the Objective-C). Although I've been using Macs for...many years...this was the first time I can recall that I did a copy this way, although I routinely used cp/rsync when I worked in a *nix environment. On the one hand, there's no contradicting the convenience of using the Finder; on the other, there's the warm fuzzies I get from using the command line, knowing a bit more about what's happening, and having more control over it. Can't say I've heard of ditto before—must be a Darwin thing? In any case, I'm interested in testing whether backing up only changes via ditto or rsync results in a usable iTunes data backup. (A stint in SQA made me wary of just about everything 😉 ) Thanks.

Thanks. I'd forgotten about rsync! I may well give it a try next backup—easier that way. I wonder, though, if I did use the finder, if the process could be displayed via ps.