Copy files faster in Windows 7 with robocopy
Thursday, January 14, 2010 posted by Till
Windows 7 comes with a new version of the robocopy command that is able to copy files much faster then the normal copy command or copy function of the file explorer by using several simultanious threads. So if you plan to copy a large number of files, e.g. to make a backup, use the robocopy command.
Example Copy files from C:\myFiles to F:\backup and use 10 simultanious threads. To execute robocopy, open the windows shell window or press the keys [Windows] + [R] to open the windows command line, then enter the command:
robocopy C:\myFiles F:\backup /MT:10
To get the full list of robocopy options, execute the command:
robocopy /?
For Windows XP or Vista, you can get the robocopy command from the Microsoft Resource Kit Tools
I found a GUI for robocopy called RichCopy after reading this post:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2009.04.utilityspotlight.aspx
Why use this antiquated technology?
And who cares about DOS console programs that require unnecessary typing and learning curves nowadays?
The best in the business is… RichCopy. And guess what, it’s 100% free for NTx [2000/XP/2003/Vista/2008/7] Windows users, and was developed by a MS employee in Japan.
Advertised by MS themselves, nonetheless:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2009.04.utilityspotlight.aspx
Get RichCopy:
http://blogs.technet.com/ken/
I’ve compared RichCopy to most other similar free(ware)/GPL//open source/shareware/crippleware/free to try tools [FastCopy, SuperCopier, WinMend File Copy, KillCopy, Copy-All-to-One, Copy Handler, TeraCopy, XXCopy, RoboCopy + Ycopy], and it is the best. Most others are either missing important features or having flaws/defects, especially if copying large size files and/or too many files.
Windows Explorer (installed on every 32-bit + 64-bit Windows PC since Win95), for example, is one of the buggiest.
HTH [hope this helps]
If you are doing admin tasks regularily, you might find out that the shell is sometimes a faster way to do things then using a gui tool. This was even recognized by Microsoft so they implemented a better shell in the latest windows releases which is much more advanced then the old dos box.
Just curious why multiple threads increases the file copying performance. When doing file copying then the HDD is usually the bottleneck not the CPU. Do you have a link with more details about this, maybe some tests ?
I did not found robocopy benchmarks, so I did my own tests. The results are here:
http://www.faqforge.com/windows/robocopy-single-and-multithreaded-benchmark-on-windows-7/
Ahh thanks for this. Very useful tip.
Sometimes the command line tool, in combination with a batch file makes the most sense…
I have a thumb drive i use to backup my most critical files… the ones I use at home on my Macbook and at work on my Windows XP machine… (yes, my company is a little slow in updating)…
I use a batch file with robocopy to sync with a subfolder at work, and then us rsync in a small shell file on the Mac to do the same thing…
that way, I can edit a file in either place, and just by clicking on the batch file in Windows Explorer, it syncs automagically…