diff --git a/check.c b/check.c
index 78dc40a2..e8d11913 100644
--- a/check.c
+++ b/check.c
@@ -618,7 +618,7 @@ static int state_check_process(struct snapraid_state* state, int check, int fix,
 					}
 
 					/* check if the file was larger and now truncated */
-					if (ret == 1) {
+					if (handle[j].truncated != 0) {
 						fprintf(stdlog, "File '%s' is larger than expected.\n", handle[j].path);
 						fprintf(stdlog, "error:%u:%s:%s: Size error\n", i, handle[j].disk->name, block_file_get(block)->sub);
 						++error;
diff --git a/handle.c b/handle.c
index fe9d195f..16e82178 100644
--- a/handle.c
+++ b/handle.c
@@ -41,33 +41,38 @@ int handle_create(struct snapraid_handle* handle, struct snapraid_file* file, in
 		return -1;
 	}
 
+	/* initial values, changed later if required */
+	handle->truncated = 0;
+	handle->created = 0;
+
 	/* open for read write */
 	/* O_SEQUENTIAL: opening in sequential mode in Windows */
 	/* O_NOFOLLOW: do not follow links to ensure to open the real file */
 	flags = O_RDWR | O_BINARY | O_NOFOLLOW;
 	if (!skip_sequential)
 		flags |= O_SEQUENTIAL;
-	handle->created = 0;
 	handle->f = open(handle->path, flags);
 
-	/* if failed for missing file */
-	if (handle->f == -1 && errno == ENOENT) {
-		/* retry creating it */
-		flags |= O_CREAT;
-		handle->created = 1;
-		handle->f = open(handle->path, flags, 0600);
-	}
-
 	/* if failed for missing permission */
 	if (handle->f == -1 && errno == EACCES) {
 		/* retry without requesting write permission */
 		flags = O_RDONLY | O_BINARY | O_NOFOLLOW;
 		if (!skip_sequential)
 			flags |= O_SEQUENTIAL;
-		handle->created = 0;
 		handle->f = open(handle->path, flags);
 	}
 
+	/* if failed for missing file */
+	if (handle->f == -1 && errno == ENOENT) {
+		/* retry creating it */
+		flags = O_RDWR | O_CREAT | O_BINARY | O_NOFOLLOW;
+		if (!skip_sequential)
+			flags |= O_SEQUENTIAL;
+		/* mark it as created */
+		handle->created = 1;
+		handle->f = open(handle->path, flags, 0600);
+	}
+
 	if (handle->f == -1) {
 		/* invalidate for error */
 		handle->file = 0;
@@ -105,6 +110,9 @@ int handle_create(struct snapraid_handle* handle, struct snapraid_file* file, in
 			return -1;
 		}
 
+		/* mark it as truncated */
+		handle->truncated = 1;
+
 		/* adjust the size to the truncated size */
 		handle->valid_size = file->size;
 	}
@@ -120,11 +128,6 @@ int handle_create(struct snapraid_handle* handle, struct snapraid_file* file, in
 	}
 #endif
 
-	/* return if the file size was truncated */
-	if (handle->st.st_size > file->size) {
-		return 1;
-	}
-
 	return 0;
 }
 
@@ -140,6 +143,10 @@ int handle_open(struct snapraid_handle* handle, struct snapraid_file* file, FILE
 
 	pathprint(handle->path, sizeof(handle->path), "%s%s", handle->disk->dir, file->sub);
 
+	/* for sure neither created and truncated */
+	handle->truncated = 0;
+	handle->created = 0;
+
 	/* open for read */
 	/* O_SEQUENTIAL: opening in sequential mode in Windows */
 	/* O_NOFOLLOW: do not follow links to ensure to open the real file */
@@ -147,7 +154,6 @@ int handle_open(struct snapraid_handle* handle, struct snapraid_file* file, FILE
 	flags = O_RDONLY | O_BINARY | O_NOFOLLOW;
 	if (!skip_sequential)
 		flags |= O_SEQUENTIAL;
-	handle->created = 0;
 	handle->f = open_noatime(handle->path, flags);
 	if (handle->f == -1) {
 		/* invalidate for error */
diff --git a/handle.h b/handle.h
index f92c55cb..733f7f9c 100644
--- a/handle.h
+++ b/handle.h
@@ -30,14 +30,16 @@ struct snapraid_handle {
 	int f; /**< Handle of the file. */
 	struct stat st; /**< Stat info of the opened file. */
 	data_off_t valid_size; /**< Size of the valid data. */
-	int created; /**< If the file was created, or it was already existing. */
+	int created; /**< If the file was created, otherwise it was already existing. */
+	int truncated; /**< If the file was truncated. */
 };
 
 /**
  * Creates a file.
  * The file is created if missing, and opened with write access.
  * If the file has a different size than expected, it's enlarged or truncated to the correct size.
- * If the file is truncated 1 is returned.
+ * If the file is created, the handle->created is set.
+ * If the file is truncated, the handle->truncated is set.
  * The initial size of the file is stored in the file->st struct.
  * If the file cannot be opened for write access, it's opened with read-only access.
  * The read-only access works only if the file has already the correct size and doesn't need to be modified.