Windows copy vs xcopy

It will also check the files in the target directory against the files to be copied, and will not waste time copying unchanged files.

This automation is most useful for performing daily backups or large batch jobs that require some time but do not require interaction. This is similar to saving files regularly while processing them, but it is more efficient.

XCopy has no monitoring support. Both XCopy and Robocopy have support for copying over the "archive" attribute on files, while Robocoy copies over more file attributes than XCopy, including security, owner, timestamps, and auditing info. And there are plenty of options and switches for different demands. Click Windows Xcopy Command to see more. Next, I will explain how to use the Xcopy command to copy folders and subfolders and their contents from one location to another.

The basic syntax of the robocopy command is: robocopy [source] [destination]. There are various options you can use with the robocopy command to meet different needs.

Click Windows Robocopy Command to see more. Next, I will explain how to use the Robocopy command to trsansfer files from one location to another. Now you know how to use Xcopy and Robocopy, although the whole process seems complicated, both utilities have some shortcomings. It is not useful for backing up live operating system volumes.

It ignores changed security attributes of previously mirrored files. This freeware is designed with a user-friendly graphical user interface, which is easier to operate than the above two Windows built-in command line file copy utilities. Step 1. Step 2. Step 3. Click " Add Folder " to select the folder which you want to synchronize. I just want to use XCopy command to copy only newer files, because these files are very large.

Is there a way to specifically just copy new or updated files without specifying a date? Any suggestion will be appreciated. Before using XCopy to copy only changed files, you need to learn the syntax and some parameters you will use. Now, see below and learn the detailed steps. Note that if there are spaces in your directory names, you need to use quotes. Step 2. Use XCopy to Copy only updated files with corresponding commands.

Please remember to hit Enter after each one. Robocopy can also help you copy only new files, but it has more options than Xcopy and is considered as a good alternative. Before you use it, please learn the syntax and options you may use. Use Robocop to copy only newer or added files with corresponding commands. Please remember to hit Enter in order.

As for you can see from above, whether using XCopy or Robocopy, you need to learn the syntax and some parameters, and none of them is easy for home users. Well then, is there any way to copy only changed or new files? The previous one keeps these files just as in the original folder, you can easily access or use them after syncing. While for the latter one, it adds an extra layer of your files by compressing them to an image files, greatly reducing any unwanted access and the risk of files being corrupted or modified.

Select one per your needs. Here you will use the Sync feature to sync only changed files. It has 4 sync options and comes along with helpful features, such as, daily, weekly, month schedule sync. And all of them has its own features, you can check details in the following box. Then, go to the Sync tab and copy only newer files with one of them. Here Take Basic Sync as an example. Step 1.

Then, prepare an external hard drive or other storage as sync destination and connect it to your computer. Step 3. If you lose your connection during the copy phase for example, if the server going offline severs the connection , it resumes after you reestablish the connection.

By default, you are prompted to overwrite. Copying encrypted files to a volume that does not support EFS results in an error. Decrypt the files first or copy the files to a volume that does support EFS. If you omit Destination , the xcopy command copies the files to the current directory. If Destination does not contain an existing directory and does not end with a backslash , the following message appears:. Press F if you want the file or files to be copied to a file.

Press D if you want the file or files to be copied to a directory. The xcopy command creates files with the archive attribute set, whether or not this attribute was set in the source file. For more information about file attributes and attrib , see Additional References. If you have a disk that contains files in subdirectories and you want to copy it to a disk that has a different format, use the xcopy command instead of diskcopy. Because the diskcopy command copies disks track by track, your source and destination disks must have the same format.

The xcopy command does not have this requirement. Use xcopy unless you need a complete disk image copy. To process exit codes returned by xcopy , use the ErrorLevel parameter on the if command line in a batch program. For an example of a batch program that processes exit codes using if , see Additional References. The following table lists each exit code and a description. To copy all the files and subdirectories including any empty subdirectories from drive A to drive B, type:.

To obtain a list of the files to be copied by the previous command that is, without actually copying the files , type:. You can create a batch program to perform xcopy operations and use the batch if command to process the exit code if an error occurs. For example, the following batch program uses replaceable parameters for the xcopy source and destination parameters:.

This example copies all the non-empty directories, plus files whose name match the pattern given with the asterisk symbol. In the preceding example, this particular source parameter value.